Join us on a literary world trip!
Add this book to bookshelf
Grey
Write a new comment Default profile 50px
Grey
Subscribe to read the full book or read the first pages for free!
I want to read the book!
All characters reduced
History of Old Age in Western Culture - From Veneration to Ageism - cover

History of Old Age in Western Culture - From Veneration to Ageism

Carla Costanzi

Publisher: Ledizioni

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Summary

The book examines how Western societies have constructed and redefined the concept of old age across the centuries. Rather than treating ageing as a fixed biological condition, it presents it as a dynamic social and historical process shaped by cultural values, economic systems, and institutional frameworks. Adopting a two-level analytical perspective, the author explores both family dynamics and broader social structures, challenging the widespread notion of a "Golden Age" in which older people were universally respected. Costanzi clearly distinguishes between senescence (biological cellular deterioration) and ageing as a multidimensional process, showing how the confusion between these concepts has contributed to forms of discrimination. Through the analysis of artistic and iconographic representations, the book highlights the tension between inner identity and the visible signs of ageing, tracing how older individuals have been alternately marginalised and idealised across different historical periods. In doing so, it offers scholars, practitioners, and policymakers a valuable framework for rethinking ageing in contemporary society.
Available since: 07/17/2026.
Print length: 385 pages.

Other books that might interest you

  • Undercover Angels - Virginia Hall And The Spy Women Who Fought The Nazis During World War II - cover

    Undercover Angels - Virginia...

    Davis Truman

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    Step into the covert world of World War II's untold heroes, the female agents of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). While history often overlooks their pivotal roles, these daring women defied societal norms and infiltrated enemy lines, rewriting the rules of warfare. 
"Undercover Angels: Virginia Hall And The Spy Women Who Fought The Nazis During World War II" uncovers their remarkable journey, from recruitment to undercover operations and imprisonment. Drawing from classified documents and personal accounts, this gripping tale reveals their dual identity as combatants and strategic spies, leveraging femininity as a formidable weapon. 
Explore how these extraordinary women challenged perceptions of wartime roles, leaving a legacy that continues to captivate the world's imagination, morphing from combatants into the enigmatic realm of espionage.
    Show book
  • Lost Crossing BroadWay: 40 Survival Lessons for the Wise Immigrant - cover

    Lost Crossing BroadWay: 40...

    Angie Manning Edusei

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    This book is a "self-help" guide for immigrants written by an immigrant. It provides valuable insights, short stories, and lessons concerning the common errors and pitfalls immigrants sometimes make, especially when relocating to the United States of America. 
The book is a helpful resource throughout all stages of the migration process within the life cycle from beginning to end. 
It covers the required preparation before permanent travel, relocating, settling, cross-cultural relationships and marriage overseas, returning to one's homeland after retirement, and suggestions for maintaining good health and balance as an immigrant.
    Show book
  • The Age of Overwhelm - Strategies for the Long Haul - cover

    The Age of Overwhelm -...

    Laura van Dernoot Lipsky

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    There is a growing epidemic afflicting people working in social change that is rarely talked about—burnout. Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, bestselling author of Trauma Stewardship, offers The Age of Overwhelm as the salve for healing. 
 
 
 
Whether we are overwhelmed by work or school; our families or communities; caretaking for others or ourselves; or engagement in social justice, environmental advocacy, or civil service, just a few subtle shifts can help sustain us. Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, bestselling author of Trauma Stewardship, shows us how by offering concrete strategies to help us mitigate harm, cultivate our ability to be decent and equitable, and act with integrity. The Age of Overwhelm aims to help ease our burden of overwhelm, restore our perspective, and give us strength to navigate what is yet to come.
    Show book
  • Campus Free Speech - A Pocket Guide - cover

    Campus Free Speech - A Pocket Guide

    Cass R. Sunstein

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    Free speech is indispensable on college campuses: allowing varied views and frank exchanges of opinion is a core component of the educational enterprise. But free speech does not mean a free-for-all. The First Amendment prohibits "abridging the freedom of speech," yet laws against perjury or bribery, for example, are still constitutional. In the same way, valuing freedom of speech does not stop a university from regulating speech when doing so is necessary for its educational mission. So where is the dividing line? How can we distinguish reasonable restrictions from impermissible infringement? 
 
 
 
In this pragmatic, no-nonsense explainer, Cass Sunstein takes us through a wide range of scenarios involving students, professors, and administrators. He discusses why it's consistent with the First Amendment to punish students who shout down a speaker, but not those who chant offensive slogans; why a professor cannot be fired for writing a politically charged op-ed, yet a university might legitimately consider an applicant's political views when deciding whether to hire her. He explains why private universities are not legally bound by the First Amendment yet should, in most cases, look to follow it. And he addresses the thorny question of whether a university should officially take sides on public issues or deliberately keep the institution outside the fray.
    Show book
  • Effective Strategies for Adult Education - Practical Approaches to Engage and Inspire Adult Learners in Diverse Learning Environments - cover

    Effective Strategies for Adult...

    Virversity Online Courses

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    Effective Strategies for Adult Education is a comprehensive course designed to equip educators with the skills and knowledge to engage diverse adult learners effectively. Whether teaching in community programs, workplaces, or online, this course prepares you for success in adult education training and certification.  Learn to apply adult learning theories and andragogy principles to tailor instruction, recognize diverse learning styles and motivations, and design curricula suited to adult learners. Enhance engagement using technology tools and build strong facilitation and communication skills to encourage participation and clarity. Develop cultural competency to create respectful, inclusive classrooms and manage common challenges in adult education settings.  The course covers foundational and advanced strategies to transform adult education into meaningful, motivating experiences. You’ll explore curriculum design, instructional methods, assessment techniques, and program development to plan, run, and evaluate effective adult education programs.  With this training, you will gain the expertise to foster lifelong learning and continuous improvement, supporting personal and professional growth among adult learners. Upon completion, you’ll be confident in applying adult learning principles, managing classroom dynamics, and delivering impactful adult education programs that promote meaningful growth.
    Show book
  • Requiem for the American Dream - The 10 Principles of Concentration of Wealth & Power - cover

    Requiem for the American Dream -...

    Noam Chomsky

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    NOW A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! 
 
"During the Great Depression, which I'm old enough to remember, it was bad—much worse subjectively than today. But there was a sense that we'll get out of this somehow, an expectation that things were going to get better …"—from Requiem for the American Dream 
 
In his first major book on the subject of income inequality, Noam Chomsky skewers the fundamental tenets of neoliberalism and casts a clear, cold, patient eye on the economic facts of life. What are the ten principles of concentration of wealth and power at work in America today? They're simple enough: reduce democracy, shape ideology, redesign the economy, shift the burden onto the poor and middle classes, attack the solidarity of the people, let special interests run the regulators, engineer election results, use fear and the power of the state to keep the rabble in line, manufacture consent, marginalize the population. In Requiem for the American Dream, Chomsky devotes a chapter to each of these ten principles, and adds readings from some of the core texts that have influenced his thinking to bolster his argument. 
 
To create Requiem for the American Dream, Chomsky and his editors, the filmmakers Peter Hutchison, Kelly Nyks, and Jared P. Scott, spent countless hours together over the course of five years, from 2011 to 2016. Chomsky considers these to be his final, long-form interviews. After the release of the film version, Chomsky and the editors returned to the many hours of tape and transcript and created a document that included three times as much text as was used in the film. The book that has resulted is nonetheless arguably the most succinct and tightly woven of Chomsky's long career, a beautiful vessel in which to carry Chomsky's bold and uncompromising vision, his perspective on the economic reality and its impact on our political and moral well-being as a nation.
    Show book