Age, Health & Work SOCI 3177

Professor: Jennifer Calverley Email: jennifew@nipissingu.ca

Office # A 303 Office hours: by appt.

Course Description: This course examines issues, concepts, and trends in relation to
age, health, and work for individuals and society. A range of interrelated issues are
addressed such as employers' attitudes toward older workers and age discrimination,
older workers' perceptions of barriers to employment, health of older workers, and
retirement issues.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Apply the sociological imagination and fundamental sociological concepts &

principles to the intersection of age, health and work.
2. To understand how age, health and work intersect and are interdependent.
3. To understand how the work environment impacts the health of workers.
4. Describe and compare various theories of aging and well-being.
5. Compare & contrast the role of race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status and
education in creating or maintaining inequality in regard to health and work.
6. Identify what an unhealthy workplace is and the lifelong consequences of one.

7. Explain how work stressors can be mitigated to support better health and well-
being, and healthier aging.

Course Evaluation: 4 tests @ 25% each = 100%

Required Readings: There is no required reading for the course, I simply could not find
a text that encompassed age/health/work altogether. Throughout the course articles
may be posted on the Blackboard site.

Course Schedule:

Week 1, January 10-14: Course/Syllabus Review

Week 2, January 17-21: Introduction to Age, Health & Work

- Wilson K., M. W. Rosenberg, S. Abonyi and R. Lovelace. 2010. Aging and Health:
An Examination of Differences between Older Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal
People. Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement, 29:
369-382.

Week 3, January 24-28: A Life Course Perspective

- Grenier, A., Hatzifilalithis, S., Kobayashi, K., Marierre, P., Phillipson, C., Rudman,
D. (2017) Precarity in Late Life: Understanding New Forms of Risk and
Insecurity. Journal of Aging Studies.(43) 9-14.
- Settersten, Jr., R. A. & Trauten, M. (2010). On Time and Ties: Why the Life
Course Matters for Old Age Policies. In R. B. Hudson (Ed.), The New Politics of
Old Age Policy (pp. 141-159). JHU Press.

Week 4, January 31 -February 4: Test #1

Week 5, February 7-11: How Health & Well-Being are Affected by Work

- Menec, V., Shooshtari, S., Swift, A. & Tate, R. (2020). Exploring Ethno-Cultural
Variations in How Older Canadians Define Healthy Aging: The Canadian
Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Journal of Aging Studies (52) 1-8.

Week 6, February 14-18: Issues of Aging Workers

 - Menec, V. H. (2003). The Relation Between Everyday Activities and Successful
Aging: A 6-Year Longitudinal Study. The Journals of Gerontology Series B:
Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 58(2), S74-S82
- Talmage, C. A., Mark, R., Slowey, M., & Knopf, R. C. (2016). Age Friendly
Universities and Engagement with Older Adults: Moving from Principles to
Practice. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 35(5), 537-554.
doi:10.1080/02601370.2016.1224040

Week 7, February 21-25: Reading Week

Week 8, February 28-March 4: Test #2

(I will make the test available during the reading week for those who want to get it

done then)

Week 9, March 7-11: Retirement

- Josh Curtis, Weizhen Dong, Naomi Lightman & Matthew Parbst (2017) Race,
Language, or Length of Residency? Explaining Unequal Uptake of Government
Pensions in Canada, Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 29:4, 332-351, DOI:
10.1080/08959420.2017.1319452
Week 10, March 14-18: Being Old and Poor

- The Conference Board of Canada (2013). Elderly poverty.

https://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/Details/society/elderlypoverty.aspx?
AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
- Milaney, K., Kamran, H., & Williams, N. (2020). A Portrait of Late Life
Homelessness in Calgary, Alberta. Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue
Canadienne Du Vieillissement, 39(1), 42-51. doi:10.1017/S0714980819000229

Week 11, March 21-25: Test #3

Week 12, March 28-April 1: LGBTQ+, Special Issues and Concerns

 - Stinchcombe, A., Smallbone, J., Wilson, K., & Kortes-Miller, K. (2017). Healthcare
and End-Of-Life Needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Older
Adults: A Scoping Review. Geriatrics, 2(1), 1-13.
https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics2010013

Week 13, April 4-8: Stereotypes, Myths and Media Representations of Older
Workers and Test #4

- Callister, M., Magoffin, D., Moore, J. & Robinson, T. (2007) The Portrayal of
Older Characters in Disney Animated Films. Journal of Aging Studies, 2. 203-213.
- Sandt-Lumme, Kris. (2011) Images of Ageing in a 50+ Magazine. Journal of
Aging Studies. 45-51.
- Wadleigh, P., Williams, A., & Ylanne, V. (2009). Ageing Well? Older People’s
Health and Well-Being as Portrayed in UK Magazine Advertisements.
International Journal of Ageing and Later Life, (2): 33_62.

Tests

You will have 4 tests, each worth 25% of your final mark. If you miss a test without
documentation (a medical/legal note or the obituary of an immediate family member)
you will receive a zero. There will be no final exam during the university’s exam period.
All tests will be written (no mc/tf).

Lockdown Browser

It is necessary to download lockdown browser in order to complete the tests. It

prohibits anything else from being open/available on your computer during a quiz or
exam. It must be downloaded from Nipissing University, nowhere else, or it will not work
with course content. When you complete a test, do NOT open Blackboard to complete
it, open lockdown browser first. There is a practice test available on Blackboard for you
to make sure everything is working properly, before actually attempting a test.
Email: Allow 48 hours for a response. Identify the course you are enrolled in and your
full name. Consider email equivalent to any other form of written communication.
Students should follow rules of spelling, grammar and punctuation. Email containing
questions that can be answered by referring to this syllabus or documents posted on
Blackboard will not be answered.

Facebook: The Department of Sociology and Anthropology has a Facebook page

(Nipissing U Sociology and Anthropology Department) and an Instagram page
(nipissingusocandanthro). These are not course pages, but rather general accounts that
will regularly include posts regarding current issues/events/ etc. that are sociologically
relevant. It will give you a good idea of the breadth of topics sociology involves.

Student Accessibility Services

Returning Students: you are required to complete the ‘Returning Student Form’ to
inform Student Accessibility Services that you require accommodations for another
term, and to initiate the release of your letters of accommodation to your professors.

All students registered with SAS: if you require testing accommodations, remember to
book your quizzes/tests/midterms and final exams with SAS by the applicable
deadlines. Need course materials in alternate format? Connect with SAS to have your
course materials converted into an accessible format for you.

Policies

1. Avoidance of Academic Offenses: Students are expected to know what constitutes

academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offenses, and to take responsibility for
their actions. Students who are unsure whether an action constitutes an offense, or who
need help in learning how to avoid offenses (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about rules
for group work / collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor. Issues
around Nipissing University academic policies and regulations, including academic
dishonesty, can be found at:
http://academiccalendar.nipissingu.ca/Catalog/ViewCatalog.aspx?
pageid=viewcatalog&catalogid=4&chapterid=314 &loaduseredits=False

2. Intellectual Property Statement: All materials developed for this course, including, but
not limited to, lectures, lecture notes and slides, assignments, examinations and syllabi,
that are provided in class or online, are the intellectual property of the course instructor
and/or the textbook publishers. Posting, providing, sharing or selling any audio, video,
or textual materials by Jennifer M. Calverley is prohibited. Participation in this course
constitutes an agreement by all parties to respect the intellectual property rights as well
as the privacy of others during and after their association with Nipissing University. The
only exception to the above is formally authorized accommodation arrangements made
through Student Development Services.