Crossing Frontiers: Gerontology Emerges as a Science

W. Andrew Achenbaum

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511666803

Although philosophers, physicians, and others have long pondered the meanings and experiences of growing older, gerontology did not emerge as a scientific field of inquiry in the United States until the twentieth century. The study of aging borrows from a variety of other disciplines, including medicine, psychology, sociology and anthropology, but its own scientific basis is still developing. Despite dozens of aging-related journals, and a notable increase in state, regional, national and international networks, there are no widely shared techniques or distinctive methods. Theories of aging remain partial and tentative. By tracing intellectual networks and analyzing institutional patterns, Crossing Frontiers shows how old age became a 'problem' worth investigating and how a multidisciplinary orientation took shape. Gerontology is a marginal intellectual enterprise but its very strengths and weaknesses illuminate the politics of specialization and academic turf-fighting in U.S. higher education.

"...[a] perceptive, beautifully written and superbly organized history of American gerontology..." London Review of Books

"Heavily footnoted, well researched, and scholarly, this book is the first to trace the history of gerentology from its roots in 19th-century physiology to today's highly competitive research centers." Library Journal

"Crossing Frontiers is an excellent, thorough, and richly documented history of gerontology." American Journal of Sociology

"I recommend Crossing Frontiers as worthwhile reading for anyone interested in gerontology today....any physician interested in the broader issues of aging will benefit from reading this book." David H. Solomon, MD, JAMA

"Crossing Fronteirs...presents a cognent history of gerontology as a scientific field; it offers a prescription for the future..." Journal of American History

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Crossing Frontiers

Gerontology Emerges as a Science

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-vi

Contents
pp vii-viii

Acknowledgments
pp ix-xi

Abbreviations
pp xii-xiv

Introduction
pp 1-20

Part I - Old age becomes a “problem” worth investigating scientifically
pp 21-22

1 - Surveying the frontiers of aging
pp 23-51

2 - Setting boundaries for disciplined discoveries
pp 52-84

3 - Establishing outposts for multidisciplinary research on aging
pp 85-118

Part II - Gerontology takes shape in the era of Big Science
pp 119-124

4 - Organizing the Gerontological Society to promote interdisciplinary research amid disciplinary and professional constrictions
pp 125-156

5 - Risk taking in the modern research university and the fate of multidisciplinary institutes on aging
pp 157-186

6 - The federal government as sponsor, producer, and consumer of research on aging
pp 187-218

7 - Gerontology in the service of America's aging veterans
pp 219-250

Conclusion
pp 251-268

Index
pp 269-278

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Crossing Frontiers

Gerontology Emerges as a Science

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