Abstract
AbstractCultural exclusion in older age is conceptually under-developed and empirically under-explored. This results in a lack of knowledge concerning the mechanisms through which cultural exclusion is produced and the policy instruments that support cultural inclusion in later life. This article explores how cultural practice changes in old age and how these changes associate with old-age social exclusion. Cultural participation comprises (a) going-out, (b) home-bound and (c) identity-culture. These domains are explored with survey data (n = 1000) of Austrians aged 60 years and older.Results suggest shifting cultural practice later in life, from public to private spaces, and three clusters of cultural participants (Omnivore, Univore-Television (TV), Univore-Entertainment), which differ in their cultural practice, social status, and taste preferences. Univores-TV are typically involved in home-bound cultural practices, most likely to be socially excluded, and show the highest appreciation of folk art. Disengagement from public cultural spaces is, hence, more prevalent among socially marginalised groups with folk tastes.Gerontology needs to problematize older adults’ exclusion from cultural practice as a matter of spatial and taste marginalisation. In order to build more age-inclusive cultures across Europe, policy should address the diversity of older adults’ cultural participation and provide support in bringing marginalised practices to public spaces.
Highlights
Expanding the cultural participation of socially marginalised groups is a major concern of cultural policies around the world (Morrone 2006)
This chapter explores exclusion from cultural participation in later life, as an example of civic exclusion, by taking three steps: first, a theoretical framework of cultural exclusion in later life is developed, which draws on social-gerontological theories of social exclusion as well as a sociology of the arts and culture; second, the phenomenon of cultural exclusion is explored with representative survey data on cultural activity of the older Austrian population (60 years and over); third, results are discussed in light of the proposed concept of old-age cultural exclusion
Applying Morrone’s (2006) framework and combining it with Schulze’s patterns of taste (2014), the present study examines patterns of cultural participation of older adults and their relationship with socio-economic status by answering the following three research questions: First, what types of cultural participation can be observed among older adults and how does cultural participation change in later life? Second, what is the association between different forms of cultural participation in later life and socio-economic status? Third, to what extent is high socio-economic status in later life related to cultural omnivorousness?
Summary
Expanding the cultural participation of socially marginalised groups is a major concern of cultural policies around the world (Morrone 2006). Despite the positive impacts of cultural participation, for example, participatory arts (Tymoszuk et al 2019), writing (Sabeti 2014), music (Perkins and Williamon 2014), singing (Coulton et al 2015), and visiting museums (Thomson et al 2018) having been extensively analysed, its barriers in access as well as the impacts of exclusion on cultural participation are scarcely evident in gerontological research. This results in a lack of knowledge concerning the mechanisms through which cultural exclusion is produced and which policy instruments support the cultural inclusion of older adults. This chapter explores exclusion from cultural participation in later life, as an example of civic exclusion, by taking three steps: first, a theoretical framework of cultural exclusion in later life is developed, which draws on social-gerontological theories of social exclusion as well as a sociology of the arts and culture; second, the phenomenon of cultural exclusion is explored with representative survey data on cultural activity of the older Austrian population (60 years and over); third, results are discussed in light of the proposed concept of old-age cultural exclusion
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