Course overview
The aim of this course is to develop students' knowledge regarding the sociology of disability and ageing with a strong focus on the social construction of disability and ageing and the diversity of the lived experience. Students will examine disability and ageing as a sociological phenomenon, theories of ageing and disability through the life course, positive ageing and the political economy of ageing. Students will develop their understanding of the social construction of disability and ageing and the diversity in the lived experience in and across different social institutions and contexts. Students will explore how disability and ageing intersect with other categories of identity, particularly those of gender and sexuality, ‘race' and ethnicity, socio-economic status, and the complex relationships among these categories.
Course learning outcomes
- Critique and apply a critical understanding of key historical and contemporary sociological theories and concepts of disability and ageing
- Examine the relationship between society and its institutions, disability and ageing
- Compare and contrast to current practices the challenges around diversity and complexity in the experiences of disability and ageing, and the ways that multiple categories of identity intersect
- Develop a service model to evaluate how diverse categories of identity including gender and sexuality, 'race' and ethnicity, socio-economic status and age intersect in the representation, imagining and experience of disability and ageing
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