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The exploration of what May Sarton calls the "foreign country of old age" usually does not go far beyond the familiar: the focus of Aging Studies has thus far clearly rested upon North America and Western Europe. This multi-disciplinary essay collection critically examines conditions and representations of old age and aging in Eastern and Southeastern Europe from various perspectives of the humanities and social sciences. By shedding light on these culturally specific contexts, the contributions widen our understanding of the aging process in all its diversity and demonstrate that a shift in perspectives might in fact challenge a number of taken-for-granted positions and presumptions of Aging Studies.

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Dagmar Gramshammer-Hohl (PhD) is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Slavic Studies at the University of Graz, Austria. She specializes in literary and cultural studies with a focus on Russian literature, gender, migration and age/aging studies. D. Gramshammer-Hohl was granted the Prof. Paul Petry Award in Aging Studies in 1998; she is an alumna of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and a member of the European Network in Aging Studies. Oana Ursulesku (M.A.) is a Ph.D. student at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia, and the University of Graz, Austria. Her focus in research is on literary studies and plurilingualism.

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