Foucauldian Gerontology: A Methodology for Understanding Aging

There has been a rise in recent years of a theoretical current entitled 'Foucauldian gerontology.' This broad theory has attempted to understand how aging is socially constructed by discourses used by professions & disciplines in order to control & regulate the experiences of older people & to legitimise powerful narratives afforded to age by such groups. Gerontology too as a discipline & praxis provides the space for the construction & dissemination of knowledge formation. To address this, the paper introduces some of the methodological tools from the scholarship of Michel Foucault. In particular, the paper locates concepts of archaeology, genealogy & technologies of self & highlights the importance & creative impact these have for social gerontology in the USA, UK & Australasia. The paper draws from examples from current gerontological research to illuminate the usefulness of such a Foucauldian approach for researching social gerontology. Adapted from the source document.