Critical Gerontology Comes of Age: Advances in Research and Theory for a New Century

ISBN-13: 9781138630277 / Angielski / Twarda / 2018 / 246 str.

Chris Wellin

Opis

The academic study of aging has flourished in recent decades, along with the growth in the aging population of the U.S. and other advanced nations. However, there are several reasons why a more contemporary edited volume on aging and the life course is invaluable: first, much of the published research in the past was conceived and conducted before the implications of the large "baby boomer" cohorts of the post WWII period could be known. This diverse group, numbering some 80 million, has altered not only the demographic structure of the U.S. (whose older population will soon constitute twenty percent of the total), but also family relationships; political realities (especially centering on healthcare and pension policies); and the meanings and choices associated with retirement. Second, this volume is explicitly informed by the perspective of critical gerontology--a tradition that places aging and disability within historical and cultural contexts. Thus, authors present new topics, questions, and findings that speak to current times and debates. Finally, the volume transcends a narrow focus only on late life, embracing the now-dominant life course perspective, which examines earlier life stages as well as the dynamic changes in intergenerational relations. This volume reflects multiple perspectives and innovative writing strategies that aim for the widest accessibility, both within and beyond academic circles, in an effort to fulfill C. Wright Mills' promise that social science illuminate connections between biography and history.

Spis treści

1. Introductory Chapter: A Need for, and Fruits of, Current, Critical Gerontology Wellin  2. A First-Generation Critic Comes of Age: Reflections of a Critical Gerontologist Estes  3. Critical Questions for Critical Gerontology (and Critical Gerontologists) Moody & Sasser  4. Qualifying the Aging Enterprise: Micro and Meso-Level Studies in Human Service Organizations Miller & Crampton  5. Who are You in Medicare and You?: Examining This Second Person Diamond  6. Who Rules Home Care? The Impacts of Privatization on Profitability, Cost, and Quality Cabin  7. Challenges and Achievements Regarding Outreach to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Elders: Perspectives from Nursing Gabrielson  8. Paid Care-Giving for Older Adults with Serious or Chronic Illness: Ethnographic Perspectives, Evidence, and Implications for Training Wellin  9. Silver Alert: Societal Aging, Dementia, and Framing a Social Problem Petonito & Muschert  10. Aging in Places Torres  11. Meanings of Age and Aging among Older, Incarcerated Women: Implications for Adaptation and Policy Reform Janssen  12. How Thinking about Children from a Global Perspective Can Fortify Social Gerontology Schmeeckle  13. Lost in the "Big World": Korean College Students Coming of Age in the U.S.  Song  14. Migration and Gendered Webs of Obligation: Caring for my Elderly Puerto Rican Mother in a Transnational Context Toro-Morn

O autorze

Chris Wellin, PhD, is an associate professor of sociology and coordinator of gerontology programs at Illinois State University. In addition to publishing articles in numerous professional journals, Dr. Wellin was commissioned by a Committee of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 2008 to review and assess ethnographic research on direct caregiving for older and/or disabled people. He served from 2009 to 2011 as chair of the Division on Youth, Aging, and the Life Course in the Society for the Study of Social Problems.