Abstract

This article presents the content (discourse) analysis of messages transmitted by primary school readers in the period between 1880 to 2012. This study allowed us to explore the image of old age and aging that society has and passes on to new generations as well as the role assigned to this generational group. The historical periods that provide the context for the data were defined according to the continuity of or the turning points in the social values transmitted in the reading materials. The role assigned to elderly people and the image of old age that the Argentine society passed on and continues to pass on to younger generations demonstrate that each period described has its own model of aging.