Overview

What does later life look like when it is lived in the companionship of other species? Similarly, how do other species age (or not) with humans, and what sort of (a)symmetries, if any, are brought to light around how we understand and think about aging? So far, aging has been investigated in the social sciences in purely human terms. This is the first collection of original work that considers aging as taking place in relation to other species. This volume aims to start a conversation about aging by taking its more-than-human participants seriously—that is, not only as a support for or context of human aging but also, more symmetrically, as agents and subjects in the process of aging. The contributors draw upon richly descriptive ethnographic accounts, including moments of connection between seniors and dogs in a long-term care facility, human care for aging laboratory animals, and robotic companionship in later life. The ethnographies in this volume not only enrich our understanding of more-than-human companionship during the human aging process but also challenge and urge us to rethink what it means to live later in life in ecologically entangled social and moral worlds.

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9781978840935

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Reviews

"""This innovative anthology is a must-read for anyone related to the aging process. It covers the field from robot companionship to that of animals in literature. The well-documented chapters by scholars from various disciplines and parts of the world nicely portray the fictive kin relationship of animals to humans. Reciprocity is alive and well with animal-human interactions.""--George E. Dickinson ""coauthor of Understanding Dying, Death, and Bereavement"""

"""From the companion species and robotic seals found in care homes to the never-aging and sacrificial animals populating laboratories, the contributors to More-than-Human Aging make the compelling demand that our understandings of aging reach beyond humanity. A timely and important contribution."" -- Gregory Hollin, * Wellcome Trust research fellow, University of Sheffield * ""This innovative anthology is a must-read for anyone related to the aging process. It covers the field from robot companionship to that of animals in literature. The well-documented chapters by scholars from various disciplines and parts of the world nicely portray the fictive kin relationship of animals to humans. Reciprocity is alive and well with animal-human interactions."" -- George E. Dickinson, * co-author of Understanding Dying, Death, and Bereavement * ""A fascinating collection that moves, breaks down, and redefines the boundary lines between the aging humans and a dense world of more-than-human agents. Equally provocative and playful, this collection embraces fresh concepts and methodologies that propel our capacity to imagine worlds of aging and care that extend and entangle with others. A unique and groundbreaking book that deserves to be read widely across aging studies, and will no doubt animate many discussions and debates for years to come."" -- Jason Danely, * author of Fragile Resonance: Caring for Older Family Members in Japan and England *"

Author Information

CRISTINA DOUGLAS is a medical anthropologist and a PhD candidate in social/medical anthropology at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.  ANDREW WHITEHOUSE is a lecturer in anthropology at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. He is a coeditor of Landscapes beyond Land: Routes, Aesthetics, Narratives. JAY SOKOLOVSKY is a professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. He is the editor of The Cultural Context of Aging, 4th edition, and author of Indigenous Mexico Engages the 21st Century: A Multimedia-Enabled Text. SUSAN McHUGH is a professor of English at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine. She is the author of Love in a Time of Slaughters: Human-Animal Stories against Extinction and Genocide and Animal Stories: Narrating across Species Lines.

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