Cultural Narratives of Age and Aging

Based on a cultural-scientific-gerontological method, the research project examines the relevance of rituals and customs as cultural heritage over the course of life. The self-perception of age and aging in the narrative is the focus of the study, with particular attention being given to the comparison of collective (cohort) and individual identity. From a theoretical perspective, the project is essentially based on the concept of “anocriticism” developed by Roberta Maierhofer in the 1990s. This was created by Maierhofer based on Elaine Showalter's term "gynocriticism", which helped to make it clear that age is constructed and defined not only biologically but also culturally and that we therefore "age through culture" (" aged by culture”) to speak with Margaret Morganroth Gullette. Germaine Greer established the term “anophobia” to describe the fear of old women. Maierhofer subsequently developed the concept of “anocriticism”, an interpretative approach that allows individual experiences of aging to be recognized and understood as resistance to normative ideas. Based on these preliminary considerations, two questions were developed:

1. How are processes and strategies of collective and individual identity construction defined and narratively constructed over the course of life as part of cultural heritage?
2. What methods and theories can be developed for interdisciplinary research questions related to individual and collective identity constructions that define experiences and practices as cultural heritage?

In addition to answering these research questions, a declared goal of the project is to disseminate research results as widely as possible in order to support the development and networking of institutions and networks in the still emerging field of aging studies. An essential measure to achieve this goal is the embedding of the project in the ENAS working group ENAS InheritAGE, an international and interdisciplinary expert group that deals with the interdependencies of age(s) and cultural heritage in the sense of cultural representations.

Project manager:
Roberta Maierhofer

Project employee:
Oana Ursulesku

Affiliated researchers:
Barbara Ratzenböck

Funding provider:
Jubiläumsfonds der Österreichischen Nationalbank (Projektnummer: 15849)