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Race, Ethnicity, and Aging

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Handbook of Sociology of Aging

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Abstract

Sociologists recognize age and race as key dimensions of social reality, especially in the American context, with its heterogeneous population, turbulent race relations history, and rapidly changing age structure. As so-called “master variables,” age and race (along with sex) are regarded as statuses shaping and penetrating nearly every aspect of social life, including but not limited to economic opportunity and overall well-being (for reviews, see Leicht 2008; Mayer 2009; Riley and Riley 2000; Winant 2000). Sociologists who focus their research at the intersection of age and race sometimes struggle to define the “social” boundaries of these constructs, as independent from perspectives found in the biological, anthropological, and psychological sciences. Understanding how race and ethnic group status, along with the related issue of culture, shape the experience of aging itself remains an elusive but worthwhile goal.

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  1. Department of Gerontology, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA, USA

    Jan E. Mutchler

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  1. Human Development and Family Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, 97331-2302, Oregon, USA

    Richard A. Settersten

  2. Dept. Sociology, University of Texas, Austin, University Station 1, Austin, 78712, Texas, USA

    Jacqueline L. Angel

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Mutchler, J.E., Burr, J.A. (2011). Race, Ethnicity, and Aging. In: Settersten, R., Angel, J. (eds) Handbook of Sociology of Aging. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7374-0_6

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