Zubair Maria, Norris Meriel
School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Nottingham , UK . ; Centre for Dementia, Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham , UK .
College of Health and Life Sciences, Brunel University London , UK . ; Institute of Healthy Ageing, Brunel University London , UK .
Ageing Soc. 2015 May;35(5):897-916. doi: 10.1017/S0144686X14001536.
This special issue focuses broadly upon questions and themes relating to the current conceptualisations, representations and use of 'ethnicity' (and ethnic minority experiences) within the field of social gerontology. An important aim of this special issue is to explore and address the issue of 'otherness' within the predominant existing frameworks for researching those who are ageing or considered aged, compounded by the particular constructions of their ethnicity and ethnic 'difference'. The range of theoretical, methodological and empirical papers included in this collection provide some critical insights into particular facets of the current research agendas, cultural understandings and empirical focus of ethnic minority ageing research. The main emphasis is on highlighting the ways in which ethnic cultural homogeneity and 'otherness' is often assumed in research involving older people from ethnic minority backgrounds, and how wider societal inequalities are concomitantly (re)produced, within (and through) research itself - for example, based on narrowly defined research agendas and questions; the assumed age and/or ethnic differences of researchers their older research participants; the workings of the formalised ethical procedures and frameworks; and the conceptual and theoretical frameworks employed in the formulation of research questions and interpretation of data. We examine and challenge here the simplistic categorisations and distinctions often made in gerontological research based around research participants' ethnicity, age and ageing and assumed cultural differences. The papers presented in this collection reveal instead the actual complexity and fluidity of these concepts as well as the cultural dynamism and diversity of experiences within ethnic groups. Through an exploration of these issues, we address some of the gaps in existing knowledge and understandings as well as contribute to the newly emerging discussions surrounding the use of particular notions of ethnicity and ethnic minority ageing as these are being employed within the field of ageing studies.
本期特刊广泛关注社会老年学领域中与当前“种族”（以及少数族裔经历）的概念化、表征和使用相关的问题及主题。本期特刊的一个重要目标是，在现有的研究老龄化人群或被视为老年人的主流框架内，探讨并解决“他者性”问题，而其种族和种族“差异”的特定建构又使这一问题更加复杂。本论文集所收录的一系列理论、方法和实证研究论文，为当前少数族裔老龄化研究的议程、文化理解和实证重点的某些特定方面提供了批判性见解。主要重点在于突出在涉及少数族裔背景老年人的研究中，种族文化同质性和“他者性”是如何经常被假定的，以及更广泛的社会不平等是如何在研究本身内部（并通过研究）被同时（重新）制造出来的——例如，基于狭隘定义的研究议程和问题；研究者与其老年研究参与者之间假定的年龄和/或种族差异；形式化伦理程序和框架的运作；以及在研究问题的制定和数据解释中所采用的概念和理论框架。我们在此审视并质疑老年学研究中常常基于研究参与者的种族、年龄和老龄化以及假定的文化差异所做的简单分类和区分。相反，本论文集所呈现的论文揭示了这些概念实际的复杂性和流动性，以及族裔群体内部经历的文化活力和多样性。通过对这些问题的探讨，我们填补了现有知识和理解中的一些空白，并为围绕老龄化研究领域中使用特定种族概念和少数族裔老龄化概念的新出现的讨论做出贡献。
