Narrative Gerontology

Catalog description

The purpose of this interdisciplinary 8 week online course is to introduce the student to narrative/story [Voices of Aging] as a way of knowing, a way of coming to connect with and communicate with the older adult in a variety of settings through interdisciplinary venues that include literature, gerontology, psychology, sociology, anthropology and nursing. The student will be introduced to interpretive phenomenology as a way of thinking and understanding the diversity and complexity of the older adult. Student interdisciplinary teams will discuss a variety of readings and studies and participate in developing a qualitative research study outline exploring the perspectives of older adults, leading to a multi-perspectival understanding of aging and how to come to understand what is meaningful to older adults.