Hva aldersforskere sier og skriver
om det å bli gammel selv
Gunhild Hagestad, NOVA
V. Norske kongress i aldersforskning
Voksenåsen, 1.-2. desember 2011
I veldig stor grad ”work in progress”!
Vil gjerne dele noen spørsmål
• Driver gerontologer med ”othering”?
• Gerontene: en merkelig, annerledes
•
•
stamme?
”othering” og ”ismer”
dyp kløft mellom vitenskapelig og privat
diskurs?
En pionér
• G. Stanley Hall, mannen som ga oss
begrepet adolescence,
• Senescence, 1922
• Samt selvbiografi
• Alderdom er unik blant livsfaser, fordi vi ikke
har retrospektivt perspektiv på den!
Joe Hendricks:
“Those of us who study aging have the unique
opportunity to live their subject matter.”
“As social gerontologists, we have been quick
to assert that broad social currents carry
persons to the doorstep of old age and beyond,
but we have been far less reflective about our
own journey”.
Elaine Brody (86) i 2010
• My present perspective, then, is that of an 86year-old woman who, I suppose, was
prepared for old age intellectually but not
emotionally. Even my children are growing
into the stages of life I studied. Common
experiences of old age, such as illness and
losses, were unexpected, even though
expectable. I do not remember becoming old.
• B. F. Skinner- den ærligste?
• Ga ut bok om hvordan vi kan ha en god
•
alderdom, basert på egne erfaringer
Men ikke aldersforsker!
Oppslag i PEOPLE Magazine
(1983)
Growing Old Gracefully,
Says Psychologist B.F.
Skinner, Means Tailoring
Your Life to Fit Your
Infirmities
• Skinner foreleste om ''Intellectual SelfManagement in Old Age'' på APA- American
Psychological Association (1983)
“Don't try to change yourself to get rid of bad
feelings. Change your world so you'll have
better feelings.”
A fairly strict daily routine of
meals, exercise, chores and reading
gives you a sense of purpose and
structure. I am very careful as to
how much time I work, and I
schedule relaxing activities so I
won't try to get in an extra hour
of hard thinking, which is too
tiring. I read detective novels, and
I watch Archie Bunker reruns, the
Boston Red Sox, pro football and
tennis whenever I can. It is also
important to get plenty of rest.
If you tried to do something very
serious in every waking hour, you
wouldn't last a year
Bernice L. Neugarten (68) snakket om
”successful aging” på samme APA-møte:
”We are moving toward an ''age-irrelevant
society'' in which people remain vigorous far
longer than before and do things at 70 or 80
that they would not have done 30 years ago.
We ought to drop the term 'old’. I once
suggested the terms 'young-old' and 'old-old,' to
differentiate old people who are vigorous and
healthy from old people who are ill.”
Omtrent samtidig: Planlegging av
verdenskongress i gerontologi, NYC
Kunne vi ha åpen plenumsesjon om
DO WE DIE OF OLD AGE?
Det ble nesten håndgemeng blant leger og
biologer i rommet!
Men 10 år senere siterte Neugarten Dr.
Seuss:
”This aging stuffIt ain’t for sissies!”
Og 20 år senere
snakket A. Vidik om opplevelse av egen
aldring: Vi har for mange lesjoner!
Mulige forklaringer
** Skremmende tema? Sjukdom, død, stigma?
J. Hendricks: ”bio-stigmatization”
”Alle vil leve lenge, men ingen vil bli
gammel”
(Benjamin Franklin)
Flere forklaringer
** Epistemologisk standpunkt?
J. Hendricks siterer A. Schütz:
”we must capture subjective meaning for real
actors in real situations” og spør:
Hva skjer med ”health-related shift in longestablished meaning-making”? Minner om
C. Wright Mills: sociological imagination must
link personal troubles and social issus
Flere forklaringer
** Epistemologisk standpunkt?
J. Hendricks siterer A. Schütz:
”we must capture subjective meaning for real
actors in real situations” og spør:
Hva skjer med ”health-related shift in longestablished meaning-making”? Minner om
C. Wright Mills: sociological imagination must
link personal troubles and social issus
Samfunnskontekst,
forskningsfinansiering
** Paradigmemakt:? Føringer på forskning.
To ytterpunkter:
Aktiv aldring
Avhengighet, skrøpelighet
Nye broer må finnes, og vi
må være modige!