Learning to Be Old
Today, we have a life expectancy that earlier eras could not have dreamed of. An aging population is the hallmark of a successful society. How is it, then, that we consider one of the greatest achievements of society to be a disaster? This talk argues that the beliefs underlying ageism, based on the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2018-10-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Qualitative Methods |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406918810556 |
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doaj-f4d70ddd4beb4d9b8b9ea76f736845072020-11-25T03:34:45ZengSAGE PublishingInternational Journal of Qualitative Methods1609-40692018-10-011710.1177/1609406918810556Learning to Be OldDeborah K. van den Hoonaard0 Gerontology Department, St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick, CanadaToday, we have a life expectancy that earlier eras could not have dreamed of. An aging population is the hallmark of a successful society. How is it, then, that we consider one of the greatest achievements of society to be a disaster? This talk argues that the beliefs underlying ageism, based on the premise that all old people are the same, pervade contemporary thinking. Despite the fact that becoming old involves physical changes, aging has a significant social component. This presentation marks the culmination of 25 years of qualitative research in gerontology. Given the theme of the conference, the talk begins by discussing how the Trojan horse of positivist approaches is eroding the inductive nature of qualitative research. It then illustrates, based on inductive, interpretive research, how we learn to be old and accept myths associated with aging through the way people treat us.https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406918810556 |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
English |
| format |
Article |
| sources |
DOAJ |
| author |
Deborah K. van den Hoonaard |
| spellingShingle |
Deborah K. van den Hoonaard Learning to Be Old International Journal of Qualitative Methods |
| author_facet |
Deborah K. van den Hoonaard |
| author_sort |
Deborah K. van den Hoonaard |
| title |
Learning to Be Old |
| title_short |
Learning to Be Old |
| title_full |
Learning to Be Old |
| title_fullStr |
Learning to Be Old |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Learning to Be Old |
| title_sort |
learning to be old |
| publisher |
SAGE Publishing |
| series |
International Journal of Qualitative Methods |
| issn |
1609-4069 |
| publishDate |
2018-10-01 |
| description |
Today, we have a life expectancy that earlier eras could not have dreamed of. An aging population is the hallmark of a successful society. How is it, then, that we consider one of the greatest achievements of society to be a disaster? This talk argues that the beliefs underlying ageism, based on the premise that all old people are the same, pervade contemporary thinking. Despite the fact that becoming old involves physical changes, aging has a significant social component. This presentation marks the culmination of 25 years of qualitative research in gerontology. Given the theme of the conference, the talk begins by discussing how the Trojan horse of positivist approaches is eroding the inductive nature of qualitative research. It then illustrates, based on inductive, interpretive research, how we learn to be old and accept myths associated with aging through the way people treat us. |
| url |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406918810556 |
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