The Aging Experience: Diversity and Commonality Across Cultures
Recipient of the Richard Kalish Award for Innovative Publication by the Gerontological Society of America In 1982, seven dedicated anthropologists with a passion for research set off, almost literally, for the four corners of the world. Traveling to 10 sites on four continents, these researchers began the intensive, decade-long studies that would culminate in this collaborative volume. The Aging Experience offers a compelling exploration of aging in groups as disparate as the !Kung gatherers and Hararo herdsmen of Africa, Irish villagers, rural Americans, and urban dwellers of Hong Kong. Using both qualitative and statistical data, the authors examine the well-being, life-course perceptions, material resources, health, and functionality of elders in these societies. The Project A.G.E. study is the most comprehensive, detailed comparative analysis of worldwide aging ever published. This extensive work will help anthropologists, gerontologists, and comparative researchers and their students to better define and understand aging in individual, cultural, and universal terms. "This book uses the most sophisticated and effective methodology found in any major cross-cultural study of the aged and aging to date. The product is well worth the 10 years' research and analysis the study required. It will be a classic study in anthropological gerontology." --Lowell D. Holmes, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Wichita State UniversityPt. 1. The Research Sites. 1. Botswana. 2. Ireland. 3. United States. 4. Hong Kong -- Pt. 2. Cross-Cultural Comparisons. 5. Age and Well-Being. 6. Age and the Life Course. 7. Political Economy and Age. 8. Age, Health, and Functionality -- Pt. 3. Conclusion -- 9. Conclusion -- Appendix: Instructions on Playing the Age Game
