This talk will discuss emerging perspectives on the social construction of age as a window into broader patterns in systems of inequality. I will draw on several of my ongoing projects about conceptualizing, theorizing, and measuring age as a social construct. “Aging” is often considered an individual or societal problem; but there is much more we can learn by going beyond this perspective and studying “age” as a multilevel and multidimensional system of inequality. Age is an under-theorized yet central piece of culture, organizations, interactions, and individual experiences. Being more precise in our theory and measurement of age opens the door for more expansive and impactful empirical and theoretical research on individuals and society. Age is also an ideal case for uncovering broader insights related to social hierarchy and inequality. I conclude with a discussion of extensions of these projects that aim to advance a research agenda on social construction processes.
