Old Age in African Literary and Cultural Contexts

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Old Age in African Literary and Cultural Contexts is written by Pepetual Mforbe Chiangong and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 1527571157 (ISBN 10) and 9781527571150 (ISBN 13).

Through a wide range of indigenous, postcolonial, gender and racial lenses, African writers have provided perspectives on various aspects of old age in the context of African literatures and cultures. This book illustrates how African literary and linguistic representations, ranging from short stories, novels and film to drama and theatre, give expression to ideas about old age. The perspectives offered here provide essential knowledge in understanding the uses of dichotomous age-related categories, such as old-young, elderly male-elderly female, and foreign-indigenous, which generally result in prejudice. Using ageism as its central theme, the contributions draw attention to the ambiguity associated with elderly people in African society who are often highly venerated for their wisdom, but also stereotyped because of their advanced age. However, as the book demonstrates, old age is also deeply valorised in some traditional African contexts, where older adults are regarded as indispensable members of society. It will be of particular interest to scholars, researchers, and students of African studies, applied theatre studies, gerontology, postcolonialism, sociolinguistics, sociology and anthropology.