Age Stereotypes in the Cultural Memory

Images of ageing in German newspaper and magazine caricatures

What stereotypes of ageing appear in artwork or creative works within the genre humour? What implications can these kinds of stereotypes have for the societal perception of age and ageing? Do these images point to a shared and deficient image of ageing that is difficult or perhaps impossible to capture through surveys conducted in the social sciences? If so, what role do they play? These questions will be pursued in the project "Age Stereotypes in the Cultural Memory."

In the first phase of the project, a comparative analysis study of over 3,100 caricatures from the years 2007 and 1960 will examine the presentation of the image of old age and ageing and how this image has changed over time. In phase two of the project, characteristic examples in European comedies will be examined.

The meaning and function of age stereotypes in comedy for the perception of old age and ageing in current German society will be analysed using psychological and philosophical theories of humour.

Project Leader:
Dr. Franziska Polanski
polanski@uni-heidelberg.de