The notions of transitions and the lifecourse are overdue for a critical analysis with regard to the study of ageing and late life. While the study of transitions and the lifecourse have made considerable contributions to social gerontology (Elder, 1974, 1982; Hareven, 1978a, 1978b; Rossi, 1980; Hareven and Adams, 1982; Cohen, 1987; Antonucci et al, 1996; Phillipson, 2004), the perspectives taken have resulted in a relatively defined approach to the study of the lifecourse that tends to remain unquestioned. This is particularly the case where fixed cohorts, age- and stage- based assumptions, and accompanying normative expectations are concerned. Reconsidering what has become taken for granted in relation to the lifecourse requires theoretical and methodological schemes capable of integrating varying interpretations and practices. An approach that draws attention to socio-cultural relations and constructions of ageing, combined with subjective interpretations from diverse social locations, can provide a fresh perspective from which to reconsider transitions as they relate to ageing and late life. Drawing on a critical perspective as such highlights the constructed nature of the lifecourse, and the models and expectations within which people age, as well as the strategies used to negotiate transition and life in general.

This chapter outlines the theoretical underpinnings and the analytic foundations of the critical approach taken throughout this book. To do so, it explores critical approaches to the study of ageing and the lifecourse perspective, reviewing each separately in order to highlight strengths and shortcomings. First, it provides an overview of critical gerontology and critical perspectives to the study of ageing and late life that anchor the analysis. It discusses relevant insights and pitfalls from the field, and details how critical gerontology may be used to explore transitions in late life. Second, it outlines prevalent approaches to the study of the lifecourse, and in particular, the lifecourse perspective. Reviewing this, it delineates the contributions and limitations of this approach and draws attention to the less prominent constructivist interpretations of the lifecourse. Third, it suggests a critical perspective on the study of ageing and the lifecourse that can guide a reconsideration of transitions in relation to ageing and late life.

Critical perspectives and the lifecourse

Many approaches to the study of transitions and ageing claim to be anchored in the lifecourse – a concept that has become fundamental to the study of continuity, change and transition. Three converging issues explain this tendency.