Representations of Ageing in Contemporary Zimbabwe: A Gerontological Reading of NoViolet Bulawayo's (2013) We Need New Names.

IF 1.3 Q3 GERONTOLOGY Journal of Population Ageing Pub Date : 2023-04-10 DOI:10.1007/s12062-023-09418-5
Chipo Hungwe, Elda Hungwe, Zvenyika Eckson Mugari
{"title":"Representations of Ageing in Contemporary Zimbabwe: A Gerontological Reading of NoViolet Bulawayo's (2013) We Need New Names.","authors":"Chipo Hungwe,&nbsp;Elda Hungwe,&nbsp;Zvenyika Eckson Mugari","doi":"10.1007/s12062-023-09418-5","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While many studies have interrogated the novel <i>We Need New Names</i>, on topics such as citizenship, migration, and transnationalism, there is still much more that readers can learn through interrogating the author's depiction of older adults' experiences of ageing in place, ageism, healthy ageing and intergenerational relationships in Post-colonial Zimbabwe. It is argued that in so far as ageing is concerned, the novel presents a very grim picture of older adults caught up and responding to the circumstances of a country in the throes of a deep social, political and economic crisis. Urban poverty is portrayed as a real challenge affecting Zimbabweans and so are the weak social bonds that connect the younger and older generations. Social gerontologists stand to benefit from studying this novel which clearly depicts the challenges of migration, urban renewal and development projects, and poverty on the most vulnerable of all populations - the older adults. The novel portrays the Zimbabwean economic crisis as not just an isolated phenomenon, but one of the processes of globalization, which creates opportunities, and improves people's lives while at the same time destabilizing the lives of older adults by not only severing connections with the younger generations but also with the departed ancestors in the hereafter. The novel provides an important contribution to our understanding of ageing issues in Zimbabwe as it goes against the grain by giving voice and space to older adults who are often ignored by mainstream media.</p>","PeriodicalId":45874,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Population Ageing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10088755/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Population Ageing","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-023-09418-5","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"GERONTOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

While many studies have interrogated the novel We Need New Names, on topics such as citizenship, migration, and transnationalism, there is still much more that readers can learn through interrogating the author's depiction of older adults' experiences of ageing in place, ageism, healthy ageing and intergenerational relationships in Post-colonial Zimbabwe. It is argued that in so far as ageing is concerned, the novel presents a very grim picture of older adults caught up and responding to the circumstances of a country in the throes of a deep social, political and economic crisis. Urban poverty is portrayed as a real challenge affecting Zimbabweans and so are the weak social bonds that connect the younger and older generations. Social gerontologists stand to benefit from studying this novel which clearly depicts the challenges of migration, urban renewal and development projects, and poverty on the most vulnerable of all populations - the older adults. The novel portrays the Zimbabwean economic crisis as not just an isolated phenomenon, but one of the processes of globalization, which creates opportunities, and improves people's lives while at the same time destabilizing the lives of older adults by not only severing connections with the younger generations but also with the departed ancestors in the hereafter. The novel provides an important contribution to our understanding of ageing issues in Zimbabwe as it goes against the grain by giving voice and space to older adults who are often ignored by mainstream media.

查看原文
分享 分享
微信好友 朋友圈 QQ好友 复制链接
本刊更多论文
当代津巴布韦老龄化的表征:对诺维奥莱特·布拉瓦约(2013)《我们需要新名字》的本体论解读。
尽管许多研究都在公民身份、移民和跨民族主义等主题上对小说《我们需要新名字》进行了质疑,但读者可以通过质疑作者对老年人在后殖民地津巴布韦的就地老龄化、年龄歧视、健康老龄化和代际关系的描述了解到更多。有人认为,就老龄化而言,这部小说描绘了一幅非常严峻的画面,老年人被一个深陷社会、政治和经济危机的国家所包围,并对其环境做出反应。城市贫困被描述为影响津巴布韦人的一个真正挑战,连接年轻一代和老年一代的脆弱社会纽带也是如此。社会老年病学家将从研究这本小说中受益,这本小说清楚地描绘了移民、城市更新和发展项目以及贫困对所有人口中最弱势群体——老年人——的挑战。这部小说将津巴布韦的经济危机描述为一种孤立的现象,也是全球化进程之一,全球化创造了机会,改善了人们的生活,同时不仅切断了与年轻一代的联系,还切断了与逝去祖先的联系,从而破坏了老年人的生活。这部小说为我们理解津巴布韦的老龄化问题做出了重要贡献,因为它为经常被主流媒体忽视的老年人提供了发言权和空间,这与粮食背道而驰。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 去求助
来源期刊
CiteScore
3.80
自引率
5.00%
发文量
45
期刊介绍: The Journal of Population Ageing examines the broad questions arising from global population ageing. It provides a forum for international cross-disciplinary debate on population ageing, focusing on theoretical and empirical research and methodological innovation and development. This interdisciplinary journal publishes editorials, original peer reviewed articles, and subject and literature reviews. It offers high quality research of interest to those working in the fields of demography, bio-demography, development studies, area studies, sociology, geography, history, social gerontology, economics, and social and health policy.
期刊最新文献
Health Outcomes of Elder Orphans: An Umbrella and Scoping Review of the Literature. Precariousness as Form of Vulnerability Ageing in Mexico National and Subnational Projection of Living Arrangements Pattern of Indian Elderly: Application of Net Transition Probability Macrosimulation Models Voices Unheard: Navigating the Disempowerment of Older Adults in Family Dynamics in Kashmir (India) Explaining Socioeconomic Inequality in Psychological Well-being among Older People: A Comparison between Vietnam and Myanmar
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
现在去查看 取消
×
提示
确定
0
微信
客服QQ
Book学术公众号 扫码关注我们
反馈
×
意见反馈
请填写您的意见或建议
请填写您的手机或邮箱
已复制链接
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
×
扫码分享
扫码分享
Book学术官方微信
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术
文献互助 智能选刊 最新文献 互助须知 联系我们:info@booksci.cn
Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。
Copyright © 2023 Book学术 All rights reserved.
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号 京ICP备2023020795号-1