Gerontology—Courses
Please note that not every course listed is offered each year and that students should consult the following sources for current course offerings:
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
GERO-2013. Introduction to Gerontology
This introductory course is multidisciplinary in nature and considers selected basic information about aging and older persons that derives from biology, psychology, sociology, demography, and the humanities. In addition to relating this information and scientific findings about aging, an attempt will be made to discuss the difficulties involved in establishing facts about aging and older persons.
GERO-2023. Multidisciplinary Issues in Aging
This course will consider the complexity and interrelatedness of various dimensions of adult development and aging, and what this state of affairs suggests for research and practice. Topics of discussion will include selected theories of adult intelligence, personality, and social aging. Further, the multidisciplinary nature of intervention will also be considered in relation to such areas as health care, death and dying, and work and retirement.
GERO-2113. Sociology of Aging
This course will explore the comparative situation of older women and men in different cultures and different historical periods within western societies. The cultural and social-structural determinants of their changing status will be examined through alternative theoretical perspectives within sociology. The social construction of 'elderly' as a status will be explored through how older people are perceived, described, talked about, and interacted with within everyday behaviour, and how these relations may be 'negotiated' by the elderly themselves. The political economy of aging focuses upon disparities of income, and the determinants and effects of poverty on the lives of older people. Prerequisite: GERO 2013 or SOCI 1003.
GERO-2273. Death and Dying
This course explores a wide range of topics in the area of death and dying. As a fundamental issue for human beings, these phenomena require investigation from a variety of perspectives. The course considers aspects of death and dying that are religious, philosophical, psychological, and sociological in nature. Further, the course is concerned with both practical and theoretical issues that arise from the relationship between aging, and death and dying.
GERO-2643. Adult Psychopathology
This course examines issues in the diagnosis and treatment of the most common psychological disorders in adulthood. Students are introduced to the history of psychopathology, from primitive to modern times, which traces the development of biological, psychodynamic, behavioural, cognitive, and socioculural models of abnormality. Possible topics include: anxiety disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia, and personality disorders.
GERO-2673. Adult Development and Aging
The course provides an introduction to psychological aspects of aging faced by middle and oldaged persons as they adapt to life events. Topics of study include: demographical studies, theories and models of aging, psychological assessment of elderly persons, personality in adulthood, changes in vision and audition, memory processing, learning, and intellectual functioning. Prerequisite: GERO 2013/ PSYC 1013.
GERO-3023. Aging and Health
Various aspects of aging and health will be addressed in this course. Important topics to be considered are: normal vs. pathological changes with age, principles of survival and the preservation of quality of life, and antecedents to physical, mental, social and spiritual health. The course will also analyze current conceptions of health and health care in an aging population, including ethical implications of these approaches. Prerequisite: GERO 2013 + 2023.
GERO-3033. Aging and Spirituality
This lecture-seminar course examines the process of aging and human development from a spiritual perspective. This objective is carried out by means of an exploration of: (a) an emerging theoretical and empirical literature which focuses on spiritual aspects of aging and which originates in diverse traditions, (b) the practical and ethical issues that arise from an explicit acknowledgement of human spirituality in research and practice in gerontology, and (c) the importance of considering one's personal images and stereotypes of both aging and spirituality. In this regard, the course includes an experiential, dialogical dimension.
GERO-3043. Recreation, Leisure and Aging
This lecture-seminar course will explore the meaning of leisure and the role it plays in the lives of older adults. It is designed to familiarize students with the process of aging as related to leisure, recreation, and lifestyle. The theoretical aspects of aging and their implications for leisure will be the primary focus, while the practical aspects of recreation program development, delivery, and facilitation for both community-based and institutional-based older persons will also be examined. Prerequisite: GERO 2013.
GERO-3053. Qualitative Research Methods (HMRT) (SOCI) (RELG) (PSYC)
This course is intended for third-year honours students who are considering using qualitative analysis in the research for their honours thesis. It will address theoretical foundations of qualitative analysis, research ethics for qualitative researchers, and provide hands-on experience in developing a research question and collecting and analyzing data using basic qualitative techniques including observation, in-depth interviewing, and unobtrusive measures.
GERO-3063. Aging and Biography
This lecture-seminar course explores theoretical, methodological, and intervention issues centering on the use of life stories or biographical materials in gerontology. The course considers selected research from the humanities and social sciences that deals with the significance of biography for understanding human aging. In addition, students engage in an autobiographical exercise which provides a personal dimension to the course.
GERO-3073. Narrative Gerontology
This seminar-style course considers the theoretical and practical implications for gerontology of the narrative root metaphor, or life as story. Against the background of the narrative turn in the human sciences generally, and of specific practices in geriatric care like life review and reminiscence, the course will use basic story elements such as plot, character, point of view, genre, and style to explore the dynamics of continuity and change in the course of autobiographical aging. Through assignments and classroom activities, students will be encouraged to apply such elements to understanding their own development and to their involvement in the storytelling-storylistening exchange that is part of their work as care givers to seniors.
GERO-3083. Gender and Aging (GEND)
This course examines issues involving how one's gender affects one's experience of aging. It looks at how the field of gerontology has traditionally dealt with the concept of gender as well as the feminization of old age, and how this has affected both women's and men's experiences of aging.
GERO-3093. Images of Aging in Film (GEND)
This course explores popular views of the elderly using motion pictures. It looks at the impact of stereotypes on older people's expectations for later life. As a result of this course, students should be able to look at films more critically and identify images communicated through the media. Prerequisite: GERO 2013.
GERO-3103. Special Topics: Historical Perspectives on Aging
This seminar-style course will inquire into fundamental continuities and changes in the meanings and experiences of growing older, with special emphasis on historical trends in western civilization. Prerequisites: none.
GERO-3123. Counselling Older Adults
This course considers several important aspects of counselling as they impact specifically on work with older adults. Topics include an overview of counselling and a review of counselling theories. These theories are then applied to contemporary issues in aging such as: changing adult lifestyles and societal expectations, stress factors in modern society, and living longer and healthier. This course involves extensive student participation and is most relevant to educators and professionals in the field of aging. Limited enrolment. Prerequisite: GERO 2013 + 2023.
GERO-3213. Older Adults as Learners
This course will draw on concepts and readings from adult education, the philosophy of education, and psycho-social, narrative, and educational gerontology. The course will consider how the content and processes of learning may change with advancing age in relation to physical health, sensory functions, reaction time, memory, motivation, and intelligence. Throughout the course, students will reflect on their life as a learner, experience a range of strategies for working with older learners, and learn to critique various formal organizations and informal contexts in which older adults learn.
GERO-3223. Family Ties and Aging (GEND)
This course examines a variety of issues regarding aging and the family. It considers historical and demographic trends as well as theoretical frameworks in family gerontology. The course covers a number of relationships including those of couples, siblings, and grandparents and grandchildren. It also looks at late-life transitions such as retirement, widowhood, and divorce, that affect family structures and relationships.
GERO-3233. Aging and Tai Chi: Theory, Reseach, and Practice
Tai Chi is a mind-body-spirit intervention that contributes to the maximization of quality of life for both frail and well adults. This course explores the philosophy and principles that form the basis of the art of Tai Chi. The course will also review research that demonstrates a range of health benefits of Tai Chi to adults of all ages, physical and psychological. Participants in the course will learn basic Tai Chi movements, and be introduced to guidelines for designing a program based on Tai Chi, for implementation in a variety of settings. The course will be of interest to students contemplating a career in gerontology, recreation, social work, education, or fine arts. The course is introductory and does not assume any experience on the part of the students.
GERO-3673. Challenges to Adult Development and Aging
The course investigates both normal and abnormal influences that pose challenges to the individual and social functioning of middle-aged and older adults. Topics of study include such relatively common events and transitions as menopause, retirement, relocation, loss of spouse, caring for an ailing parent or spouse, as well as pathological changes such as depression, substance abuse, terminal illness, and dementia. Emphasis is placed on changes in response to these influences and on the individual's coping strategies.
GERO-3733. Social Work and Aging
An examination of present services to the elderly population in New Brunswick and elsewhere, and identification of unmet needs. The course also provides an analysis of knowledge and principles developed in the field of gerontological practice.
GERO-3743. Critical Approaches to Nursing Homes
This seminar course will examine the phenomenon of nursing homes from an ethnographic and critical point of view and will include both sociological and anthropological perspectives. Prerequisite: GERO 2013.
GERO-4003. Mental Health and Aging
This course explores the range of factors affecting mental health in the elderly, from age-related organic brain disease, depression, and the other functional psychiatric disorders, to failure of adjustment induced by psychological, social, and environmental factors. Issues covered include the recognition of mental-health problems, their prevalence and dynamics; the cost to individual older people, their families, the health and community-care systems, and society; and the adequacy of current provisions and interventions.
GERO-4013. Seminar in Gerontology
This seminar course consists of an in-depth analysis of a specific problem or issue in the field of aging. Students have their chosen topic area approved and supervised by the course instructor. The purpose of this course is to integrate a student's theoretical and practical understanding of a specific area by way of a combination of a major paper, presentations, and/or other research. Prerequisites: GERO 2013 + 2023 and 50 hours of work and/or volunteer experience with older persons.
GERO-4023. Advanced Seminar in Gerontology
This course is intended for students in the final semester of the programme. It will consist of a multidisciplinary lecture-seminar format. Selected topics in aging research and intervention will be discussed. The purpose of this course is to ensure that students have a comprehensive background in the field of aging, including an understanding of ethics. Prerequisites: GERO 2013, 2023, and 4013.
GERO-4033. Independent Study
A course of independent study, under supervision of the Chair in Gerontology, which affords the student the opportunity to pursue an in-depth study of an area of interest through special reading or research projects. Arrangements may be made by agreement with members of the staff, and approval of the Chair. Prerequisite: GERO 2013 + 2023.
GERO-4036. Independent Study
A course of independent study, under supervision of the Chair in Gerontology, which affords the student the opportunity to pursue an in-depth study of an area of interest through special reading or research projects. Arrangements may be made by agreement with members of the staff, and approval of the Chair. Prerequisite: GERO 2013 + 2023.