Providing a critical humanities approach to ageing, this book addresses new directions in age studies: the meaning and workings of "ageism" in the twenty-first century, the vexed relationship between age and disability studies, the meanings and experiences of "queer" aging; the fascinating, yet often elided work of age activists; and, finally, the challenges posed by AI and, more generally, transhumanism in the context of caring for an ageing population. Divided into four parts: Part I: What Does It Mean to Grow Old? Part II: Aging: Old Age and Disability Part III: Aging, Old Age, and Activism Part IV: Old Age and Humanistic Approaches to Care the volume provides an innovative, two-part structure that facilitates rather than merely encourages interdisciplinary collaboration across the humanities and social sciences. Each essay is thus followed by two short critical responses from disciplinary viewpoints that diverge from that of the essay's author. Drawing on work from across the humanities - philosophy, fine arts, religion, and literature, this book will be a useful supplemental text for courses on age studies, sociology and gerontology at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Increasingly, scholars from many disciplines have begun to incorporate various modalities from the humanities and arts - novels, films, artwork, and other forms of expression - to help connect students with the experience of aging in deeply meaningful and person-centered ways. This collection examines how these approaches are incorporated into gerontology and geriatrics education. Rather than focusing solely on measurable outcomes, such as changes in learning over time - which is the purview of empirical pedagogy - chapters focus on strategies for successfully incorporating a specific work into the classroom, descriptions of humanities and/or arts exercises with students or older adults, and other ways that explore how the humanities and arts can be applied successfully and meaningfully in educational settings. This book was originally published as a special issue of Geronotology & Geriatrics Education.

As the field of aging and gerontology grows worldwide, this exciting guide introduces students to key issues and concepts. It covers topics related to the phenomena of advancing aging, including how older age has been defined historically, cultural myths related to advanced age, health and function in later life, how older age is financed throughout the world, and other key questions. Taking a multiple-perspective approach (including humanities, social and behavioral sciences and policy studies), the book's features include further reading for each chapter, a glossary of key terms, and tables that provide easy reference points.

What is meant by narrative? How can one elicit a narrative or analyze it in research? How can narrative work best be facilitated among older adults? This is the only text to provide comprehensive information about the applications of narrative approaches in community and long-term settings, writing in the virtual world, and such individual work as journaling or poetry. The book explores the theories of narratives across many disciplines, research practices and analytical strategies, and applications in work with older adults.

It has been written by a prominent researcher of the narrative construction of self in old age, whose studies have been funded by the NIH, the Brookdale Foundation, and the Alzheimer's Association, among other related achievements. The book brings together a unique blend of interdisciplinary perspectives and practices not found in other books on life stories, autobiography, and/or narrative approaches to understanding one's experiences. Specifically, it focuses on the myriad theoretical underpinnings of narrative, provides a developmental history of narrative use in gerontology, and details various ways to use narratives in a variety of research settings. Each chapter includes step-by-step guides on who to analyze and report on, and how to write up narrative data. It also discusses ways to incorporate narratives in varied practice settings such as writing workshops in retirement communities, individual writing projects, and others.

Key Features: Offers a "hands on" research tool that guides the reader from theory to research to practice Describes the theoretical underpinnings and practical applications of narrative with older adults Illustrates how narrative gerontology is fundamentally different in practice than narrative research with younger participants Addresses the breadth of available narrative methods and how to apply them in a research settings Designed for use in qualitative methods, service learning, and gerontological research courses.

Written by leading scholars, this esteemed text on global aging is distinguished by its unique perspective on universal similarities and sociocultural differences across nations. Fully revised, updated, and reorganized, the second edition presents-comprehensive coverage of major topics in social gerontology, expands its treatment of health behavior, health care, families, caregiving, older workers, and retirement. It delivers new information on living environments, religious beliefs and practices; environmental threats; cross-cultural views of dementia; ageism in advertising; age-friendly communities; global immigration and cultural assimilation, and end-of-life caregiving, to name a few.The second edition also offers additional case studies, first-person narratives and focused essays to enhance core material and a greater number of non-Western contributors. The topical essays reflect changing mores and current issues affecting societies and the aging experience. Discussion questions conclude each chapter, and an Instructor's Manual and Power Point slides are available to instructors. Print version of the book includes free, searchable, digital access to entire contents! New to the Second Edition: Expanded content on health beliefs and health behavior, religious belief and practice, environmental threats, housing and living environments, physical security, consumer control of health care, family life, and more Additional topics on global immigration and cultural assimilation, age portrayals in advertising, voluntarism, and the use of social media in caregiving. Abundant new and expanded essays New case studies and first-person narratives Many more non-western contributors Key Features: Delivers comprehensive coverage of major topics in gerontology Uses a unique comparative, cross-national perspective Authored by world-renowned aging scholars Includes case studies/essays/personal narratives to enliven core information Provides the most comprehensive demographic data on aging around the world