Required course for Collaborative Program in Aging and the Life Course
The seminar is the core course for Masters students enrolled in the Collaborative Program on Aging and the Life Course, and is also open to other graduate students on application to the instructor. The course aims to familiarize students with the major theoretical ideas and significant facts about the social and social psychological aspects of aging. The former include the socioeconomic status of the aged in Canada, their family relationships, work and retirement patterns, and needs for social and health services. The objective is to provide general analytic tools for understanding the social context of the aging individual and the implications for society of population aging. The social psychological aspects of aging examined in the course focus on age-related changes in the individual’s reaction to and interaction with others, as related to self-concept and other psychological and social variables. The emphasis is on the development of critical and comprehensive knowledge of theory in social gerontology and the life course.