Folklore, Culture, and Aging: A Research Guide (Bibliographies and Indexes in Gerontology)

A resource guide by and about elders and the process of aging, this volume provides a list of over 1,500 references, all annotated, covering a wide range of subject areas. It is organized under such topics as Customs and Beliefs, Narratives, Traditional Arts, Health and Healing, and Applied Folklore, and is further divided into regional and topical subheadings. It also features works on methods and concepts in field research in folklore, oral history, and community studies, a chapter on general works from other fields of interest, as well as a chapter on films. The introduction offers not only a description of the nature and role of elders as creators and carriers of culture, but also a challenge to readers—reflected in the broad range of materials cited—defying both narrow conceptions of aging and the aged, and limited notions about the full scope of expressive culture addressed by folklore studies.