性别与老年:爱尔兰的个案研究(1790—1840)

Gender and Old Age:Ireland:A Test Case,c.1790-1840

自1980年代以来,老年史逐渐成为一个独立的研究领域。迄今为止,大多数史学研究都集中于一些特定的西方国家,且很多研究一直缺乏性别意识。研究老年史的历史学家只是开始探索老年男性和老年女性的不同经历。在爱尔兰,老年史很少受到历史学家的关注。因此,本文的目的是在当前史学框架下,探讨约1790—1840年爱尔兰老年女性的历史。这一时间段内,爱尔兰没有救助老年人的公共资金制度,本文检验了家庭在赡养老年人中所起的作用。在此过程中,本文对爱尔兰历史上关于老年人的一些假设提出了质疑。本文意在为丰富老年女性经历的国际比较研究作出一点贡献。爱尔兰老年女性的经历可能与尚未纳入老年史研究国家的女性经历有很多相似之处。

Since the 1980 s,the history of old age has gradually emerged as a separate field of research.Much of the historiography to date has concentrated on a select number of western countries and has been surprisingly lacking in gender awareness.Historians of the elderly have only begun to explore the differing experiences of older men and older women.The history of old age has received scant attention from historians in Ireland.The aim of this article is,therefore,to explore the history of older women in Ireland,c.1790-1840 within the framework of the current historiography.It points to the absence of publicly funded systems of care for the elderly in Ireland and examines how the extended family provided support for its older members.In doing so,the article challenges some of the unquestioned assumptions made about old people in the Irish past.The article is intended as a small contribution to a wider international comparative study on the history of older women.The experience of elderly women in Ireland may have strong similarities with that of women in countries which have not yet featured in the historiography of old age.