Abstract
This article reexamines the concept of gerotranscendence in the light of anthropological findings. Particular social patterns in a nursing home reveal a unique reality communal to its tenants. The author assumes that the tenants' spontaneous patterns of social gathering construct a collective death consciousness which is spiritual in its nature. Tornstam's term “another paradigm” seems suitable not only for a developmental shift in old age but also for the situational shift in the daily life of the subjects. Anthropological concepts, as well as contextual and inter-subjective parameters, join to indicate that some gerotranscendence dimensions are experienced in what the author terms as “sitting” and “giving” episodes.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 105-114 |
| Journal | Journal of aging and identity |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| State | Published - 2001 |