| Popis: |
The introduction describes the book’s aims and methodological premises. It explains the book’s emphasis on cultural and literary representations of old age, and particularly its interest in biosocial aspects of aging. The introduction also highlights the authors’ preference for sources in which old age seems like a peripheral rather than central theme, arguing that in order to construct a complex and nuanced picture of aging as a cultural trope in rabbinic literature it is necessary to examine how old age is performed in the texts, rather than merely how it is officially talked about. The introduction further outlines the authors’ approach to rabbinic narrative art, and it provides a survey of key rabbinic notions and definitions of old age. It concludes with an outline of the book’s chapters. |
