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 FC It is likely that many, if not most, people in North America will come across William Shakespeare in their lifetime. You may find yourself stumbling upon the famous Merchant of Venice quote “All that glitters is not gold” on stationery in your local bookstore, or discover the film you adore about… Read More