CfP: Simone de Beauvoir Studies – “Old Age in the Wake of Simone de Beauvoir”

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Call for Papers for a Special Issue of Simone de Beauvoir Studies, with guest editors Hans-Georg Eilenberger and Annemie Halsema.

Call for Papers
Special Issue “Old Age in the Wake of Simone de Beauvoir”
Simone de Beauvoir Studies, Vol. 33, no. 2
Guest Editors: Hans-Georg Eilenberger and Annemie Halsema
Deadline: February 1, 2022

Today older people find themselves at the centre of many dramatic developments, ranging from the COVID-19 crisis to the rethinking of the welfare state. The writings of Simone de Beauvoir provide a critical compass as we navigate this shifting landscape of images, opinions, and experiences. Half a century after the publication of her path-breaking treatise The Coming of Age, the editors invite scholars, writers, and activists to reflect on the meaning of “old age” today. Authors do not need to treat Beauvoir directly; they are encouraged to draw on diverse fields and to cross disciplinary boundaries. Completed papers that follow the SdBS “Instructions for Authors” should be submitted on-line at www.brill.com/sdbs. Articles that are not selected for this special issue may be considered for other issues of SdBS.

Suggested themes:
> Sense-making in the ageing process
> Phenomenologies of ageing
> Representations of older people in the media, literature, and pop culture
> Critical perspectives on healthy ageing and successful ageing
> Ageism and anti-ageism
> The intersections of age with race, class, and gender, and sexuality
> The relevance of The Coming of Age today
> Beauvoir’s own ageing in her biographical writings
> Politics of ageing
> Law, policy, and “old age”
> Geographies of ageing
> Ageing, biopower, and populations
> Biology and ageing
> Ageing, vulnerability, and resistance
> Ageing and food insecurity
> Cross-cultural conceptions of “old age”