Extraordinary Forms of Aging : : Life Narratives of Centenarians and Children with Progeria / / Julia Velten.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DG Plus PP Package 2022 Part 2
• VerfasserIn: Velten, Julia,
• Place / Publishing House: Bielefeld : : transcript Verlag, , [2022]; ©2022
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Series: Aging Studies ; 23
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (254 p.)

While aging and the life-course appear to be normalized processes, the complex construction of age at the intersection of biology, society, and culture remains opaque. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of age(ing) by exploring its construction through the analysis of extraordinary cases. Focusing on life narratives of centenarians and children with progeria, Julia Velten analyzes the way in which these people experience age(ing) and shows how these experiences can contribute to our understanding of age. Situated at the intersection of aging studies and medical humanities, the study explores what extraordinary age(ing) can tell us about aging processes in general.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- I. Aging Studies amid the Cultural, Social, and Biological -- 1 Theories of Age(ing) -- II. Centenarians—The Stars of Aging -- Introduction -- 2 “I feel glorious”: The 100th Birthday of Macklemore’s Grandmother -- 3 The Normality of Being a Centenarian: A Day in the Life of Aldéa Pellerin-Cormier -- 4 Extraordinary ‘Old’ Age and (Auto)Biography: George Dawson’s Life is So Good! at the Intersection of Age(ing), Race, and Class -- 5 Representations of Extraordinary ‘Old’ Age: Same, Same, but Different? -- III. Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome—Questioning Assumptions of Age(ing) -- Introduction -- 6 Sensationalizing Disease: “Living with Progeria: Born Different” -- 7 Sam Berns: Progeria Between Clinical Trials and Lived Experience -- 8 Framing Progeria in an (Auto)Biography: Hayley Okines’ Old Before My Time -- 9 Progeria Narratives at the intersection of Age(ing) and Illness -- 10 Conclusion -- Bibliography