Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T04:19:39.496Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Placing ethnicity at the centre of studies of later life: theoretical perspectives and empirical challenges

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 October 2014

CHRIS PHILLIPSON*
Affiliation:
School of Social Sciences, The University of Manchester, UK.
*
Address for correspondence: Chris Phillipson, School of Social Sciences, Humanities Building, Bridgeford St., The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL. E-mail: christopher.phillipson@manchester.ac.uk

Abstract

Research on minority ethnic ageing remains a neglected area within mainstream race and ethnicity studies as well as that of social gerontology. This paper examines the background and reasons for this, arguing that a focus on minority ethnic issues provides a reminder of the complexity of the lifecourse, and of the diversity of ageing as a cultural, economic and social construction. The discussion reviews definitions of ethnicity and their relevance to work in social gerontology. The paper provides an account of early studies of minority ethnic ageing, identifying the strengths and limitations of this research. Later work is then considered, notably that focusing on issues connected with the rise of transnational communities and the changing character of neighbourhoods in urban environments. The paper argues that developing research on minority ethnic ageing has become especially important for understanding the impact of globalisation on re-defining communities, relationships and identities, within and beyond nation states. Globalisation, it is suggested, can be seen as a product of the movement of ethnic groups; equally, ethnic groups are themselves transformed by the possibilities created by global change. The paper concludes with a number of suggestions for embedding work on ethnicity within research in social gerontology.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahmed, N. 2013. Geographies of gender and generation. Unpublished PhD thesis, Swansea University, Swansea, UK.Google Scholar
Angel, R. and Angel, J. L. 2006. Diversity and aging in the United States. In Binstock, R. and George, L. (eds), Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. Academic Press, New York, 94110.Google Scholar
Attias-Donfut, C. and Waite, L. 2012. From generation to generation: changing family relations, citizenship and belonging. In Attias-Donfut, C., Cook, J., Hoffman, J. and Waite, L. (eds), Citizenship, Belonging and Intergenerational Relations in African Migration. Palgrave, Basingstoke, UK, 4064.Google Scholar
Baars, J., Dannefer, D., Phillipson, C. and Walker, A. 2006. Aging, Globalization and Inequality: The New Gerontology. Baywood, Amityville, New York.Google Scholar
Bajekal, M., Blane, D., Grewal, I., Karlsen, S. and Nazroo, J. 2004. Ethnic differences in influences on quality of life at older ages: a quantitative analysis. Ageing & Society, 24, 5, 709–28.Google Scholar
Baldassar, L. 2007. Transnational families and aged care: the mobility of care and the migrancy of ageing. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 33, 2, 275–97.Google Scholar
Barker, J. 1984. Black and Asian Old People in Britain. Age Concern, London.Google Scholar
Barrett, A. and Mosca, I. 2013. Social isolation, loneliness and return migration: evidence from older Irish adults. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 39, 10, 1659–77.Google Scholar
Bauer, E. and Thompson, P. 2006. Jamaican Hands Across the Atlantic. Ian Randle, Kingston.Google Scholar
Bauman, Z. 1998. Globalization: The Human Consequences. Polity, Oxford.Google Scholar
Bécares, L., Nazroo, J., Jackson, J. and Heuvelman, H. 2012. Ethnic density effects on health and experienced racism among Caribbean people in the US and England: a cross-national comparison. Social Science and Medicine, 75, 12, 2107–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berry, S., Lee, M. and Griffiths, S. 1981. Report of a Survey of West Indian Pensioners in Nottingham. Social Services Department, Nottingham County Council, Nottingham, UK.Google Scholar
Bhalla, A. and Blakemore, K. 1981. Elders of the Ethnic Minority Groups. All Faiths for One Race, Birmingham, UK.Google Scholar
Blakemore, K. and Boneham, M. 1994. Age, Race and Ethnicity: A Comparative Approach. Open University Press, Buckingham, UK.Google Scholar
Buffel, T. and Phillipson, C. 2011. Experiences of place among older migrants living in inner-city neighbourhoods in Belgium and England. Diversité urbaine, 11, 1, 1338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buffel, T., Phillipson, C. and Scharf, T. 2013. Experiences of neighbourhood exclusion and inclusion among older people living in deprived inner-city areas in Belgium and England. Ageing & Society, 33, 1, 89109.Google Scholar
Burholt, V. 2004. The settlement patterns and residential histories of older Gujaratis, Punjabis and Sylhetis in Birmingham, England. Ageing & Society, 24, 3, 383409.Google Scholar
Burholt, V. and Wenger, G. C. 2005. Migration from Asia to the UK and the Maintenance of Transnational Intergenerational Relationships. In Silverstein, M. and Schaie, K. W. (eds), Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics Vol. 24 2004 Focus on Intergenerational Relations Across Time and Place. Springer, New York, 153176.Google Scholar
Calhoun, C. and Derluguian, G. (eds) 2011. Business as Usual: The Roots of the Global Financial Meltdown. Social Science Research Council and New York University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Castells, M., Caraça, J. and Cardoso, G. 2012. Aftermath: The Cultures of the Economic Crisis. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Cooper, J. 1979. West Indian elderly in Leicester: a case study. In Glendenning, F. (ed.), The Elders in Ethnic Minorities: A Report of a Seminar. Beth Johnson Foundation and University of Keele, Stoke-on-Trent, UK.Google Scholar
Craig, G., Atkin, K., Chattoo, S. and Flynn, R. 2012. Understanding ‘Race’ and Ethnicity: Theory, History, Policy and Practice. Policy Press, Bristol, UK.Google Scholar
Cylwik, H. 2002. Expectations of inter-generational reciprocity among older Greek migrants in London. Ageing & Society, 22, 5, 599613.Google Scholar
Dannefer, D. and Settersten, R. Jr 2010. The study of the life course: implications for social gerontology. In Dannefer, D. and Phillipson, C. (eds), The Sage Handbook of Social Gerontology. Sage, London, 319.Google Scholar
DeLaet, D. 1999. Introduction: the invisibility of women in scholarship on international migration. In Kelson, G. and DeLaet, D. (eds), Gender and Immigration. Macmillan, London, 124.Google Scholar
Donovan, J. 1986. We Don't Buy Sickness, It Just Comes. Gower, Aldershot, UK.Google Scholar
Dowd, J. and Bengston, V. 1978. Aging in minority populations: an examination of the double jeopardy hypothesis. Journal of Gerontology, 33, 3, 427–36.Google Scholar
Ehrkamp, P. 2005. Placing identities: transnational practices and local attachments of Turkish migrants. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 31, 2, 345–64.Google Scholar
Evergeti, V. and Ryan, L. 2011. Negotiating transnational caring practices among migrant families. In Kofman, E., Kohli, M. and Schmoll, C. (eds), Gender, Generations and the Family in International Migration. IMISCOE Research, Amsterdam, 356–72.Google Scholar
Faist, T. 2000. Transnationalization in international migration: implications for the study of citizenship and culture. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 23, 2, 189222.Google Scholar
Fennell, G., Phillipson, C. and Evers, H. 1988. The Sociology of Old Age. Open University Press, Buckingham, UK.Google Scholar
Fenton, S. 1986. Race, Health and Welfare: Afro-Caribbean and South Asian People in Central Bristol: Health and Social Services. Department of Sociology, Bristol University, Bristol, UK.Google Scholar
Field, J. 2013. Migration and workforce ageing. In Field, J., Burke, R. and Cooper, C. (eds), The Sage Handbook of Age, Work and Society. Sage, London, 7594.Google Scholar
Foner, N. and Dreby, J. 2011. Relations between the generations in immigrant families. Annual Review of Sociology, 37, 545–64.Google Scholar
Gardner, K. 1995. Global Migrants, Local Lives. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Gardner, K. 2002. Age, Narrative and Migration. Berg, Oxford.Google Scholar
Glick-Schiller, N., Basch, L. and Blanc-Szanton, C. 1992. Transnationalism: a new analytical framework for understanding migration. In Towards a Transnational Perspective on Migration: Race, Class and Nationalism Reconsidered. Academy of Sciences, New York, 124.Google Scholar
Grewal, I., Nazroo, J., Bajekal, M., Blane, D. and Lewis, J. 2004. Influences on quality of life: a qualitative investigation of ethnic differences among older people in England. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 30, 4, 737–61.Google Scholar
Halpern, D. and Nazroo, J. 2012. The ethnic density effect: results from a national community survey of England and Wales. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 46, 1, 3446.Google Scholar
Hochschild, A. 2000. Global care chains and emotional surplus value. In Hutton, W. and Giddens, A. (eds), On the Edge: Living with Global Capitalism. Jonathan Cape, London, 130–46.Google Scholar
Holland, B. and Lewando-Hundt, G. 1987. Coventry ethnic minorities elderly survey: methods, data and applied action. Ethnic Minorities Development Unit, City of Coventry, UK.Google Scholar
Izuhara, M. 2010 Ageing and Intergenerational Relations: Family Reciprocity from a Global Perspective. Policy Press, Bristol, UK.Google Scholar
Jenkins, R. 2008. Rethinking Ethnicity: Arguments and Explorations. Sage, London.Google Scholar
Karlson, S., Becares, L. and Roth, M. 2012. Understanding the influence of ethnicity and health. In Craig, G., Atkin, K., Chattoo, S. and Flynn, R. (eds), Understanding ‘Race’ and Ethnicity: Theory, History, Policy and Practice. Policy Press, Bristol, UK, 115–32.Google Scholar
Kelly-Moore, J. and Ferraro, K. 2004. The black/white disability gap: persistent inequality in later life? Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 59B, 1, S3443.Google Scholar
Kelly-Moore, J. and Lin, J. 2011. Widening the view: capturing ‘unobserved’ heterogeneity in studies of age and the life course. In Settersten, R. Jr and Angel, J. L. (eds), Handbook of Sociology of Aging. Springer, New York, 5170.Google Scholar
Kofman, E., Kraler, A., Kohli, M. and Schmoll, C. 2011. Introduction: Issues and debates on family-related migration and the migrant family: a European perspective. In Kraler, A., Kofman, E., Kohli, M. and Schmoll, C. (eds), Gender, Generations and the Family in International Migration. IMISCOE Research, Amsterdam, 1453.Google Scholar
Lefebvre, H. 1991. The Production of Space. Blackwell, Oxford.Google Scholar
Lievesley, N. 2010. The Future Ageing of the Ethnic Minority Population of England and Wales. Centre for Policy on Ageing, London.Google Scholar
Markides, K., Salinas, J. and Wong, R. 2010. Ageing and health among Hispanics/Latinos in the Americas. In Dannefer, D. and Phillipson, C. (eds), The Sage Handbook of Social Gerontology. Sage, London, 150–63.Google Scholar
Mutchler, J. and Burr, J. 2011. Race, ethnicity and aging. In Settersten, R. Jr and Angel, J. L. (eds), Handbook of Sociology of Aging. Springer, New York, 83102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nazroo, J. 2004. Ethnic disparities in aging health: what can we learn from the United Kingdom. In Anderson, N., Bulatao, R. and Cohen, B. (eds), Critical Perspectives on Racial and Ethnic Differentials in Health and Later Life. National Academies Press, Washington DC, 677702.Google Scholar
Nazroo, J., Bajekal, M., Blane, D., Grewal, I. and Lewis, J. 2003. Ethnic Inequalities in Quality of Life at Older Ages: Subjective and Objective Components. Research Findings: 11 from the Growing Older Programme. Available online at www.growingolder.group.shef.ac.uk/Nazroo_Findings_11.pdf [Accessed 5 October 2013].Google Scholar
Norman, A. 1985. Triple Jeopardy: Growing Old in a Second Homeland. Centre for Policy on Ageing, London.Google Scholar
Percival, J. (ed.) 2013. Return Migration in Later Life. Policy Press, Bristol, UK.Google Scholar
Phillips, M. and Phillips, J. 1998. Windrush: The Irresistible Rise of Multi-racial Britain. Harper Collins, London.Google Scholar
Phillipson, C. 2013. Ageing. Polity Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Phillipson, C., Ahmed, N. and Latimer, J. 2003. Women in Transition: First Generation Migrant Women from Bangladesh. Policy Press, Bristol, UK, 95112.Google Scholar
Portes, A. and Bach, R. 1985. Latin Journey: Cuban and Mexican Immigrants in the United States. University of California Press, Berkeley, California.Google Scholar
Storelli, E. and Williamson, J. 2013. Class, pensions and social security. In Formosa, M. and Higgs, P. (eds), Social Class in Later Life: Power, Identity and Lifestyle. Policy Press, Bristol, UK, 95112.Google Scholar
Torres, S. 2006. Culture, migration, inequality, and ‘periphery’ in a globalized world: challenges for ethno- and anthropogerontology. In Baars, J., Dannefer, D., Phillipson, C. and Walker, A. (eds), Aging, Globalization and Inequality: The New Gerontology. Baywood, Amityville, New York, 231–44.Google Scholar
Vertovec, S. 2001. Transnationalism and identity. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 27, 4, 573–82.Google Scholar
Victor, C., Martin, W. and Zubair, M. 2012. Families and caring among older people in South Asian communities in the UK. European Journal of Social Work, 15, 1, 8196.Google Scholar
Vullantari, J. and King, R. 2008. ‘Does your granny eat grass?’ On mass migration, care drain and the fate of older people in rural Albania. Global Networks, 8, 2, 139–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, A. and Deacon, B. 2003. Economic globalization and policies on ageing. Journal of Societal and Social Policy, 2, 2, 118.Google Scholar
Wray, S. and Bartholomew, M. 2006. Older African Caribbean women: the influence of migration on experiences of health and well-being in later life. Research Policy and Planning, 24, 2, 103–19.Google Scholar
Yeates, N. 2001. Globalisation and Social Policy. Sage, London.Google Scholar