Anthropology and the Riddle of the Sphinx

Paradoxes of Change in the Life Course

By: Paul Spencer (Editor)

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Paperback | 14 September 2026 | Edition Number 1

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240 Pages

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23.4 x 15.6 x 1.3

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Originally published in 1990, Anthropology and the Riddle of the Sphinx: Paradoxes of Change in the Life Course, seeks to relate the problems of maturation and ageing to the life course as a whole. As it is treated here, the riddle posed by the sphinx asks âWhat is it that changes as we age?â and is concerned with the enigmas of this total process. Ultimately, the ways in which we experience these problems stem from our view of ageing and the contradictions of society itself.

The essays in this volume consider aspects of this problem with reference to a variety of cultures. The young, the mature, and the elderly have distinctive identities, but they form a continuum whose profile is culturally constructed.

Anthropology and the Riddle of the Sphinx: Paradoxes of Change in the Life Course is intended as a contribution to the growing literature on ageing, deliberately broadening the topic in the search for a wider understanding. This volume aims to stimulate interest in neglected aspects of the ageing process within social anthropology and to present an anthropological point of view to others who have an interest in problems associated with the life course. It will be of particular value to the students of social anthropology and medical sociology.

It was originally published as part of the ASA Monographs series: https://www.routledge.com/ASA-Monographs/book-series/SE0127

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