SC 096: Aging and Society
Fall 2012
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 9:00-9:50 am
205 Gasson Hall
Professor: Sara Moorman
Office: 404 McGuinn Hall
Office hours: Mondays 10:15-11:15; Wednesdays 3:00-4:00
E-mail: moormans@bc.edu
About the Course
“Age doesn’t matter unless you’re a cheese,” quipped actress Billie Burke (the Good Witch in
The Wizard of Oz). Nevertheless, age does matter within societies. This class will cover specific
topics in four general areas of sociological study: roles and relationships (e.g., within the family),
inequalities (e.g., ageism), institutions (e.g., health care), and social change (e.g., the aging of the
population). By the end of the course, you will have acquired a new approach to thinking about
how you and others age in the social world and the ways in which age is portrayed in the media.
Aging and Society as a Core Course
Core courses at Boston College: (a) help students to ask and answer the "perennial questions,”
(b) present culturally diverse material, (c) present an historical view of the subject,
(d) demonstrate the methodology of the discipline, (e) include a significant writing component,
and (f) challenge students to create a personal philosophy of life.
Aging and Society addresses longstanding questions such as “How does a society enable and
constrain the lives of people within it?” and “How should society be structured?” In order to
think about these questions, students must compare and contrast cultures both contemporary and
historical to see how they have met (or failed to meet) the needs of persons of all ages. Students
will learn about methodology so they have a scholarly basis from which to evaluate concepts,
and they will record their critical thinking in three papers and five short exercises. Finally,
students will develop a perspective on aging, both in their own lives (“What would I need to do
to feel I have lived a good life?”) and the lives of others (“What can I do to improve the quality
of life of older persons?”).
Academic Honesty
Your work must be your words and ideas. When writing papers, use quotation marks around
someone else’s exact words and identify whose words they are. If you come across a good idea,
by all means use it in your writing, but be sure to acknowledge whose idea it is. Failure to
comply will result in (a) automatic failure of the assignment, and (b) a report to the Dean and the
Committee on Academic Integrity. For further information, please review the College’s policies
on academic integrity here:
http://www.bc.edu/offices/stserv/academic/resources/policy.html#integrity
SC096 Aging and Society
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Textbook
The bookstore has ordered:
ƒ Morgan, Leslie A. and Suzanne R. Kunkel. 2011. Aging, Society, and the Life Course. 4th
ed. (ISBN 9780826119377)
Available on 2-hour reserve at O’Neill.
Other Required Books
These books are available on 2-hour reserve at O’Neill and for use in my office.
Select ONE of these pairs of books to buy (i.e., buy both books listed under one topic):
Dementia:
ƒ DeBaggio, Thomas. 2003. Losing My Mind. (ISBN 9780743205665)
AND
ƒ Kessler, Lauren. 2007. Dancing with Rose. (ISBN 0670038598)
Social support:
ƒ Sarton, May. 1973. As We Are Now. (ISBN 9780393309577)
AND
ƒ Delany, Sarah L. and A. Elizabeth Delany. 1993. Having Our Say. (ISBN 0440220424)
Age norms:
ƒ Blechman, Andrew D. 2008. Leisureville. (ISBN 9780802144188)
AND
ƒ Juska, Jane. 2003. A Round-Heeled Woman. (ISBN 0812967879)
Health care:
ƒ Agronin, Marc. 2011. How We Age. (ISBN 0306818531)
AND
ƒ Winakur, Jerald. 2009. Memory Lessons. (ISBN 9781401303020)
Course Reserves Online
Access weekly discussion articles as .pdf files through the library website
(http://www.bc.edu/libraries/) or through the link on the course Blackboard page.
Blackboard
Visit the Blackboard page for this course regularly for announcements, grades, course materials,
a copy of the syllabus, etc. I promise you that everything you’ve ever needed (or wanted) to
know about Aging and Society is posted here, so look before you e-mail. If you e-mail me and
don’t get an answer within 48 hours, it’s because you don’t need me to tell you the answer to
your question.
SC096 Aging and Society
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Schedule
Date
September 5
Topic
Introduction to
the Course
Reading
September 7
Age and the
Structure of
Society
Textbook: pp. 13-18, 24-31, 62-66,
80-91
Articles: (1) Clarke; (2) Calasanti
Due
September 10
September 12
September 14
September 17
Topic quiz
Biology of Aging
Textbook: pp. 185-194
Articles: (1) Olshansky; (2) Weiner
September 19
September 21
September 24
September 26
Topic quiz
Dementia
Textbook: pp. 194-195
Articles: (1) Snyder (two pdfs); (2)
Herskovitz
September 28
October 1
October 3
October 5
October 8
October 10
Topic quiz
Health
Inequalities
across the Life
Course
Textbook: Chapter 10
Articles: (1) Scott; (2) Sulzberger;
(3) Belluck
NO CLASS: Columbus Day
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October 12
October 15
October 17
Topic quiz
Health Care
Financing:
Medicare and
Medicaid
Textbook: pp. 196-207
Article: (1) Moody
October 19
October 22
October 24
October 26
Topic quiz
Retirement
Financing:
Social Security
Textbook: Chapter 7
Article: (1) Solin
Life
history
interview
October 29
October 31
November 2
November 5
November 7
Topic quiz
Textbook: pp. 207-213
Caregiving and
Long-Term Care Article: (1) Rubin; (2) Jervis
November 9
November 12
November 14
November 16
November 19
November 21
Work and
Retirement
Textbook: Chapter 6
Article: (1) Lynch (two pdfs:
“Introduction” and “No chains on
the seats”)
NO CLASS: Thanksgiving
Topic quiz
SC096 Aging and Society
November 23
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NO CLASS: Thanksgiving
November 26
Book
review
November 28
November 30
December 3
Topic quiz
Aging and the
Family
Textbook: Chapter 5
Article: Listen to these four radio
pieces online—
(1)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s
tory.php?storyId=102972077
(2)
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/29/1537
05887/family-matters-pitching-in-totake-care-of-grandma
(3)
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/15/1527
04338/caring-for-grandparentmatures-a-young-man
(4)
http://www.npr.org/2012/04/17/1503
65158/one-roof-three-generationsmany-decisions
December 5
December 7
December 10
December 18
Topic quiz
FINAL EXAM
12:30 pm
Location TBA
SC096 Aging and Society
Assessment
Grading scale
A+
none at Boston College
B+
87 – 89%
C+
77 – 79%
D+
67 – 69%
F
below 60%
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A
B
C
D
93 – 100%
83 – 86%
73 – 76%
63 – 66%
Task
Topic quizzes
Percentage of grade
8 at 5% each: 40%
Life history interview
20%
Book review
20%
Final exam
20%
ABCD-
90 – 92%
80 – 82%
70 – 72%
60 – 62%
Topic quizzes: There are nine topical units, each covering four to five class days (see schedule
above). On the last day of each unit, come to class having (a) reviewed your notes and handouts
for the unit, and (b) read the articles for the unit. The last 15-20 minutes of class will be devoted
to a quiz, which will be comprised of short answer or brief essay questions. Expect to write about
ten sentences. These questions will not quiz your memorization of facts, but will instead ask you
to do things like provide and justify your opinion, discuss the pros and cons of a potential
solution to a social problem, or summarize liberal and conservative positions on an issue.
Everything we did in class and everything from the articles in that unit is fair game. I will not ask
questions from the textbook, and I will not ask questions that require you to remember material
from other units. There are nine units, but only your eight highest scores will count towards your
final grade. That means you get to skip one quiz, or take all nine and drop the lowest.
Papers: Scores on two 5-10 page writing assignments will determine 40% of your grade. I’ll
provide you with much greater detail on these assignments as they get closer. Here are the
basics:
(1) Life History Interview. Obtain permission to interview someone aged 65 or older. Your
interview should cover three themes: (i) Personal life events (e.g., childhood, education, work,
marriage, children/grandchildren), (ii) Societal life events (e.g., war experience,
inventions/technological changes, cultural trends, political events), and (iii) Life review (e.g.,
what would your interviewee do differently if s/he could? What is s/he most proud of? What
advice does s/he have for a person who is young today?)
(2) Book Review. Read two of the books listed under “Other Required Books” on the second
page of the syllabus. Consider: (i) What did each book have to say about the topic? (ii) What
were your personal reactions to the books’ messages about the topic? (iii) How did the books’
messages support or counter the material we covered in class and/or the material in your
textbook? (iv) How do the two books compare and contrast?
Final exam: Fifty 2-point multiple choice questions about textbook material only. The easiest
final you’ve ever taken, if you did the reading. Just to keep you honest.
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Submitting Papers
By 11:59 pm on the paper due date:
(1) Go to the website www.dropitto.me/moormans
(2) Enter the password SC096
(3) Upload your file
OR
Bring a hard copy of your paper to class on the day it is due.
Late Work Policy
Papers submitted after 11:59 pm on the due date are late and will lose a letter grade a day. That
is, a paper submitted on time is worth, at best, an A. A paper submitted between midnight and
11:59 pm of the day following the due date is worth, at best, a B. If you will be submitting work
late but wish to avoid the late penalty, you must make arrangements with me in advance, or you
must provide proof of extenuating circumstances (e.g., doctor’s note, funeral program).
Note that hard copies of papers count as “submitted” at the time I receive them: If you slide it
under my office door at 11 pm on the due date but I do not find it until I arrive at my office the
next morning, it’s late!
Extra Credit
Any extra credit opportunities will be made available to the entire class, and will be announced
both in class and on Blackboard. Do not ask me for individual assignments or personal
extensions.