SOCIAL GERONTOLOGY
Schedule of Readings & Assignments

Last updated Wednesday October 21, 2009

 
Date Topic Textbook

reading assignment

 Other

assignments
8/27 Introduction none
9/1

Demographics and theories in gerontology

Moody, Prologue (xxi-xxix) and Basic Concepts (1-16)

On a computer, scroll around this large wall chart:  United Nations.  (2006).  Population ageing.  New York:  United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.

 

Visit http://futureme.org and complete your future e-mail.
9/3 Diversity in the experience of aging

Moody, 287-298

 

Williams, D.R., & Wilson, C.M.  (2001).  Race, ethnicity, and aging.  In R.H. Binstock, L.K. George (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (pp. 160-178).  San Diego:  Academic Press.

 

Moen, P.  (2001).  The gendered life course.  In R.H. Binstock, L.K. George (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (pp. 179-196).  San Diego:  Academic Press.

 

Clemetson, L.  (2006).  U.S. Muslims confront taboo on nursing home.  New York Times, June 13.
9/8 Biological aging

Moody, 53-91

Examine claims about potential life expectancy and recent scientific evidence regarding extended lifespan on the website of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine and the Kronos Longevity Research Institute.

 

Juengst, E. T., Binstock, R. H., Mehlman, M., Post, S. G., & Whitehouse, P.  (2003).  Biogerontology, "anti-aging medicine," and the challenges of human enhancement.  Hastings Center Report, 33, 21-30.

 
9/10 Health, wellness, and housing

Moody, 129-139, 145-155

 Explore the Information and What to Ask sections of the website of the Foundation for Health in Aging, where you can learn what older adults need to know about common diseases in late life. The site is sponsored by the American Geriatrics Society, which has an interesting link to "The Rewards of a Career Caring for Older Adults."

Kolata, G.  (2006).  So big and healthy nowadays, grandpa wouldn't know you.  New York Times, Sunday, January 20.

Watch the St. Louis Senior Olympics 2009 Retrospective at http://www.stlouisseniorolympics.org/
9/15 Medicare   Congressional Research Service.  (2009).  Medicare primer. 7-5700, R40425, March 10, 2009.  Washington, DC: Author.

Visit AARP's Medicare Interactive site and review Sections 1-3:  http://www.medicareinteractive.org

Explore the Medicare website for topics that interest you:  http://www.medicare.gov
9/17

Field trip #1:  Long-term care options

 

Parc Provence

605 Coeur de Ville Drive

Creve Coeur, MO 63141

 

* Van leaves Psychology promptly at 1:00pm

   U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  (2002).  Own your future: Planning guide for long-term care. Washington, DC: Author.

National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform. (2005). A consumer guide to choosing a nursing home. Washington, DC: Author.

AARP. (2007). Nursing homes: What to ask. Washington, DC:  Author.
9/22 Guest:  Geriatrician   Miller, K. E., Zylstra, R. G., & Standridge, J. B.  (2000).  The geriatric patient:  A systematic approach to maintaining health.  American Family Physician, 61, 1089-1104.

Pope, E.  (November, 2003).  Second-class care:  Discrimination against older patients still permeates nation's health care system.  AARP Bulletin.
9/24 Current controversy:  Should we ration health care based on age? Moody, 163-193 Callahan, D. (1994). Setting limits: A response. The Gerontologist, 34, 393-398.
9/29 Engagement in late life

Guest:  OASIS Executive Director

   Review the OASIS website to learn about the mission of the organization and its programs.

Adler, R.P.  (2002).  Engaging older volunteers in after-school programs.  San Francisco, CA: Civic Ventures.

Review the Experience Corps website to learn more about this innovative program that pairs young students with older tutors.

Hertzog, C., Kramer, A.F., Wilson, R.S., & Lindenberger, U.  (2009).  Enrichment effects on adult cognitive development:  Can the functional capacity of older adults be preserved and enhanced?  Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9, 1-65.  [Read for this class and the next.]
10/1 Cognition and intellectual functions Moody, 93-128  
10/6 Dementia 1   On the Alzheimer's Project website:

1) review Alzheimer's Basics,

2) watch Parts 1 & 2 of the Momentum in Science.
10/8 Dementia 2   Kitwood, T.  (1997).  Dementia reconsidered:  The person comes first (Chapter 5, pp. 70-85).  Buckingham, England:  Open University Press.
10/13 Guest:  Person with early-stage Alzheimer's disease   Foley, J. M.  (1992).  The experience of being demented.  In R. H. Binstock, S. G. Post, & P. J. Whitehouse (Eds.), Dementia and aging:  Ethics, values, and policy choices (pp. 30-43).  Baltimore:  Johns Hopkins University Press.

On the Alzheimer's Project website watch The Memory Loss Tapes.
10/15 Guest:  Caregiver of person with early-stage Alzheimer's disease   Castle, E.  (2001).  A couple's journey with Alzheimer's disease: The many faces of intimacy.  Generations, Summer, 81-86.

On the Alzheimer's Project website watch Caregivers.
10/20 Current controversy:  Should older adults stop driving?

 

 		 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2007). Traffic safety facts: 2007 - Older population.  [DOT HS 810 992.]  Washington, DC: Author.

Wang, C. C., Kosinski, C. J., Schwartzberg, J. G., & Shanklin, A. V.  (2003).  Physician's guide to assessing and counseling older drivers.  Washington, DC:  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. [On-line material.]

Driving safely while aging gracefully.  An on-line education program sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  [On-line material.]

If you're interested, explore other resources regarding older drivers on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or AARP's Driver Safety program.
10/22 Guest:  Elder law attorney

Topics to consider:

- legal obligations for caregiving

- elder abuse

- power power of attorney, guardianship

- estate planning

 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. Title 23. Domestic Relations. Part V. Support, Property and Contracts. Chapter 46. Support of the Indigent.  Section 4603, Relatives' liability. 23 Pa.C.S. Section 4603 (2009).

Explore the filial responsibility statues in your own state

Learn about elder abuse on the website for the National Center on Elder Abuse

Anetzberger, G.J. (2005). Elder abuse: Case studies for clinical management. Clinical Gerontologist, 28, 43-53.

Schimer, M. (2005). Elder abuse: The attorney's perspective. Clinical Gerontologist, 28, 55-82.
10/27 Current controversy:  Should families provide for their elders? Moody, 195-228 Abel, E. K.  (1992).  Parental dependence and filial responsibility in the nineteenth century:  Hial Hawley and Emily Hawley Gillespie, 1884-1885.  The Gerontologist, 32, 519-526.
10/29 Mental health   Gatz, M., Kasl-Godley, J.E., & Karel, M.J. (1996). Aging and mental disorders. In J.E. Birren & K.W. Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (4th ed.) (pp. 365-382). San Diego: Academic Press.

Knight, B.G., Kaskie, B., Shurgot, G.R., & Dave, J. (2006). Improving the mental health of older adults. In J.E. Birren & K.W. Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (6th ed.) (pp. 407-424). San Diego: Elsevier Academic Press.
11/3 Intimate relationships and sexuality   Juska, J. (2003). A round-heeled woman: My late-life adventures in sex and romance (Ch. 1-3, pp. 3-29). New York: Villard.

Lindau, S. T., Schumm, L. P., Laumann, E. O., Levinson, W., O'Muircheartaigh, C. A., & Waite, L. J. (2007). A study of sexuality and health among older adults in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine, 357, 762-774.
11/5 Work and retirement Moody, 391-428

Urban Institute. (December, 2008). It's not easy being gray: The new rules of retirement.  Brief Series, No. 25. Downloaded from http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=500094 December 20, 2008.
11/10

Social Security

 Moody, 357-390 Sass, S., Munnell, A.H., & Eschtruth, A. (2007). The Social Security fix-it book. Boston: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
11/12 Field trip #2:  Long-term care options

 

Garrison Care Center

2939 Magazine Street
St. Louis, MO 63106

 

* Van leaves Psychology promptly at 1:00pm

 

Review the links on Understanding, Planning, and Paying for Long-Term Care on the website of the National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information.

 

Listen to the story about the Green House Project, an innovative program to redesign long-term care (36 minutes).
11/17 Death & dying  

Henig, R. M. (2005). Will we ever arrive at the good death? New York Times Sunday Magazine, August 4, pp. 26-68.

Nuland, S. B. (1994). Murder and serenity. From How we die (Chapter 6, pp. 118-139). New York: Knopf.

Missouri Bar Association. Durable power of attorney for health care and health care directive. 

11/19 NO CLASS - GERONTOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA CONFERENCE
11/24 Guest:  Hospice chaplain

 

Kuhl, D. (2009). What dying people want. In H.M. Chochinov & W.Breitbart (Eds.), Handbook of psychiatry in palliative medicine (pp. 141-156). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Quill, T. E. (1996). You promised me I wouldn't die like this.  From  A midwife through the dying process: Stories of healing and hard choices at the end of life (Chapter 7, pp. 140-154). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Shavelson, L. (1995). A chosen death: The dying confront assisted suicide (Plan A - The fight to survive, Chapter 1, pp. 14-34). New York: Simon & Schuster.
11/26 NO CLASS - THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
12/1 Current controversy:  Should people have the choice to end their own life?

Moody, 257-286

Cerminara, K.L. (2009). Three female faces: The law of end-of-life decision making in America. In J.L. Werth & D. Blevins (Eds.), Decision making near the end of life (pp. 95-118). New York: Routledge.

12/3 Conclusions   >>> FINAL DRAFT OF BIOGRAPHY DUE >>>

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