Social and cultural change and later life
- Social and civic engagement
- Communities, families and inter-generational networks
- Arts, languages, cultures and ageing
- The history of ageing
This strand of MICRA’s work focuses on the social, political and cultural issues associated with ageing populations. Our research in this area includes:
Professor Jennifer Mason
Professor Mason is Co-Director of the Morgan Centre for the study of Relationships and Personal Life. Age and generation is a theme of her research which includes studies of grandparenting and of care and support in families. She also looks at inter-generational dynamics and older people, children's kin relationships and family resemblances across generations. All of her work takes either a qualitative or mixed methods approach, and seeks to understand the lived experience and real life dynamics of people's lives.
Professor Tim Parkin
Professor Parkin has published widely on social, cultural, demographic and legal aspects of the life course and the ancient family. Tim is interested in the way that historical aspects of ageing, for example about the status of older people in society and the role of the family in welfare provision, have influenced modern ideas and policies. His book Old Age in the Roman World (2003) brought together many of this interests and ideas about ageing in the classical Roman world.
Professor Chris Phillipson
Professor Phillipson is one of the co-directors of MICRA. He is especially interested in studying questions relating to family and community life in old age, problems of poverty and social exclusion, social theory and ageing, and the impact of globalisation on later life. Chris co-ordinates an ESRC funded international network examining the relationship between population ageing and urbanisation and is involved in a study with a variety of universities studying changes influencing the transition from work to retirement.