Why study aging?  What does the social world look like through the eyes of a gerontologist?  What will the course cover?  What are the requirements?  What can you expect to gain? 

re	What is your aging IQ?

Social and Demographic Perspectives on Aging (January 17-29)

The life course perspective serves as an important framework to study aging.  It alerts us to the ways in which people’s location in the social system, the historical period in which they live, and their unique personal biography shape their experience in old age.  How does the sociological imagination also help you understand aging and the meaning of age stratification? 

 

Jan 17:   Aging in individual, sociocultural, and historical contexts              Morgan & Kunkel, Aging: The social context, Chapter 1 and topical essay pp. 27-29              Neugarten et al., “Age norms, age constraints, & adult socialization” in Q & S              Riley & Riley, “Age integration and the lives of older people” in Q & SR

Jan 22:  Aging as a demographic phenomena               Morgan & Kunkel, Aging: The social context, Chapter 3              Adams et al., "Women and long-term care"   Research Exercise 1:  Census data

Jan 24:  Social theories of aging             Morgan & Kunkel, The social context, Chapter 6             Passuth & Bengston, "Sociological theories of aging: Current persepctives" in Q & S Jan 29:  Aging as a personal expereience: Cohort & period patterns   powerpoint             Morgan, Aging: The social context, Chapter 3             Elder & Liker, "Hard times in women’s lives: Historical influences " (on reserve)             Broknaw, “The time of their lives,” from The Greatest Generation (on reserve) Research Exercise 2:  Elder interview on issues of social life

• Modernization Theorists v. Constructionists Interpret the Life Course  (January 31)

If the life course perspective "frames" individual and cohort biographies, a historical perspective frames aging in a macro sense.  One example:  How has the historian’s challenge alerted us the social construction of the life course? 
 

Jan 31:  Aging and society in historical perspective              Atchley, “The history of aging in America,”  (on reserve)             Achenbaum, "The usefulness of old age" in Q & S             Fischer, Growing old in America Reading

• Ageism  (February 5)

A “culture of youth” has dominated age-relations in American society for the prior century and, as the raison de'etre, it underwrites age stratification.  What myths of aging prevail?  How are elders presented in the mass media?  How do most older adults face the ordinary losses associated with getting older in our society? 

 

Feb 5:   Attitudes toward aging             Quadagno & Street, “Stereotypes and ageism” pp. 128-130 in Q & S Attitudes             Butler, “Dispelling ageism: The cross-cutting intervention” in Q & S             Scrutton, “Ageism: The foundation of age discrimination” in Q & S             Gerike, “On gray hair and oppressed brains” in Q & S             Morgan & Kunkel, Aging: The social context, pp. 139-141             Newman, Faux, & Larimer, "Children's views on aging" (recommended, on reserve) Research Exercise 3:  Ageism

• Dying, Death, Bereavement and Widowhood (March 27-29)

The concentration of death among older people has probably influenced what we think and how we feel about death.  What is a dying trajectory, and how is dying a social process?

• Physiological Aging  (February 14-19)

Ideas about physiological aging are tied to the concept of the life span – the maximum length of life that is biologically possible.  What is normal physical aging?  What is pathological aging?  What are the effects of aging on sexuality and intimacy?
 

Feb 14:   Physical consequences of aging                Morgan & Kunkel , Aging: The social context, Chapter 4 and pp. 345-362               Gibson, “The age-by-race gap in health & mortality in the older population” (on reserve)    Research Exercise 5:  Elder interview on issues of health & illness   Feb 19:   Sexuality               Jacoby, "Great sex: What's age got to do with it?"               Bakos, "From lib to libido: How women are reinventing sex for grown-ups"               Barber et al., "Sexual problems in the elderly, II: Men's vs. women's" (on reserve)   Research Exercise 4:  Assisted Suicide (due date)


 
• Psychological Aspects of Aging  (February 20-22)

When you shift your gaze away from the body to the personopinions about cognitive and successful aging emerge.  What determines successful aging?  How important is social context to the aging experience?  Is there more continuity than discontinuity in the self as we age?  Is aging detrimental to mental health, and what is dementia v. Alzheimer's disease?

 

Feb 21:   Psychological perspectives on aging               Morgan & Kunkel, ging: The social context, Chapter 5               Baltes & Carstensen, "The process of successful aging" (on reserve)              Atchley, “Personal adaptation to aging” (on reserve, skim pp. 163-168, read the rest) Reading

Feb 26:   Alzheimer's Disease               Epstein & Connor, "Dementia in the elderly: A overview" (on reserve)                Lyman, "Bring the social back in: A critique of the biomedicalization of dementia" (on reserve)               McGowin, Living in the labyrinth, entire book                Film:  Forget me never

• Midterm Exam  (February 28)

• Spring Break (March 4-8)

Caregiving and Family Relations (March 12-19)

The family life cycle involves greater "verticalization", a term that refers to the links between preceding and subsequent generations.  Care by friends and family members has long been a cultural norm imposed by family values, public opinion, & laws requiring families to provide care.

 

Mar 12:   Aging in families               Morgan & Kunkel, Aging: The social context, Chapter 7 (ignore caregiving, pp. 237-245)               Haber & Gratton, "The familes of the old" in Q & S               Walker, “The relationship between the family and the state” in Q & S               Jendrek, “Grandparents who parent their grandchildren” in Q & S   Mar 14:    Aging in families                Morgan & Kunkel, Aging: The social context, pp. 237-245)                Boyd & Treas, "Family care of the frail elderly" in Q & S                Thompson, “What's unique about men's caregiving” (on reserve)                Kramer, “Differential predictors of strain and gain among husbands caring for wives                   with dementia” (on reserve)                Film: Grace

Exiting the Labor Force(March 21-26)

Employment and retirement play an important part in defining the life course.  When men reach adulthood they are expect to work and remain employed until they become eligible for retirement.  Is the retirement life course transition something that is commonly experienced?

 

Mar 21:   The work & retirement experiences               Morgan & Kunkel, Aging: The social context, Chapter 8               Ekerdt, "The busy ethic: Moral continuity between work and retirement" (on reserve)               Reitzes et al., "Does retirement hurt well-being" (on reserve)               Gibson, “The black American retirement experience” in Q & S              Shaw, "Special problmes of older women workers" in Q & S ding

Mar 26:   The retirement process being redefined?               Sheppard, “The United States: The privatization of exit,” in Q & S               Freedman, Chapter 1, PrimeTime: How baby booms will revolutionize retirement                      and transform America (on reserve)               Kingson, "Social security and aging baby boomers" (recommended, on reserve)               Ekerdt & Clark, " Selling retirement in financial planning advertisements"                     (recommended, on reserve)

• Easter Break(March 28)

• Economics and the Aging of Society  (April 2)

The economic status of the older population, primarily in the U.S., and how older persons as a social group influence the economy, have become important research concerns.  What is the economic status of older Americans?  How do age-based social policies rather than age-neutral social policy influence their economic well-being?

 

Apr 2:   Changing economic conditions of the elderly in America             Morgan & Kunkel , Aging: The social context, Chapter 9             Margolis, “Shelter: Bring us to this hovel” In Q & S             Duncan & Smith, “The rising affluence of the elder: How far, how fair,” in Q & S             Meyer, “Family status and poverty among older women” in Q & S

• Health Care and Long-Term Care  (April 4-16)

Most older adults do not suffer from serious health problems or from disabilities that result in a need for personal care.  But with aging, an increasing proportion experiences multiple chronic conditions.  Older people are likely to find that the kind of care they need is unavailable, and the kind of care they find may be inappropriate.  Why is desirable long-term care rare?

 

Apr 4:   Health care policies and politics             Morgan & Kunkel, Aging: The social context, pp. 365-377             Wallace & Estes, “Health policy for the elderly” in Q & S Apr 9:   Rationing health services             Dey & Fraser, "Age-based rationing in the allocation of health care" (on reserve)            on line resources from Moody, use first two sources   Apr 11:  Long-term care settings Long-term care settings             Diamond, Making gray gold, Introduction-Chapter 3  Apr 16:   Institutionalization              Diamond, Making gray gold, remainder of book              Deaton et al., "The Eden alternative" (on reserve)

• Politics, Government, and the Welfare State (April 18)

Social services assist people in improving the level of functioning and reducing their difficulties in securing adequate income, health care, housing, transportation, and recreational activities.  Is the delivery of social service effective?
 

Apr 18:   The organization and financing of social services               Morgan & Kunkel, Aging: The social context, Chapter 11                Hardy, "Vulnerability in old age" in Q & S               Quadagno, “Generational equity and the politics of the welfare state” in Q & S

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• The Dark Side (April 23)

The vulnerability of the older population is often untold.  Sometimes family members physically abuse care recipients, steal their resources, and abandon them to waste away.  Are these occurrences rare?
 

Apr 23:   Elder abuse              Wolf & Li, “Factors affecting the rate of elder abuse reporting to a state protective                    services program” (on reserve)

• The Immediate Future (April 25)

How far into the future does the crystal ball help to predict?
 

Apr 25:   The future               Morgan & Kunkel, Aging: The social context, skim Chapter 12