Module: SOC5101-20 The Life Course Ageing and Generation

Level: 5

Credit Value: 20

Module Tutor: Rosemary McKechnie

Module Tutor Contact Details: R.McKechnie@bathspa.ac.uk

1. Brief description and aims of module:

This module will look at how the life course is changing today. The physical changes that people pass through during the lifecycle are determined by biology. However, the life course is socially constructed and individual’s experience of the life-course, from birth to death, passing through childhood, adulthood and old age, varies enormously. The module will present comparative cultural and historical material to explore the different ways that the life course unfolds in different areas of the world. Childhood, for example has changed enormously since the middle of the 20th century in the West, and protecting children from risks posed by toxic media or predatory adults has become a key social concern. Transitions to adulthood are now much more diverse and individualised, but hedged by new difficulties. The module will explore the ways that social change and globalising processes impact on the construction of the life course around the world today. Age is a key factor in social stratification, and ageism a neglected aspect of discrimination. So one important aspect of the exploration of the life course is how age is shaped by social structure, including how ethnicity, gender and class impact on the way age is perceived and experienced. As the demographic structure of society changes and traditional expectations of who should care for the old and young dissolve, how will we deal with an ageing society? Do we have more agency today to choose how we age, to adopt a variety of lifestyles and take control of our bodies and health? Or, are choices increasingly constrained by new consumer ideals of appearance and ideas about health and fitness? You will critically examine different theoretical perspectives which offer insights into areas of life that appear to be most 'natural' or 'personal' on the module.

2. Outline syllabus:

The curriculum will be drawn from topics which may include:

• The lifecycle and life course

• Sociological perspectives on the life course

• Infancy gender identity and primary socialisation

• The social construction of childhood: is childhood threatened today?

• Adolescence and transitions to adulthood

• Adulthood in an uncertain world: mobile lives and loves

• Gender and age: who cares?

• Ageism, and intersectional marginalisation: double and triple jeopardy

• Ageing and embodiment: the mask of ageing

• Technologies of ageing: silver surfers and cyborgs

• Media, Culture and age roles: how the media and consumer culture shape ageing

• Generational conflict: social and family conflict

• Globalisation and age role disruption around the world

3. Teaching and learning activities:

This module will be delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars and a one day field trip. Lectures provide an introduction to each topic and seminars offer an opportunity for more in-depth exploration of topics through discussions, informal presentations, documentary screenings, debates, and other interactive, student-led activities.

There will be interview sessions included in the seminar slots, where individuals from different points in the life course talk about their experience of ageing. Guest speakers from areas involved in the care of different age groups will also be integrated into classroom sessions.

Assessment Item 1:

• Assessment Type: Course Work

• Description: Biographical interview of an older person (2,500 words)

• % Weighting: 50%

Assessment Item 2:

• Assessment Type: Course Work

• Description: Essay (2,500 words)

• % Weighting: 50%