By borrowing from a wide range of disciplines such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, psychiatry, and the humanities, this book gives a more "human," personal voice to the many experiences of aging. The result is a new sort of social science research, one which often reads more like literature than social science. Indeed, the author uses a wide variety of techniques borrowed from the humanities, from hermeneutics to oral histories, in addition to the more traditional social science methods.
"The topic is significant since it represents a bridge between the social sciences studying aging and the humanities seeking a role. It answers the question, 'How can the humanists and the social scientists work together to further understanding of adult development and aging?'" -- James E. Birren, Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California
"It addresses an important and promising new development in the field of aging, i.e., the application of human science methods to the study of aging and adult development. The topic is certainly significant. It is important because it is the first human science 'methods' book in the field of aging, which should soon make it central to the field." -- Edmund Sherman, Ringel Institute of Gerontology, State University of New York, Albany
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Table of Contents
Preface
James E. Birren
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1 The Human Science Approach to Understanding Adulthood and Aging
L. Eugene Thomas
THE HERMENEUTICAL APPROACH
Chapter 2 May Sarton's Journals: Attachment and Separateness in Later Life
Harry J. Berman
Chapter 3 Biblical Hermeneutics and the Aging Experience
J. Gordon Harris
Chapter 4 From Quantitative to Qualitative Reasoning: A Developmental Perspective
Allan B. Chinen
PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION
Chapter 5 Talking about Menopause: A Dialogic Analysis
Mary Gergen
Chapter 6 The Domestic Meaning of Institutionalization
Jaber F. Gubrium
THE INTENSIVE CASE STUDY
Chapter 7 Temporality and Affect: The Personal Meaning of Well-Being
Robert L. Rubinstein
Chapter 8 Qualitative Research with Older Creative Adults
Karol Sylcox Ferguson
Chapter 9 Memory, Identity, History and the Understanding of Dementia
Karl E. Scheibe
THE IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW
Chapter 10 More than Counting Years: Social Aspects of Time and the Identity of Elders
Susan A. Eisenhandler
Chapter 11 'Successful Aging' Among Elderly Men in England and India: A Phenomenological Comparison
L. Eugene Thomas and Kim O. Chambers
Chapter 12 Social Relationships Among the Rural Elderly: A Multimethod Approach
Linda A. Wood
COMMENTARY
Chapter 13 Gerontology with a Human Face
Harry R. Moody
Contributors
Index
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