MascAge

Ageing Masculinities

The primary objective of this project is to analyse social constructions of ageing masculinities and/through their cultural representations in contemporary European literatures and cinemas. The study specifically seeks

(a) to understand more fully the interrelationship of masculinities with a variety of social issues specifically associated with men's ageing: older men’s health; social inclusion and exclusion; sexualities and affective relationships; and ageist stereotypes;
(b) to explore men's experiences of, and attitudes to, ageing across different European cultures, exploring their commonalities and differences, at both national and transnational levels;
(c) to gain a deeper understanding of ageing masculinities in and through cultural representations; and
(d) to share the results of this project with other researchers, practitioners and policy-makers to help them devise strategies and policies designed to promote greater gender and age equity.

If age studies focus on youth and gerontology studies of either older women or "ungendered" portraits of ageing (Saxton and Cole 2012), this project will explore the gendered specificities of men's ageing. Applying to the cultural analysis an interdisciplinary corpus of masculinity and age studies, the project seeks to make an impact by crossing the traditional Social Sciences-Humanities boundary and by proving that not only do social notions of masculinity shape their cultural representations, but they simultaneously affect the social (de-)construction of both gender and age.

The researchers are based in Austria, Estonia, Irland, Israel, Spain, and Sweden. They are researching and teaching at the Universities of Aston (Birmingham), Barcelona, Bar-Ilan (Ramat Gan), Birkbeck College (University of London), Castilla-La Mancha (Ciudad Real), Galway, Gävle, Graz, Madrid, Murcia, Örebro, Potsdam, Rostock, Södertörn, Stony Brook (New York), Tallinn, and Valencia in the fields of (Inter-)American studies, sociology, gender studies, gerontology, film studies, language, (comparative) literature, psychology, ethnology, musicology, as well as media and communication studies

Director of the Austrian Subproject:
Roberta Maierhofer

Researchers:
Rüdiger Kunow, Heike Hartung, Oana Hergenröther, Matthew Sweney, Lisa-Nike Bühring, Barbara Ratzenböck, Florian Pirker

This is an ERA Gender-Net Plus Project of the European Union, administrated in Austria by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF).

>> MascAge Project Presentation (Video)

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Upcoming Events:

MascAge Online Seminar Series: Analyzing Social Constructions of Ageing Masculinities and Their Cultural Representations in Contemporary European Literatures and Cinemas (Spring 2021)
Maskulinität und Altern. Vortrag von Roberta Maierhofer im Rahmen der Montagsakademie des Zentrums für Weiterbildung der Universität Graz (19. April 2021, 19 Uhr - ACHTUNG, TERMINÄNDERUNG)
Masculinities Aging Between Cultures: Methods and Concepts in Dialogue (22-23 April 2021, Rostock)

Recent Publications: