Aging in world history

Section 1. Theoretical concerns, "natural" aging, and classical prescriptions and representations -- Section 2. Medieval to early modern transformations -- Section 3. Transitions to modernity -- Section 4. Modernity and old age -- Section 5. Globalizing, medicalizing, and disciplining old age.

In "Aging in World History", David G. Troyansky presents the first global history of aging. At a time when demographic aging has become a source of worldwide concern, and more people are reaching an advanced age than ever before, the history of old age helps us understand how we arrived at the treatment of aging in the modern world. This concise volume expands that history beyond the West to show how attitudes toward aging, the experiences of the aged, and relevant demographic patterns have varied and coalesced over time and across the world. From the ancient world to the present, this book introduces students and general readers to the history of aging on two levels: the experience of individual men and women, and the transformation of populations. With its attention to cultural traditions, medicalization, decades of historical scholarship, and current gerontology, "Aging in World History" is the perfect starting point for an exploration of this increasingly universal aspect of human experience.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Preface -- SECTION I: Theoretical Concerns, "Natural" Aging, and Classical Prescriptions and Representations -- 1. Introduction: Historians Look at Aging and the Aged -- Works Cited and Further Reading -- 2. Aging among Hunters and Gatherers, Agriculturalists, and Early City Dwellers -- Works Cited and Further Reading -- 3. Old Age in Classical Civilizations: From Asia to the Near East and Mediterranean -- Works Cited and Further Reading -- SECTION II: Medieval to Early Modern Transformations -- 4. Aging in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance -- Works Cited and Further Reading -- 5. Early Modern Aging and the Aged in Europe and North America -- Works Cited and Further Reading -- SECTION III: Transitions to Modernity -- 6. Cultural Transitions and Implications for the Aged -- Works Cited and Further Reading -- 7. Demographic Transitions and Implications for the Aged -- Works Cited and Further Reading -- SECTION IV: Modernity and Old Age -- 8. Framing the Old Person as Pensioner and Old Age as a Social Problem in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries -- Works Cited and Further Reading -- 9. Old Age in the Context of Colonialism, Imperialism, and Decolonization -- Works Cited and Further Reading -- 10. Aging and the Welfare State -- Works Cited and Further Reading -- SECTION V: Globalizing, Medicalizing, and Disciplining Old Age -- 11. Aging in a Global Context -- Works Cited and Further Reading -- 12. Aging, Medicalization, and the Discipline of Gerontology -- Works Cited and Further Reading -- 13. Aging in Present and Future -- Works Cited and Further Reading -- Index.