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Three myths about old age before modernity – and why historians should care

Svensson, Anton LU and Zuijderduijn, Jaco LU (2024) In History of the Family p.1-23
Abstract
Despite the increasing challenges twenty-first-century societies face in accommodating older adults, many misconceptions about old age before modernity continue to exist. These are rarely expressed in ‘formal theory’ produced by academics, but rather persist in ‘lay theory’ which is anchored in collective memory and popular culture. Such taken-for-granted beliefs are nevertheless influential, first because they determine which questions academics do and do not ask about old age in history, and second because they present society with a grand narrative about ageing in the past, present, and future. We provide researchers with a research agenda. We do so by identifying three myths about old age: 1) people usually lived short lives and... (More)
Despite the increasing challenges twenty-first-century societies face in accommodating older adults, many misconceptions about old age before modernity continue to exist. These are rarely expressed in ‘formal theory’ produced by academics, but rather persist in ‘lay theory’ which is anchored in collective memory and popular culture. Such taken-for-granted beliefs are nevertheless influential, first because they determine which questions academics do and do not ask about old age in history, and second because they present society with a grand narrative about ageing in the past, present, and future. We provide researchers with a research agenda. We do so by identifying three myths about old age: 1) people usually lived short lives and continued in their line of work until they dropped dead without having ‘retired’ from work; 2) men and women who did grow old simply moved in with their next of kin; 3) pensions played no role during old age. We debunk these based on a case study of the Nordic Countries before c. 1850 and hope to encourage research into myths about old age before modernity in other European regions. (Less)
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Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
in
History of the Family
pages
1 - 23
publisher
Taylor & Francis
ISSN
1873-5398
DOI
10.1080/1081602X.2024.2360937
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
05f1e758-7c63-4c9c-9173-64f2bc316dac
date added to LUP
2024-06-17 13:47:04
date last changed
2024-06-17 15:29:19
@article{05f1e758-7c63-4c9c-9173-64f2bc316dac,
  abstract     = {{Despite the increasing challenges twenty-first-century societies face in accommodating older adults, many misconceptions about old age before modernity continue to exist. These are rarely expressed in ‘formal theory’ produced by academics, but rather persist in ‘lay theory’ which is anchored in collective memory and popular culture. Such taken-for-granted beliefs are nevertheless influential, first because they determine which questions academics do and do not ask about old age in history, and second because they present society with a grand narrative about ageing in the past, present, and future. We provide researchers with a research agenda. We do so by identifying three myths about old age: 1) people usually lived short lives and continued in their line of work until they dropped dead without having ‘retired’ from work; 2) men and women who did grow old simply moved in with their next of kin; 3) pensions played no role during old age. We debunk these based on a case study of the Nordic Countries before c. 1850 and hope to encourage research into myths about old age before modernity in other European regions.}},
  author       = {{Svensson, Anton and Zuijderduijn, Jaco}},
  issn         = {{1873-5398}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  pages        = {{1--23}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{History of the Family}},
  title        = {{Three myths about old age before modernity – and why historians should care}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1081602X.2024.2360937}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/1081602X.2024.2360937}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}