Constructing Old Age in Communist Bulgaria: Ideology, Policy and Science

The article explores the production of knowledge and images of old age in communist Bulgaria, comparing three types of hegemonic discourses, which offer different conceptualizations of ageing and the elderly: the ideological, the political and the scientific. The source for the ideological discourse is the official newspaper Rabotnichesko delo , insofar as it offers representations of old people and their roles in society. The state policies towards older people are discussed based primarily on pension laws. For the scientific discourse, gerontological literature from the 1960s to 1970s is reviewed. The study reveals the dynamics, the tensions and the contradictions within and between the three types of discourse.