Gerontology in Five Images

Abstract

In his Kent Award lecture, Scott Bass called for a greater coherence of gerontology. This article proposes that the teaching of gerontology is one way to address the centrifugal tendencies of the field and economize its disciplinary sprawl. The instructional strategy is to concentrate attention to a limited number of focal visuals from which the exposition of gerontological knowledge can radiate out and to which it can circle back. The 5 images selected here synthesize numerous ideas about life course; senescence, development, and interventions in these processes; the long gestation of relative health and illness; the succession of cohorts and social change; and the question of preparing for and managing the uncertainties of adult life. The 5 pictures and charts show some common features, such as lifelong flows of time and a recurring arc-like shape that is used to depict them. A sixth image is suggested in order to counter the impression that aging is a process of diminishment. Most knowledge about aging is rooted in a core discipline, but the teaching of that knowledge beyond the discipline can integrate content in fruitful ways.

Keywords: Heterogeneity; Life course; Responsibility; Teaching.