The Last Frontier: The Social Meaning of Growing OldHow do the elderly manage to give meaning to their daily lives? Fontana has spent three years watching and talking to an enormous variety of old people: those who can afford to "grow old gracefully", the elderly poor who scrape by in urban ghettos, and those who age behind the walls of nursing homes. He lets them speak for themselves, and what they say is often surprising: it destroys many of our most cherished assumptions about aging. This book provides fundamental insights into ways to age with dignity and sense. -- Publisher description. |
From inside the book
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Page 24
... attempt to solidly nail down a stable concept.4 It will be shown later in this work that various sociological attempts to provide definitive statements about the process of growing old have fallen short of the mark . And it must be so ...
... attempt to solidly nail down a stable concept.4 It will be shown later in this work that various sociological attempts to provide definitive statements about the process of growing old have fallen short of the mark . And it must be so ...
Page 93
... attempt to fit his preconceived no- tions of success to the elderly . Apart from the obvious fault of attempting to graft his own meaning of success onto others , Havighurst falls prey to other assumptions . He equates activity with ...
... attempt to fit his preconceived no- tions of success to the elderly . Apart from the obvious fault of attempting to graft his own meaning of success onto others , Havighurst falls prey to other assumptions . He equates activity with ...
Page 116
... attempt to see how the meaning of old age is affected by poorness . This quest entailed spending many research hours sitting on park benches , in hotel lounges , and in recreation halls . My attempts to talk to poor elders were not ...
... attempt to see how the meaning of old age is affected by poorness . This quest entailed spending many research hours sitting on park benches , in hotel lounges , and in recreation halls . My attempts to talk to poor elders were not ...
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Common terms and phrases
activities activity theory Age and Aging aides American asked attempt became become behavior Bismark Chapter Chicago Press convalescent center coordinator cultural dance do-gooders Dumazedier edited elderly elders engage Erving Goffman ethic examined Free Press friends Georg Simmel Gerontology Godot Grazia Gretchen growing old Grushin Havighurst Herbert Blumer Hidden Valley husband Ibid important individuals interaction Irving Rosow Jean Paul Sartre joiners large number lives look lunch Max Weber meal meaning ment Meyersohn moved Neugarten notion of leisure nurse old age older one's organized P. G. Wodehouse participant observation patients person Phil Pieper poor problems relaxers retired Riesman Robert roles Sebastian de Grazia setting seven skid row Smigel social society sociological sociologist spends symbolic interactionism talk television things told University of Chicago University Press various volunteer waiters waiting Waiting for Godot walk York young