Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorSmith, Gabriella V.
dc.contributor.authorEkerdt, David J.
dc.date.accessioned2017-06-28T20:44:32Z
dc.date.available2017-06-28T20:44:32Z
dc.date.issued2011-08-01
dc.identifier.citationSmith, G. V. and Ekerdt, D. J. (2011), Confronting the Material Convoy in Later Life*. Sociological Inquiry, 81: 377–391. doi:10.1111/j.1475-682X.2011.00378.xen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1808/24694
dc.descriptionThis is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Smith, G. V. and Ekerdt, D. J. (2011), Confronting the Material Convoy in Later Life*. Sociological Inquiry, 81: 377–391. doi:10.1111/j.1475-682X.2011.00378.x, which has been published in final form at http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682X.2011.00378.x. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.en_US
dc.description.abstractWe adapt a metaphor from life course studies to designate the whole of one’s possessions, across time, as a convoy of material support. This dynamic collection of things supports daily life and the self, but it can also present difficulty in later life. To alleviate the purported burdens of the material convoy, a discourse has arisen that urges elders and their family members to reduce the volume of possessions. An analysis of 11 such possession management texts shows authors addressing two distinct audiences about elders’ need to downsize: family members and elders themselves. Authors who speak to family members do so with an urgent, unsentimental tone that echoes mainstream clutter-control advice about disorderly, overfull households. In texts for elders, the standard critique about consumption and unruly lives is gentler, more sensitive to the meaning of things, and underplays the emotions of divestment. There is stress on the responsibility to spare the next generation and control one’s legacy. These latter texts seem to respect that downsizing in later life symbolizes a narrowing of the life world.en_US
dc.publisherWileyen_US
dc.subjectAgingen_US
dc.subjectLife courseen_US
dc.subjectFamilyen_US
dc.subjectConsumptionen_US
dc.titleConfronting the Material Convoy in Later Lifeen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
kusw.kuauthorSmith, Gabriella V.
kusw.kuauthorEkerdt, David J.
kusw.kudepartmentSociologyen_US
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/j.1475-682X.2011.00378.xen_US
kusw.oaversionScholarly/refereed, author accepted manuscripten_US
kusw.oapolicyThis item meets KU Open Access policy criteria.en_US
dc.identifier.pmidPMC3148717en_US
dc.rights.accessrightsopenAccess


Files in this item

Thumbnail

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record