C.SAS Books

Aging Studies in Europe. Volume 2:

Never Get Old? Celebrity, Aging & Society

Edited by Roland Reiter & John A Stotesbury

According to Roland Barthes, myths are socially constructed phenomena representing the worldview of the dominant class. These myths are represented as a “matter of course” in the texts of popular culture and contain socially accepted concepts of gender, values, and age.

On the one hand, the projection and media representation of aging popular culture stars or biologically aged stars reflect the view of “age” in society; on the other hand, they contribute to the development and change of the concept of age accepted by a mass of people. Consequently, the projection of aging stars and the values connected with these representations interact with society and serve as indicators and projectors of dominant ideologies and values. The analyses of such portrayals enable the identification of current ideologies and trends connected with the societal meaning of age.

The editors are looking for papers that focus on a range of questions, including (but not limited to) the following: What meanings are attached to age and aging in various genres of popular culture? How do popular culture texts and the values connected with these representations interact with society and serve as indicators and projectors of dominant ideologies and values? How does aging shape identity constructions in pop culture? What genres and/or texts undermine the dominant representation of age?

Please send a 300-word abstract to the Center for the Study of the Americas (University of Graz) at roland.reiter@uni-graz.at by June 30, 2008.