Population aging, driven by increasing longevity and decreasing fertility, is a worldwide demographic transformation that is changing societies and social relationships at all levels, from family household interactions to national debates on policies and expenditures. This course, run in a seminar format, investigates global aging through the lenses of demography and cultural anthropology. The objectives are for students to gain an empirical understanding of current population trends and an appreciation for how the aging process differs cross-culturally. The first part of the course introduces basic concepts and theories from social gerontology, demography, and anthropology that focus on aging and provide a toolkit for investigating the phenomenon from interdisciplinary perspectives. The second part is devoted to case studies of aging in different societies, while the third part centers mainly on training in research methods and individual student projects.
Course Attributes: UC CD
