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This series of presentations are an accompaniment to terrific textbook 'Sociology, 7th edition' by Giddens and Sutton (2013). There is a very strong focus on visuals, with many additional short activities designed to foster interaction between teachers and students. The text from Giddens and Sutton is usually paraphrased and reworded to aid the comprehension of students, particularity those of lower language ability than Giddens and Sutton had in mind. The sociology of the age and the life course is the perfect embodiment of contemporary sociology as a whole, and a branch of the discipline with direct relevance to every individual in late-modern capitalist industrial societies. Sociology is the study of how the structure of any particular society largely dictates how individuals must live; the analysis of the plight of the modern individual in a rapidly changing world. By using this frame of reference, we often reveal social phenomena previously regarded as "natural" and eternal as -in actual fact- "social constructions" that are completely dependent on the socio-historical era for their own existence. The sociology of the life course looks at how the meanings attached to something as fundamental as a "stage of life" (e.g. childhood) change across time and space; in other words, in different historical eras and -still today- in different places around this complex and diverse planet, the expectations attached to -say- being pre-teen, a teenager, or someone over the age of 50 are products of capitalist, industrial modernity and therefore very, very recent developments in our 800,000 year human history. This series begins with an introduction to the different aspects of ageing, with an emphasis on the development of social self (looking-glass self), which is something all humans do regardless of time and space; it is part of the psychological process of growing up in all societies. We then establish what social ageing is; the fundamentals of the sociology of ageing. Later chapters of the series analyze the different stages of life, in turn, in socio-historical perspective; beginning with what we would today call "childhood" (pre-teen), before looking at "youth", "young adulthood", "mature adulthood" and finally "later life".
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The Sociology of the Life Course
6- Later life; with emphasis on Vietnam, and the industrialized
‘West’
Accompaniment to the superb Giddens and Sutton (2013) (left) Chapter 9, with an assortment of additional accompanying resources and activities
Contents
6 The sociology of later life
Also in the series…
1 How do people age?2 The sociology of childhood3 The sociology of youth and adolescence4 The sociology of young adulthood5 The sociology of mature adulthood
4- Later LifeWith emphases on Vietnam and the industrialized “West”
see G&S 2013:352
The life stages in socio-historical perspective:
Despite the efforts of Aubrey DeGrey and
the SENS Foundation –and medical science generally- we do
certainly all grow old and, eventually, die
Activities:
Do you fear growing old? What might make the process more bearable?
We have seen how modernity
and late modernity change the
meanings associated with
all stages of life, and “later life” is no different
In other times and spaces, the elderly have always been treated
with upmost respect and granted
the highest status of all age
grades
Activities:
(i) What do you do to show respect for the elders in your life?
(ii) What do the folded arms of the children above symbolize? It’s not what you might think!
In Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Native American, African, South American -for example- the elderly
are looked up to for the
wisdom and
guidance they offer
younger generations
Not surprisingly, this was and is also the case
in indigenous societies where the
elderly are a source of knowledge
in a world of word-of-mouth
Activity:
In indigenous societies, what topics might the elderly be consulted on?
In the late-modern world, the elderly are still
“respected” -within families at least- but not to the extent of
earlier eras
Today’s elderly can feel
out-of-date
and irrelevant in a
fast-changing
societyActivity:
In what ways is today’s society particularly fast-changing?
In a fast-paced and fast-changing society that so clearly values
youthfulness, and requires so much
energy, increasing age no longer denotes
increasing status
Activity:
In what ways does our society value ‘youthfulness’, and how can this be exemplified?
Today’s elderly can face
ageist hiring practices in the
workplace
Activity:
What is ‘ageism’ and why might employers display signs of it? Answer with reference to authority, power and status
…“symbolic annihilation” through media imagery and –
in general- a sense that they are “past it” and useless; not to mention a drain on
the funds of
their families and
government
Activity:
What is ‘symbolic annihilation’ and what other groups suffer from it in the media?
Furthermore, today’s elderly are prone to
loneliness and depression; a sad by-product of the
“freedom” enjoyed by younger generations
Many may have never had children, or –more commonly-
have no relatives living in their
geographical area
Activity:
Review the factors contributing to the loneliness experienced by many elderly today.
Many people in the contemporary world die
apart from their family and friends, in private
“retirement-” or “care-homes”
To many, this
typifies the experience of the late-
modern individual;
isolated from
one’s
extended family and
lacking community
Activities:
(i) Would you like your parents to be cared for in a retirement home when they are very old?
(ii) Would you like to spend your last days in a retirement home?
In Vietnamese society,
language gives a clear indication of
the importance of age; one addresses people according
not to their age itself, but to the differences in
age between the two speakers.One addresses someone based on how much
younger or older they are than
yourself
In Vietnamese culture, age is still
seen as an asset rather
than a liability, to a great extent; and people of all ages must
show respect to those
older than them
Activity:
In late-modern industrial societies, why might age be seen as a liability?
In Vietnam, it is culturally unacceptable to
raise one’s voice to
anyone older than oneself –for example- or
to serve oneself before them at dinner
Activity:
Suggest some more ways respect can be shown to one’s elders in your culture
In Vietnam, children fold their arms when speaking to elders- to show respect! Note that in other cultures this may well
signify lack of
enthusiasm or
stroppiness
At the top of the Vietnamese age stratification
system is the elderly; and
in terms of life experience,
today’s elderly
Vietnamese have “seen it all”…Activity:
Can you list three crucial events (and their aftermath) that today’s over-80 Vietnamese have lived through?
Many of today’s elderly remember
gaining independence from French rule in
1945- following the end of
World War II
And all of today’s elderly Vietnamese lived through
the – for many- brutal war
with America
Today’s Southern elderly recall
American occupation during the war, followed by the onset of
Communism
…whilst Northerners
may have suffered carpet bombings and
jungle warfare; their “side” lost
ten times as many people as the “losers”, USA
Northern and Southern elderly
alike then endured hard times materially; food
shortages,
starvation for
many, and
authoritarian Communist government throughout the late 1970s and 1980s
…followed by the opening-up of Vietnam to some degree of “Western
capitalism” with Doi Moi in 1986, and subsequent rapid development, especially since 2000
Today’s Vietnamese elderly are rightfully
highly respected…
But in most global societies, norms regarding age and status change with the onset of
late modernity. What will this mean for the
elderly of
Vietnam?
As a perfect example of a country in
demographic transition,
Vietnam has a
“ticking timebomb”
demographic problem regarding the elderly
Activity:
What is a “ticking timebomb” problem?
Activities:
(i) What does the graph represent? Does it show a snapshot or a trend?
(ii) We know that Vietnam’s fertility rate is now under 2, whereas in the 1940s-1980s it was over 4 (see GapMinder software). Combine this information with what we see in the graph to make a demographic prediction for 2060.
Today’s young people are
giving birth to far fewer babies per woman than in previous decades; meaning that by around
2060, the
country will be under enormous strain to
care for its elderly
Activities
(i)Which nations worldwide have this problem already? Are they in an early, or advanced stage of the demographic transition?
(ii) In what ways does an elderly person act as an economic liability to their family and nation state?
(iii) What short- and long-term solutions to this problem can you suggest?
As with many countries with this problem
e.g. Japan, this
difficult process coincides with what was
already a time of declining “respect” for the elderly due to modernization
Can Vietnam maintain its traditions in the face of
late modern developmen
t and the
demographic transition?