Generations of Gerontology: Aging,Continuity,and Change

Abstract

This prelude to the subsequent articles sets the stage for a discussion of the topic, “Generations of Gerontology: Aging, Continuity, and Change.” The authors define gerontology as a social system through which generations of gerontologists flow. As people move through this system, gerontology evidences both continuity and change in themes, theories, and methods. The broad sociocultural context within which gerontology exists reinforces, influences, and shapes the persistence of some aspects of gerontology while changing others. The subsequent articles deal with themes, theories, and methods. A fourth article provides a description of gerontology's sociocultural context, and encourages the development and use of our gerontological imagination. The concluding article attempts to synthesize the four other articles, and presents responses to the issues and challenges raised in those articles.