Old age, new science : gerontologists and their biosocial visions, 1900-1960 / Hyung Wook Park.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Park, Hyung Wook, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gerontology--History--20th century.

Gerontology.

Social gerontology--History--20th century.

Social gerontology.

Aging--Social aspects--History--20th century.

Aging.

Aging--Social aspects.

History.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

viii, 342 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Pittsburgh, Pa. : University of Pittsburgh Press, [2016]

Summary:

"Between 1870 and 1940, life expectancy in the United States skyrocketed while the percentage of senior citizens age sixty-five and older more than doubled--a phenomenon owed largely to innovations in medicine and public health. At the same time, the Great Depression was a major tipping point for age discrimination and poverty in the West: seniors were living longer and retiring earlier, but without adequate means to support themselves and their families. The economic disaster of the 1930s alerted scientists, who were actively researching the processes of aging, to the profound social implications of their work--and by the end of the 1950s, the field of gerontology emerged. Old Age, New Science explores how a group of American and British life scientists contributed to gerontology's development as a multidisciplinary field. It examines the foundational "biosocial visions" they shared, a byproduct of both their research and the social problems they encountered. Hyung Wook Park shows how these visions shaped popular discourses on aging, directly influenced the institutionalization of gerontology, and also reflected the class, gender, and race biases of their founders"-- Provided by publisher.

"This book focuses on the "biosocial visions" shared by early gerontologists in American and British science and culture from the early to mid-twentieth century who believed the phenomenon of aging was not just biological, but social in nature. Advancements in the life sciences, together with shifting perspectives on the state and future of the elderly in society, informed how gerontologists interacted with seniors, and how they defined successful aging. Park shows how these visions shaped popular discourses on aging, directly influenced the institutionalization of gerontology, and also reflected the class, gender, and race biases of their founders"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Envisioning Age in Experimental and Social Contexts 19

Chapter 2 A Biosocial Vision and Textbooks in Starting a Multidisciplinary Science 54

Chapter 3 Projecting Visions and Cultivating a Science in American Society 91

Chapter 4 Calories, Aging, and Building a Biosocial Research Program 129

Chapter 5 Senescence, Science, and Society in Great Britain 170

Chapter 6 Growing Old and Biomedicine in the National Institutes of Health 211.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-327) and index.

ISBN:

9780822944492

0822944499

OCLC:

923552098