The November issue of A&A gathers contributions on the themes of aging and technology, but as the wording “Aging the Technoscape” suggests, the issue is not simply about how older people use technologies or how new technology will change the future of aging. After all, there is already quite a lot of that around. Last week, San Francisco hosted the “Aging 2.0 Agetech Expo” (Nov 19-20) featuring the latest innovations from dozens of companies in various areas of care technology. Companies like Google’s Calico, Amazon’s 126 Lab, and Panasonic are all investing in technology that will be used by older adults. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced last year a “Robot Revolution” in Japan, with unprecedented spending on elder care robotics (about
₤14.3 billion). As new genetic and stem cell technology is changing the way we look at birth, life-extending and monitoring technologies are changing the future of aging.
But aging the technoscape (or ‘aging’ anything else for that matter) is not only about imagining new futures. It is also about rethinking our present-day world with a close attention to the fundamental role of age, generation, and the life course.
Since the technoscape is often assumed to be a world that privileges youth, aging the technoscape means questioning assumptions about generational barriers and about old age in particular. Aging the technoscape also has another purpose: in rethinking the way age influences how we develop and use technology, we are also compelled to ask new questions about the technoscape itself, questioning the values and norms it seems to support and circulate. As technology changes aging, aging is changing how we create and use technology.
Each of the contributions to this issue take up this idea from slightly different perspectives, contributing to our theoretical frameworks and responding to practical concerns. The technoscape puts anthropologists and gerontologists in touch with designers, engineers, and community stakeholders; it helps us consider the material worlds older people and carers inhabit; and it invites us to imagine futures where technology can be playful, empowering, and a catalyst for new forms of social connectivity and personal expression. We hope that the content helps to inspire more discussion on aging and technology from the classrooms to the care home.
Jason Danely, Editor
Contents Vol. 36 no.2
Commentary and Research Reports
Editor’s Commentary on special issue
Jason Danely 110-111
Towards a Gerontoludic Manifesto
Bob De Schutter & Vero Vanden Abeele 112-120
Responses by Robert Rubinstein, Michael Brazda, Caitrin Lynch and Maruta Vitols 121-126
Designing for Aging: Perspectives on Technology, Older Adults, and Educating Engineers
Caitrin Lynch 127-134
Embedding Engineers in Care Homes when Researching New Technologies
Greet Baldewijns, Tom Croonenborghs, & Bart Vanrumste 135-144
Articles
Multivalent moves in senior home care: From surveillance to care-valence
Peter A. Lutz 145-163
Societal Participation of the Elderly: Information and Communication Technologies as a “Social Junction”
Peter Biniok & Iris Menke 164-180
Conceptual Frameworks and Practical Applications to Connect Generations in the Technoscape
Matthew Kaplan, Mariano Sánchez, & Leah Bradley 181-205
Portfolio
Longing Glances: Photographs from the Far from Home series
Bes Young 206-211
Book Reviews (go to general table of contents and select individual pdfs)
Aging, the Individual, and Society, 10th Edition (S. Hillier & G. M. Barrow)
Rachel S. Reed 212-213
Aging in Rural Places: Policies, Programs, and Pro-fessional Practice (K. M. Hash & J.A. Krout, eds.)
T. Thao Pham 214-215
Aging, Corporeality and Embodiment (C. Gilleard, P. Higgs)
Arantza Begueria 216-217
Aging Bones: A Short History of Osteoporosis (G. Grob )
Matthew J. Kesterke 218-219
Aging, Media, and Culture (C.L. Harrington, D.D. Bielby & A.R. Bardo, eds.)
Ruth N. Grendell 220-221
What Older Americans Think: Interest Groups and Aging Policy (C.L. Day)
Jennifer A. Wagner 222-223
Unforgotten: Love and the Culture of Dementia Care in India (B. Brijnath)
Nirmala Jayaraman 224-225
Anthropology & Aging is continuously reviewing submissions. If you would like to receive updates when we announce calls, register free at our website. You may also register as an author or reviewer at the same time.
If you have any questions regarding the journal, please contact us: journal@jeans13.sg-host.com
