A History of Old Age

A History of Old Age

Author: Pat Thane

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13:

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Seven contributors examine how the best thinkers and artists of each historical epoch in the West have treated old age. Full of surprising and fascinating facts, this is an uplifting companion for those who, like it or not, are beginning to understand the inevitability of their own aging process.


History of Old Age

History of Old Age

Author: Georges Minois

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 1989-11-28

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 9780226530314

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History of Old Age is the first major study of the ways in which old age has been perceived in western culture throughout history. Georges Minois paints a vast fresco, starting with the first old man to relate his own story—an Egyptian scribe some 4500 years ago—and ending with the deaths of Elizabeth I and Henry IV in the sixteenth century. Tracing the changing conceptions of the nature, value, and burden of the old, Minois argues that western history during this period is marked by great fluctuation in the social and political role of the aged. Minois shows how, in ancient Greece, the cult of youth and beauty on the one hand, and the reverence for the figure of the Homeric sage, on the other, created an ambivalent attitude toward the aged. This ambiguity appears again in the contrast between the active role that older citizens played in Roman politics and their depiction in satirical literature of the period. Christian literature in the Middle Ages also played a large part in defining society's perception of the old, both in the image of the revered holy sage and in the total condemnation of the aged sinner. Drawing on literary texts throughout, Minois considers the interrelation of literary, religious, medical, and political factors in determining the social fate of the elderly and their relationship to society. This book will be of great interest to social and cultural historians, as well as to general readers interested in the subject of the aged in society today.


History of Suicide

History of Suicide

Author: Georges Minois

Publisher:

Published: 1999-01-19

Total Pages: 410

ISBN-13:

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Minois concludes with comments on the most recent turn in this long and complex history--the emotional debate over euthanasia, assisted suicide, and the right to die.


Old Age in the Roman World

Old Age in the Roman World

Author: Tim G. Parkin

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2003-05-07

Total Pages: 522

ISBN-13: 9780801871283

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"Noting that privileges granted to the aged generally took the form of exemptions from duties rather than positive benefits, Tim Parkin argues that the elderly were granted no privileged status or guaranteed social role. At the same time, they were permitted - and expected - to continue to participate actively in society for as long as they were able."--BOOK JACKET.


The Long History of Old Age

The Long History of Old Age

Author: Pat Thane

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 9780500251263

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Here is an absorbing and startlingly original illustrated study of one of the great - and most neglected - themes in all history: the ways in which society has perceived old people throughout the ages. From increased life expectancy and 'grey gap years' to dwindling pensions, the pros and cons of aging is a constant theme, yet much of the debate continues to be based on assumptions and misconceptions about the past. Is it true, for instance, that people were considered 'old' at fifty? How far have our ideas about the average life-span in previous centuries been distorted by infant mortality? Were the old respected and cared for? Did sexuality survive into old age? Here, for the first time, a group of leading historians address these and allied questions, writing vividly about a topic of great contemporary resonance that has for too long been surrounded by taboo. The visual evidence is a vital part of the story, and here the book is equally original. Drawing upon the rich legacy of art through two millennia, with works by a wide range of artists including Whistler, Rembrandt, Rego and Freud, this enthralling human story presents a picture that is sometimes compassionate, sometimes horrifying, but overall unexpectedly reassuring.


The History of Old Age in England, 1600-1800, Part I Vol 1

The History of Old Age in England, 1600-1800, Part I Vol 1

Author: Lynn Botelho

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-10-28

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 1040249892

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What did it mean to be old in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England? This eight-volume edition brings together selections from medical treatises, sermons, legal documents, parish records, almshouse accounts, private letters, diaries and ballads, to investigate cultural and medical understanding of old age in pre-industrial England.


The History of Old Age in England, 1600-1800, Part I Vol 2

The History of Old Age in England, 1600-1800, Part I Vol 2

Author: Lynn Botelho

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-08-01

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 1040246435

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What did it mean to be old in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England? This eight-volume edition brings together selections from medical treatises, sermons, legal documents, parish records, almshouse accounts, private letters, diaries and ballads, to investigate cultural and medical understanding of old age in pre-industrial England.


The History of Old Age in England, 1600-1800, Part II vol 7

The History of Old Age in England, 1600-1800, Part II vol 7

Author: Lynn Botelho

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-10-28

Total Pages: 450

ISBN-13: 1040249949

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What did it mean to be old in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England? This eight-volume edition brings together selections from medical treatises, sermons, legal documents, parish records, almshouse accounts, private letters, diaries and ballads, to investigate cultural and medical understanding of old age in pre-industrial England.


The History of Old Age in England, 1600-1800, Part I Vol 3

The History of Old Age in England, 1600-1800, Part I Vol 3

Author: Lynn Botelho

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-08-01

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 1040243703

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What did it mean to be old in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England? This eight-volume edition brings together selections from medical treatises, sermons, legal documents, parish records, almshouse accounts, private letters, diaries and ballads, to investigate cultural and medical understanding of old age in pre-industrial England.


Old Age in English History

Old Age in English History

Author: Pat Thane

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2000-05-11

Total Pages: 548

ISBN-13: 0191542172

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At the end of the twentieth century more people are living into their seventies, eighties, nineties and beyond, a process expected to continue well into the next millennium. The twentieth century has achieved what people in other centuries only dreamed of: many can now expect to survive to old age in reasonably good health and can remain active and independent to the end, in contrast to the high death rate, ill health and destitution which affected all ages in the past. Yet this change is generally greeted not with triumph but with alarm. It is assumed that the longer people live, the longer they are ill and dependent, thus burdening a shrinking younger generation with the cost of pensions and health care. It is also widely believed that 'the past' saw few survivors into old age and these could be supported by their families without involving the taxpayer. In this first survey of old age throughout English history, these assumptions are challenged. Vivid pictures are given of the ways in which very large numbers of older people lived often vigorous and independent lives over many centuries. The book argues that old people have always been highly visible in English communities, and concludes that as people live longer due to the benefits of the rise in living standards, far from being 'burdens' they can be valuable contributors to their family and friends.