Aging and Disability: The Paradoxical Positions of the Chronological Life Course
Main Article Content
Keywords
successful aging, structured dependency, legitimized identity
Abstract
This paper explores aging and disability, problematizing the paradoxical tendency to separate and conflate these social locations in chronological understandings of the life course. Exploring how such thinking has shaped assumptions, responses, knowledge, policy and practice, we conclude with suggestions to reconsider disability across the life course and into late life.
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Amanda Grenier, Health, Aging and Society, McMaster University Gilbrea Centre, McMaster University
Amanda Grenier (PhD, McGill) is Associate Professor in the Department of Health, Aging and Society at McMaster University, Canada. She currently holds the Gilbrea Chair in Aging and Mental Health, and is Director of the Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging. Her funded research and publications have focused on homecare, frailty, transitions, and older homelessness.
Meredith Griffin, Health, Aging and Society, McMaster University Gilbrea Centre, McMaster University
Meridith Griffin (PhD, Exeter, UK) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health, Aging and Society at McMaster University. Her research has explored lived embodiment with respect to aging, health consciousness, and disability in the realms of sport, leisure, and physical activity, and this work has been published in international journals including such titles as Public Health, Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise & Health, Ageing & Society, and Sport, Education & Society.
Colleen McGrath, Post-doctoral fellow, AGE-WELL NCE Gilbrea Centre, McMaster University
Colleen McGrath (PhD, Western; OT Reg- Ont.) is a recent graduate of the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (Health and Aging) PhD program at the University of Western Ontario. She is currently working as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the NCE (Networks of Centres of Excellence)-funded AGE-WELL (Aging Gracefully across Environments using Technology to Support Wellness, Engagement, and Long Life) Network.