Ways of Aging

Informationen zum Autor 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). Klappentext Ways of Aging is an engaging collection of ten original essays on the experience of aging. Written and edited by social gerontologists, and focusing on everyday life, these essays draw from original case studies to feature diverse ways of growing and being older. Through in-depth interviews and first-person accounts, each essay gives a voice to the elderly, stressing the distinct and assorted identities that people develop as they grow older under different circumstances. In straightforward and compelling prose, the authors feature the varied experiences of widows, African Americans, Native Americans, nursing home residents, gay and lesbian elders, and others. The essays provide vivid illustrations of both the complex differences of the aging experience and the surprising commonalities. The theme of a diverse, multifaceted aging experience links the various presentations. Countering familiar stereotypes, Ways of Aging offers a unique perspective on the different pathways that may be taken through the later years. Zusammenfassung A collection of ten original essays on the experience of ageing. Written and edited by social gerontologists! and focusing on everyday experiences! these essays draw from original case studies to look at some diverse ways of growing and being older. Inhaltsverzeichnis 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 ...

List 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

Report

' 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

Product details

• Authors: Gubrium, Jaber F. Gubrium, Jaber F. Holstein Gubrium, Jf Gubrium, Holstein Ja
• Assisted by: Jaber F Gubrium (Editor), Jaber F. Gubrium (Editor), James A Holstein (Editor), James A. Holstein (Editor)
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 15.11.2002
• EAN: 9780631230595
• ISBN: 978-0-631-23059-5
• No. of pages: 240
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Natural sciences (general); Social sciences, law, business > Sociology