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A Foucauldian Analysis of Old Age and the Power of Social Welfare

Bibliographic Data

ID23315764
AuthorsSimon Bigg (0000-0002-2808-8134, Keele University), Simon Biggs (0000-0002-8941-1222), Jamie L Powell (0000-0002-9828-0877, Liverpool John Moores University), Jason L Powell
Year2001
Volume12
Issue2
Pages93-112
Publication date2001-03-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Aging & Social Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0895-9420 • E-ISSN: 1545-0821
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1300/j031v12n02_06
PMID11303369
OpenAlexW2118691360
LanguageEN
Citations received59
References cited42

It is argued that the question of social welfare is a key, if often overlooked, component in the construction of power relations and identities in later life that can take its place next to debates on bioethics and consumer lifestyle. Foucault's (1977) claim, that identities are kept in place through the deployment of integrated systems of power and knowledge and a routine operation of surveillance and assessment, is critically examined in this context. Trends in social welfare in the United Kingdom are used as a case example that sheds light on wider contemporary issues associated with old age. Finally, implications for the creation of particular narratives about later life are discussed and grounded through Foucault's (1988) notion of "technologies of self."

Bioethics · Context (archaeology) · Key (lock) · Narrative · Political science · Power (physics) · Social Welfare · Sociology · Software deployment · Welfare · Aging and Gerontology Research · Healthcare innovation and challenges · History · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Law

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Unique citing works59
Citations per year2,36
Citation span2001 - 2025 (25)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 54
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