Ways of Aging / Edition 1

by Jaber F. Gubrium, James A. Holstein

Overview

Written and edited by social gerontologists, and focusing on everyday experiences, these essays draw from original case studies to look at the diverse ways of growing and being older.

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• Collects ten original essays on the aging experience, written by prominent social gerontologists.
  
• Highlights diverse ways of growing and being older.
  
• Offers detailed portraits of a broad range of experiences, including those of the homeless, the retirement community, sexual nonconformists, and the disabled.
  
• Addresses stereotypes of the aging process and provides diverse examples of individual experiences.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780631230588
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	12/13/2002
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Jaber F. Gubrium is Professor and Chair of Sociology at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He is editor of the Journal of Aging Studies and the author or editor of 20 books, including Oldtimers and Alzheimer’s (1986), Speaking of Life (1993), and Living and Dying at Murray Manor (1997).

James A. Holstein is Professor of Sociology at Marquette University and the editor of Social Problems. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Court-Ordered Insanity (1993), Dispute Domains and Welfare Claims Reconsidering Social Constructionism (1993), and Social Problems in Everyday Life (1997).

The editors have previously collaborated on What is Family? (1990), Constructing the Life Course (1994), The Active Interview (1995), The New Language of Qualitative Method (1997), The Self We Live By (1999), and Aging and Everyday Life (Blackwell, 2000).

Table of Contents

Contributors vii

Introduction 1

Beyond Stereotypes 3
Jaber F. Gubrium and James A. Holstein

Part I Persistence 11

1 Narratives of Forgiveness in Old Age 13
Helen K. Black

2 Elderhood in Contemporary Lakota Society 36
Joan Weibel-Orlando

3 Claiming Identity in a Nursing Home 58
Debora A. Patemiti

Part II Adaptation 75

4 Three Childless Men’s Pathways into Old Age 77
Tanya Koropeckyj-Cox

5 Constructing Community from Troubles 96
Christopher A. Faircloth

6 Family Lives of Aging Black Americans 111
Colleen L. Johnson and Barbara M. Barer

Part Ill Change 133

7 Aging and Change in a Religious Community 135
Sarah Matthews

8 Identity Careers of Older Gay Men and Lesbians 160
Dana Rosenfeld

9 Expectations and Experiences of Widowhood 182
Deborah Kestin van den Hoonaard

Epilogue 201

10 Positive Aging 203
Mary Gergen and Kenneth J. Gergen

Index 225

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

‘Ways of Aging is a welcome antidote to deterministic theories of aging. What a treat to read such wonderfully written ethnographic accounts that both illuminate distinctive social worlds and offer provocative insight into the multiple meanings of aging and old age!’ David A. Karp, Professor of Sociology, Boston College

‘Ways of Aging demonstrates that environment is key to unraveling the diversity found among the aged. Gubrium and Holstein are unmistakable: aging is a coat of many colors; variety is the order of the day. A close reading of Ways of Aging will put to rest the very notion that there are ‘norms’ of aging. This book helps us understand how people create the scripts they live by, through narrative accounts.’ Joe Hendricks, Oregon State University

Editorial Reviews

‘Ways of Aging is a welcome antidote to deterministic theories of aging. What a treat to read such wonderfully written ethnographic accounts that both illuminate distinctive social worlds and offer provocative insight into the multiple meanings of aging and old age!’ David A. Karp, Professor of Sociology, Boston College

‘Ways of Aging demonstrates that environment is key to unraveling the diversity found among the aged. Gubrium and Holstein are unmistakable: aging is a coat of many colors; variety is the order of the day. A close reading of Ways of Aging will put to rest the very notion that there are ‘norms’ of aging. This book helps us understand how people create the scripts they live by, through narrative accounts.’ Joe Hendricks, Oregon State University

From the Publisher