Placing ethnicity at the centre of studies of later life: theoretical perspectives and empirical challenges

Abstract

Research on minority ethnic ageing remains a neglected area within mainstream race and ethnicity studies as well as that of social gerontology. This paper examines the background and reasons for this, arguing that a focus on minority ethnic issues provides a reminder of the complexity of the lifecourse, and of the diversity of ageing as a cultural, economic and social construction. The discussion reviews definitions of ethnicity and their relevance to work in social gerontology. The paper provides an account of early studies of minority ethnic ageing, identifying the strengths and limitations of this research. Later work is then considered, notably that focusing on issues connected with the rise of transnational communities and the changing character of neighbourhoods in urban environments. The paper argues that developing research on minority ethnic ageing has become especially important for understanding the impact of globalisation on re-defining communities, relationships and identities, within and beyond nation states. Globalisation, it is suggested, can be seen as a product of the movement of ethnic groups; equally, ethnic groups are themselves transformed by the possibilities created by global change. The paper concludes with a number of suggestions for embedding work on ethnicity within research in social gerontology.

Perspectives on ageing, later life and ethnicity: ageing research in ethnic minority contexts

“…They describe how the focus of social gerontology in relation to ethnic minority ageing remained concentrated until very recently on specific problem areas such as access to health-care facilities and needs assessments of ethnic minority older people, quality of life in old age, the relationships between informal and formal care services, the support needs and experiences of informal carers, and so on ( see Giuntoli and Cattan 2012 ; Lawrence et al 2008 ). Consideration of the wider aspects of the ageing experience among ethnic minorities, particularly over the lifecourse, on the other hand, has been paid very scant attention until very recently ( see also Phillipson 2015 ). Concomitantly, the body of literature falling within the mainstream of the field of race and ethnicity or focusing on migrant, ethnic minority, populations has until now, with a few rare exceptions ( see Gardner 2002 ; Qureshi 1998 ), failed to include issues of ageing and later life or to address the impact of potentially disadvantaged (or at least distinctive) racial and ethnic or minority locations on the ageing or later-life issues and experiences of ethnic minorities.…”

“…In the first of these contributions, Christopher Phillipson ( 2015 ) begins the discussion by providing the Ageing & Society readership with a critical overview of the documented history of ethnic minority ageing within the social gerontological research literature. He notes how ethnic minority ageing remains a neglected area within social gerontology.…”

“…This recent as well as further expected future growth in the number of older people from ethnic minority backgrounds calls for the need to recognise, uncover and understand the diverse and heterogeneous nature of old age and later life experiences and needs within these Western host countries ( see Manthorpe 2010 ; Victor, Martin and Zubair 2012 ; Vincent, Phillipson and Downs 2006 ). However, academic research which seeks to examine the experiences of ageing among ethnic minority older people, or even which pays attention to issues relating to ethnicity in old age more generally, remains scarce (Blakemore 1999 ; Blakemore and Boneham 1994 ; Phillipson 2015 ; Wray 2003 a ; see also Warnes et al 2004 ).…”

“…Moreover, this engagement needs to be understood not in the narrow sense of merely a greater inclusion and visibility of ethnic minority older people within ageing research. While such inclusion is undoubtedly important, there is also a need for focusing a more critical eye on the currently dominant research agendas, frameworks and trends with respect to ethnic minority ageing research, in terms of how ethnic minority ageing and older people are conceptualised, understood and represented within this smaller body of gerontological literature ( see Phillipson 2015 ; Torres 2015 ; Zubair and Victor 2015 ). This critical appraisal of the current research frameworks should involve identification of new ways of looking at and understanding ethnicity in older age.…”

Intersections between Ageing and Migration: Current Trends and Challenges

“…On one hand, the diversity of situations in the empirical reality is translated into multiple directions of research. On the other hand, as raised in the literature (Phillipson 2015;Torres 2015), a next step remains for research to focus on advancing the theoretical discussion of the migration-ageing nexus.…”