Welcome - Women and Aging
GWST 3810 Women and Aging
CREDIT HOURS: 3
As women grow older the experience of aging is generally more difficult for them than for men. Somewhere in the forties, anxieties about the aging process exacerbate the difficulties facing women in modern society. Disempowering older women is usually accomplished in small increments. “Old woman” is a pejorative label; the older a woman becomes, the less credibility she generally has; this is especially true for women of color, poor women, lesbians, and women who are physically challenged. While aging is a biological phenomenon, ageism is socially constructed. Specifically, under patriarchy, older women are seen as a burden, desexualized and segregated by both men and younger women. They are usually not taken very seriously, nor seen as a threat. This course will explore the issues related to social, psychological, political and economic factors that are major determinants to the well-being of aging women based upon race, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities and class inequities.
FORMAT:
PREREQUISITES:
SOSA 1002.03 and
SOSA 1003.03, or 2 credits in Women’s Studies
EXCLUSIONS:
SOSA 3245.03,
NURS 4370/5850.03
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