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Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to lay the foundations for the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings that have guided this research process. Crotty’s (1998) recognition of the relationship between epistemology and ontology, as one informs the other, recognises the interconnectedness of the way in which meaning is constructed and, further, socially produced. This chapter puts forth the philosophical underpinnings and theoretical foundations of this research as interrelated. Moreover, the theoretical influences established in this research and thesis draw upon a relational field of enquiry in which feminism and social constructionism are navigated within a transnational life course position that aims to provide a framework for “descriptive and explanatory research” (Merton, 1968: cited in Elder et al., 2003, p.3).
This chapter therefore draws attention to and constructs the theoretical influences of this research and thesis as positioned within an intersectional, constructionist foundation that aims to examine the relationship of age and transnational intersections within the global (homeland) and local (UK) contexts that they are constructed within and influenced by. The chapter is divided into four sections. The first section positions this research within ‘Theoretical Orientations of the Life Course’ and the second locates the research within the standpoint of ‘Social Constructionism: The Theory of Social Realities’. The third section critically examines and applies Black feminist, transnational feminism and feminist social gerontology positions in this research. The final section concludes with an overall summary of the positions I have taken and lays out the theoretical framework (see Table 1) for this research and thesis.
Theoretical Orientations of the Life Course
The theoretical influences of the life course (Elder et al., 2003) aim to explore how older SAM women construct and negotiate age and ageing experiences across various periods of the life course and, further, how these contexts and positions place influence on old age and ageing through (re)negotiations in later life. Mills (1959: cited in Elder et al., 2003, p.4) suggests life course is a position intended to encompass:
[…] the study of biography, of history, and of the problems of their intersection within social structure.
Taking note of Mills’ suggestion of biography, history and intersections, a life course approach taken in this research and thesis examines themes encompassing older
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SAM women’s sociocultural pathways of age and ageing across the life course. Theoretical insights aim to address the multiple intersections older SAM women are constructed within but, additionally, the ways in which they collaborate within and across these intersections (Cho, Crenshaw and McCall, 2013).
Cho et al. (2013) add that it is the collaboration of intersections rather than their unity that is of importance. This approach therefore draws attention to older SAM women’s intersections of gender, age and ethnicity (including culture, status and religion and, further, historical, social and regional contexts) and their collaborative influences on the way in which older SAM women have anticipated and approached old age. A life course approach consequently aims to encourage understandings of age that remain subjective yet highlight social, regional and historic contexts that shape, construct and influence shared understandings within their transnational frameworks (see also
Chapter One).
Elder’s (1974; 1994) work on the life course has been seminal in ageing research, providing valuable theoretical insights into behavioural continuity and change from early socialisations into adulthood and later life. Life course theory was undoubtedly slow to develop and has only more recently established itself within social ageing research (see Elder et al., 2003). Initial criticisms with life course theory were with regard to where life course sits within ageing research when compared to explanations for life-stages and the life span (biological, age-grades and stages etc.). However, the emphasis on social trajectories and historical contexts of age related patterns questioned ideologies of the life course that focussed on continuity and change (Colby, 1998). The advantages of the life course approach have been highlighted in the dynamic ways in which it accounts for the numerous social structures that influence age, and the ways in which the trajectory of personal lives can be explored within the context of economic, political and cultural dynamics (Giele and Elder, 1998).
Furthermore, the nuances of various stages across the life course (Colby, 1998) are recognised by Dannefer and Kelley-Moore (2009, p.390) who explain the principles of the life course:
The first principles concern the nature of the (a) human individual and (b) the social dynamics within which human lives are embedded. The special significance of the dynamics of social interaction and structure are anchored in
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the unique physiological and developmental characteristics of humans and also the asymmetrical dynamics of structure and agency.
Dannefer and Kelley-Moore suggest the foundations of the life course identify the individual and society as not separate influences but interrelated, arguing for the importance of structure and agency within these relations. This research and thesis therefore positions itself within Giele and Elder’s (1998) life course framework, which links the individual within their social structure and how this plays out across the life course (see Figure 1, p.78). Giele and Elder’s (1998) life course approach links four
elements of the life course (human agency, location in time and place, linked lives and timing). These intersections are used to position older SAM women’s life course experiences through their experiences across the intersections of gender, age and ethnicity.
The four elements of Giele and Elder’s life course approach recognise the ways in which the life course is intrinsically linked and places influence on and across overlapping positions. “Location in time and place” (1998, p.11) locates older SAM women in this research within transnational positions across global and local contexts. The second element, “linked lives” (ibid), draws attention to social actions and relationships and the third, “human agency” (ibid.), situates (re)negotiations of agency across different life course positions. The fourth and final element, “timing of lives” (ibid.), considers sociocultural expectations of age stages, experiences and events.
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Figure 1. Four key elements of the life course paradigm (Giele and Elder, 1998, p.11)
Culture, Age and the Life Course: Situating Ethnography Cruikshank (2013, p.ix) critically examines age and critiques:
Ageing […] is shaped by culture more than biology, more beliefs, customs, and traditions than by bodily changes. In other words, it is socially constructed. Cruikshank argues that culture is at the forefront of determining ageing experiences and plays a key role in the way in which age is constructed and interpreted. Therefore, understanding the way in which cultural diversity presents itself in ageing experiences is essential in terms of understanding how older SAM women have aged and the meanings they attach to old age and ageing. Moreover, the social structures individuals are attached to are not necessarily chosen by the individual and can be situated by birth through the ethnic, cultural, religious and economic positioning of the parent or family unit the child is socialised within (Giddens, 2009). The complexities of ageing within these social structures construct expected roles, relationships and behaviours that are fluid and changeable across the ageing life course (Phillips,
Development of the Individual HUMAN AGENCY
Social Relations LINKED LIVES
History and Culture LOCATION IN TIME
AND PLACE