Cultural Histories of Ageing: Myths, Plots and Metaphors of the Senescent Self : Routledge : 9780367769741 : 0367769743 : 13 May 2021 : "Drawing on 16th- to 21st-century American, British, French, German, Polish, Norwegian and Russian literature and philosophy, this collection teases out culturally specific conceptions of old age as well as subjective constructions of late-life identity and selfhood. The internationally known humanistic gerontologist Jan Baars, the prominent historian of old age David Troyansky, and the distinguished cultural historian and pioneer in the field of literature and science George Rousseau join a team of literary historians who trace out the interfaces between their chosen texts and the respective periods' medical and gerontological knowledge. The chapters' in-depth analyses of major and less known works demonstrate the rich potential of fiction, poetry and autobiographical writing in the construction of a cultural history of senescence. These literary exam