Post by HLTD51 student F.C Reading through Jane Komori’s comic, “Embodied Futures: Reimagining Aging in Conversation with Older People,” was a nostalgic experience: comics (specifically Japanese manga) were an important aspect of my upbringing. Just like the prevailing themes of chasing one’s aspirations of the future or being open minded to possibilities was instilled in… Read More


By HLTD51 student Teaformeplease Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease often associated with older age. Its symptoms are usually described as debilitating given their impact on  cognitive status and ability: memory loss, inability to communicate, and behaviour change. Although one may have an idea of what dementia may look like, it is often impossible for… Read More


Post by HLTD51 student KRIS In Teresa Brennan’s essay, Social Physics (in Woodward’s Figuring Age: Women, Bodies, Generations), she reveals a (somewhat unsettling) analogy of aging made by Sigmund Freud. Freud, the renowned founder of psychoanalysis, described the aging process as the slow formation of an “inorganic crust” which consumes the body over time. This comparison is mirrored… Read More


Post by HLTD51 student KAKhalfan Ageism is the process whereby older adults are viewed from a negative perspective regarding all the different attributes they possess. Whether these attributes are psychological, social or biological, the negative perceptions remain constant and present within our society. For example, from an ageist perspective “older adults are viewed, among others, as… Read More


Podcast by HLTD51 student Teaformeplease In this podcast, I examine how Philip Larkin’s poem The Old Fools (read or listen) critiques the concept of age and aging as decline. Despite the pessimism of its opening stanza, Larkin’s poem ultimately persuades us to think of aging along the lines of what age critics like Mary Russo call… Read More


By HLTD51 student AMVB Ageism? What in the world is ageism? I’m aware that some people aren’t very fond of aging, but before this course I didn’t know that this issue was so prevalent. To be honest, I hadn’t heard of this word, “ageism,” until I started to notice its frequent appearance in the course… Read More


  By HLTD51 student FC As I was reflecting on Margaret Gullette’s essay “The Other End of the Fashion Cycle: Practicing Loss, Learning Decline”, in Woodward’s collection Figuring Age: Women, Bodies, Generations, I can recall in the past watching an episode of an old television show called “What Not To Wear” (note: I rarely watch… Read More


  By HLTD51 student KAKhalfan The poet Dylan Thomas once said, ‘Poetry is what in a poem makes you laugh, cry, prickle, be silent, makes your toe nails twinkle, makes you want to do this or that or nothing, makes you know that you are alone in the unknown world, that your bliss and suffering is forever… Read More


By HLTD51 student Teaformeplease Western society regularly views becoming old as a disease or an illness that needs to be prevented or cured. This tendency  is seen everywhere, especially with advertisements that promote “cosmeceutical” products like “anti aging” creams that magically turn “old” wrinkly faces into young smooth ones, or through exercising and dieting that… Read More