... tools to understanding the power dynamics of older people and modern society. Design/methodology/approach The paper is an overview of the key issues that have been found by theories introduced throughout the special edition. It attempts to look ahead to seeing how social theory and ageing will need...

...Jason Powell; Jon Hendricks; Jon Hendricks; Jason L. Powell Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contextualise the need for a social theory of ageing. For a long time, social gerontology has been accused of being “data rich but theory poor”. The paper reviews this and maps out the importance...

...Jason L. Powell; Tony Gilbert Purpose Using the distinction between “private problems” and “public issues” derived from Mill's “sociological imagination”, this paper aims to assess how diverse social theory approaches problematise and define the ways in which social life is shaped and organised...