Inclusion of Age in Undergraduate Curricula: A Study of Literature Professors' Pedagogies
Presentation Type
Event
Full Name of Faculty Mentor
Cynthia Port
Other Mentors
Additional Mentor: Aneilya Barnes, History
Major
Philosophy
Minor
English
Presentation Abstract
Omitting age studies from college curricula leaves stereotypes of aging unchallenged, perpetuating prejudice and lack of consideration for age among traditional undergraduate students. Research demonstrates that such stereotypes have health consequences for older adults. This evidence of a cultural idea that age is synonymous with deterioration and death significantly decreases older adults' will to live. Meanwhile, those aged 60 and over are expected to increase to two billion (21 percent) of the world population by 2050. The problem of leaving age out, then, is crucial to acknowledge. The college classroom is one place to address this, especially by using feminist strategies as a foundation for teaching age studies. However, awareness of and care for the issue are prerequisites for change. In this study, interviews are conducted with literature professors in the English department at Coastal Carolina University to survey importance of inclusion in curricula, through the particular lens of age.
Course
HFA 310
Location
Brittain Hall, Room 114
Start Date
16-4-2019 6:40 PM
End Date
16-4-2019 7:00 PM
Disciplines
English Language and Literature
Recommended Citation
Patterson, Corryn, "Inclusion of Age in Undergraduate Curricula: A Study of Literature Professors' Pedagogies" (2019). Undergraduate Research Competition. 47.
https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/ugrc/2019/oral/47
Inclusion of Age in Undergraduate Curricula: A Study of Literature Professors' Pedagogies
Brittain Hall, Room 114
Omitting age studies from college curricula leaves stereotypes of aging unchallenged, perpetuating prejudice and lack of consideration for age among traditional undergraduate students. Research demonstrates that such stereotypes have health consequences for older adults. This evidence of a cultural idea that age is synonymous with deterioration and death significantly decreases older adults' will to live. Meanwhile, those aged 60 and over are expected to increase to two billion (21 percent) of the world population by 2050. The problem of leaving age out, then, is crucial to acknowledge. The college classroom is one place to address this, especially by using feminist strategies as a foundation for teaching age studies. However, awareness of and care for the issue are prerequisites for change. In this study, interviews are conducted with literature professors in the English department at Coastal Carolina University to survey importance of inclusion in curricula, through the particular lens of age.