Life Course Perspective and Aging Studies: The Theoretical Development and Ways to Work with Empirical Data

  • Karina Makarova European University at Saint Petersburg
Keywords: life course, life course perspective, biographical method, aging studies, critical gerontology

Abstract

This article presents a study of the life course concept in the context of aging, based on biographical interview methodology. The author focuses on how the key principles of the concept, such as lifelong development, agency, historical time and place, timing in lives, and linked lives, are integrated into the study of aging, revealing diversity and differences in aging experiences across contemporary societies. As part of the life course approach, the author analyzes the conceptual changes that affect the understanding of aging and its features. It is shown that the constructionist approach to the life course allows for not only considering the socio-­historical context but also recognizing the active role of the individual in shaping their own life course. The use of biographical interviews enables researchers to reconstruct complex biographical constructs of life courses and understand how individuals conceptualize the aging process and their transition into older age. As an example of the method application, the author uses the data collected from the "'Anti-age' сosmetology: challenge of the normative female aging scenario in modern Russian society" study to reveal how appearance, physiological changes in the body and social institutions form the perception of age. An important conclusion is that the age narrative of the study participants is not tied to a strict chronological framework which makes the boundaries of older age more flexible and permeable. The materials of this article will be useful for specialists in the field of gerontology, sociology, as well as for everyone interested in the individual experience of aging and its social aspects.

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Author Biography

Karina Makarova, European University at Saint Petersburg

Master of Sociology, PhD student, Faculty of Sociology, European University at St. Petersburg; St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. Email: kmakarova@eu.spb.ru

Published
2024-10-28
How to Cite
MakarovaK. (2024). Life Course Perspective and Aging Studies: The Theoretical Development and Ways to Work with Empirical Data. The Journal of Social Policy Studies, 22(3), 541-552. https://doi.org/10.17323/727-0634-2024-22-3-541-552