Generation As a Symbolic Category

Generation as a symbolic category

This session is concerned with how 'generationality', the discursive use of generational terminology, is implicated in ageing studies. It focuses upon four distinct ways in which this occurs, first in terms of demographics and the use of generation to refer to birth cohorts, second in terms of a cover for age groups, third in terms of lifestyle and cultural identity, and fourth in terms of 'pseudo-familiarity - the way generational terms like 'grandma', 'big brother' or 'auntie' are extended to address non-familial others. Rather than relying upon the Mannheimian model of generational units defined by 'cohort' and 'consciousness' the symposium intends to focus upon contemporary contestations surrounding the term.