The longstanding relationship between Policy Press and the British Society of Gerontology has generated a body of knowledge that characterises the discipline of ageing, according to Professor Thomas Scharf, President of the BSG.
“What we have collectively created, by members of BSG and members of other gerontological societies around the world, forms the basis for future generations of researchers in ageing. These become important reference texts as thinking evolves. This is why I’m still comfortable referring my doctoral students back to books that were published [by Policy Press] in 2006/2007. Even though the debates move on, the core ideas remain just as important now as they were when the texts were written.”
While the first formalisation of the BSG publishing ‘in association with’ Policy Press occurred in 2017 with the publication of the Ageing in a Global Context series, the relationship between the two organisations stretches back more than 15 years. Members of the BSG have been publishing with Policy Press since the inception of the gerontology list and there have been a number of joint ventures with the BSG, including the Ageing and the Lifecourse series, edited by Judith Philips, which first published in 2007.
“Ageing and the Lifecourse was an excellent series, profiling the work of social gerontology. There are some landmark books in that series that are still important today, such as Critical Perspectives on Ageing Societies,” says Professor Scharf.
“It contains excellent chapters within it that I still recommend to my doctoral and masters students. It answers questions about why you would start to study ageing, why you would stay with it, with chapters from key contributors like Peter Townsend, Martha Holstein and Meredith Minkler, people who are well known in the field.”
The shared values between the BSG and Policy Press – around making a positive contribution, being impactful, and pursuing an engaged form of scholarship – have all been fundamental in creating a strong, positive relationship. However, the connection is also a more personal one, as Professor Scharf explains:
“The consistency of the staff at Policy Press over time has really helped. Having Alison Shaw as a fantastic leader whom we all know, who came to our conferences, who talked to us about our ideas and shared many of our values and concerns, made working together a very natural fit for us. Here’s a publisher who comes to our conferences – we can talk to them, they’re here from one year to the next. We can develop ideas together in partnership. That’s what ultimately fed into the Ageing in a Global Context series.”
Building a series creates a platform to showcase cutting-edge, pioneering research. Within Ageing and the Lifecourse, Rural Ageing, edited by Norah Keating, was one such book, says Professor Scharf:
“Though there have been many books on the subject since, it was the first of its type. It outlined the field and the contributions made by different perspectives to studying rural issues and ageing.”
Over the years, other more discrete bodies of work have been compiled, such as the four books published within the New Dynamics of Ageing series. These books were linked to projects funded by five UK Research Councils’ New Dynamics of Ageing Programme and emphasised interdisciplinary approaches to studying ageing, drawing in psychology and environmental and engineering sciences.
The latest series, Ageing in a Global Context, includes landmark books for single authors.
“This is a chance to take stock of important developments in a field of study that goes back 30, 40, 50 years,” says Scharf. “I’m thinking here particularly of the book The Environments of Ageing, authored by a very distinguished colleague Sheila Peace who has been pioneering this particular area of work. This book charts new developments, as well as reflecting on things we’ve known in the past, and then forgotten, that then have become important again, in different ways with different language but still relevant.”
As Scharf is quick to admit, gerontology has been dominated since its origins by researchers from the Global North. One of the important developments within the discipline is now around globalisation and thinking beyond the UK and European contexts.
“Quite a shift over the last 15 years has been to acknowledge the impact of globalisation on the study of ageing in later life. A number of books on the list reflect on global issues in relation to ageing in Sub-Saharan Africa or the Indian sub-continent or questions around migration.”
Among a raft of new themes emerging are questions around intimacy in later life, looking at ways in which personal intimate social relationships have evolved, and include topics like dating in your 60s and 70s.
While gerontology has always been interested in inequalities in later life, there have been new theoretical developments, such as the more recent focus on precarity as an idea.
“Gerontology has changed, with a greater emphasis now on theory rather than simply focusing on empirical types of studies. That includes thinking about theories that underpin inequalities and, of course, thinking from a more intersectional perspective – that’s another major changed from the last 10–15 years.”
Technologies and connecting digitalisation to trends in ageing is another big shift that is increasingly core to a lot of research.
“In developing work around ageing and digital technologies you’re talking with people with backgrounds in sociology, but also with people who have a background perhaps in human computer interaction or in design as a disciplinary field, so you get these very interesting conversations.”
As ageing intersects with every aspect of life, one of the continued appeals to working in gerontology is the creative freedom to work across different disciplinary fields and engage with scholars with very different backgrounds.
“This is also where there’s an advantage to having a series; you can cast your net really widely to see who’s doing work on important topics, pushing the discipline into new and increasingly important areas. For example, we’ve yet to come upon people doing work on age and climate justice and climate change. There’s growing recognition of the way in which these ideas are connected and locating researchers who are on top of both fields is a necessary challenge for us to tackle as the issues are clear and pressing.”
As Professor Scharf says, there’s still plenty of work to be done. 2021–2030 has been identified by the UN as the Decade of Healthy Ageing and the body of research that has been built over the years clearly establishes what needs to be done to respond to the challenges of ageing at an individual and global level. Continuing to work with Policy Press, continuing to develop that essential foundation of reference texts while pushing forward into new areas, stretching and connecting with other disciplines, locations and organisations is a crucial contribution the BSG and its members are making towards a future in which this knowledge can be mobilised into action for positive change.
Thomas Scharf is Professor of Social Gerontology at Newcastle University and Past-President of the British Society of Gerontology.
Rebecca Megson-Smith is a writer and writing coach, founder of Ridley Writes.
Notes:
The British Society of Gerontology was established in 1971. It provides a multidisciplinary forum for researchers and other individuals interested in the situations of older people, and in how knowledge about ageing and later life can be enhanced and improved.
Find out more about Policy Press book and journals in Ageing and Gerontology on our website.