More-than-human-aging : animals, robots, and care in later life / edited by Cristina Douglas and Andrew Whitehouse ; foreword by Jay Sokolovsky ; afteword by Susan McHugh.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Douglas, Cristina, 1981- author.

Whitehouse, Andrew, author.

Contributor:

Sokolovsky, Jay, writer of foreword.

McHugh, Susan (Susan Bridget), writer of afterword.

Series:

Global perspectives on aging series

Global perspectives on aging

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Aging--Anthropological aspects.

Aging.

Social ecology.

Human-animal relationships.

Human-robot interaction.

Ethnology--Research.

Ethnology.

human ecology.

Physical Description:

xi, 215 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick : Rutgers University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"What does later life look like when it is lived in the companionship of other species? Similarly, how do other species age (or not) with humans, and what sort of (a)symmetries, if any, are brought to light around how we understand and think about aging? So far, aging has been investigated in the social sciences in purely human terms. This is the first collection of original work that considers aging as taking place in relation to other species. This volume aims to start a conversation about aging by taking its more-than-human participants seriously - that is, not only as a support for or context of human aging but also more symmetrically, as agents and subjects in the process of aging. The contributors draw upon richly descriptive ethnographic accounts, including moments of connection between seniors and dogs in a long-term care facility, human care for aging laboratory animals, and robotic companionship in later life. The ethnographies in this volume enrich not only our understanding of more-than-human companionship during the human aging process but also challenge and urge us to rethink what it means to live later in life in ecologically entangled social and moral worlds"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Chapter 1: Introduction: Aging in more-than-human companionship / Cristina Douglas and Andrew Whitehouse

Part 1: Humans aging in more-than-human companionship

Chapter 2: Caring canines: Images of 'home' in continuing care / Ardra Cole and Susan MacLeod

Chapter 3: Becoming-old with a dog: Human-animal entanglements in later life transitions / Nete Schwennesen and Daniel López Gómez

Chapter 4: Of dogs, humans, and lives worth living: Thinking with dogs about later life, living with dementia, and more-than-human companionship / Cristina Douglas

Chapter 5: Aging with companion animals: More-than-human agency, digital and sensory intimacies, and care / Ingrid Richardson and Larissa Hjorth

Chapter 6: Baby seals and armless robots: Is this what care in later life is made of? / Cathrine Degnen and Katie Brittain

Chapter 7: How to be a good robot? Human-nonhuman play in dementia care / Ruud Hendriks and Ike Kamphof

Part 2: Other-than-humans aging in human companionship

Chapter 8: The invisibility of the aging laboratory animal / Lesley A. Sharp

Chapter 9: Then there were 3, 2, 1, 0. Grieving with and for a murine family / Samantha Hurn

Chapter 10: Posthuman professionalism: Interspecies entanglements and clinical end of life care / Vanessa Ashall, Joanna Latimer and Carrie Friese.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Douglas, Cristina, 1981- More-than-human-aging

ISBN:

9781978840942

1978840942

9781978840935

1978840934

OCLC:

1439668742

Publisher Number:

90100521588