Spring 2018 - SA 319 D100
Transnational Aging (A) (4)
Class Number: 1072
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Tue, Thu, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
Parin Dossa
pdossa@sfu.ca
1 778 782-3778
Office: AQ 5060
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Prerequisites:
SA 101 or 150 or 201W.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Explores how mobility and migration across borders influence the lives of older people, with attention to how multigenerational transnational families mutually negotiate care and support. Political and socio-cultural factors will be examined through case studies from around the world in order to assess how we age in a transnational world.
COURSE DETAILS:
As a principle of social organization, age can provide a lens through which we can understand social change in today’s world of transnational mobility and migration. This understanding has been muted in our youth-centered world. As such, the socio-political and economic contributions of older women and men have been overlooked across borders. Global discourse on the so-called crisis of aging define them as a burden to society and family, rendering them into a service population. This is not the case. Anthropologists and scholars from other disciplines have documented nuanced perspectives arguing that ultimately age and the process of aging are determined as much by political and economic factors as by the creativity and vitality of older adults as they reconfigure their transnational subjectivities in contexts they find meaningful. Scholars have highlighted the importance of critical analysis and interdisciplinary research that speak to the experiences and life circumstances of the aged.
A politicized critique on the re-formulation of knowledge along with methodology will be covered in two interrelated parts. First, we will examine transnational and gendered perspectives with special attention to topical concerns such as the political economy of aging, health, intergenerational relationships, sociality, transnational perspectives and the culture of institutionalized and palliative care. The second part of the course will be exploratory to accommodate case studies from different societies. We will identify examples for nuanced understanding of the process of aging at multiple "sites" in relation to the intersectional paradigm of class, gender, migration and citizenship among other variables. We will focus on the reconstruction of meaning on what it is like to age within and across cultural, social and political boundaries. An informing theme of the course will be re-formulation of social knowledge on aging, health care and end-of-life conversations in relation to the larger processes of globalization and neoliberalism.
COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Acquire an understanding of the theoretical and methodological challenges surrounding studies on age and aging, transnationally and across borders
- Appreciate the knowledge base generated through case studies
- Acquire a critical understanding of the ways in which transnationalism, migration, gender and age reveal societal issues
- Develop a keen awareness on research accountability, collaborative work and activism
- Understand the politicization of geo-political and social crossing of borders
- Recognize the value of storied lives of older persons, transnationally
Grading
- Article review 20%
- Group presentations/individual papers 20%
- Term paper 40%
- Class participation 20%
NOTES:
Grading
When a final exam is scheduled and you do not write the exam or withdraw from the course before the deadline date, you will be assigned a N grade. Unless otherwise specified on the course outline, all other graded assignments in this course must be completed in order for a final grade other than N to be assigned.
Academic Dishonesty and Misconduct Policy
The Department of Sociology and Anthropology follows SFU policy in relation to grading practices, grade appeals (Policy T 20.01) and academic dishonesty and misconduct procedures (S10.01‐ S10.04). Unless otherwise informed by your instructor in writing, in graded written assignments you must cite the sources you rely on and include a bibliography/list of references, following an instructor-approved citation style. It is the responsibility of students to inform themselves of the content of SFU policies available on the SFU website: http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student.html.
REQUIREMENTS:
This course has a lecture/seminar format. Students are required to participate actively in class and lead group discussions. Consistent attendance is mandatory.
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
Dossa, Parin and Coe, Cati (Ed.) (2017). Transnational Aging and Reconfigurations of Kin Work, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
ISBN: 978-0813588070
Lamb, Sarah. (2009). Aging and the Indian Diaspora: Cosmopolitan Families in India and Abroad. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
ISBN: 978-0253353436
Additional articles will be available through SFU online journals and websites to be accessed by students independently.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Cole, Jennifer and Durham, Deborah. (2007). Generations and Globalization: Youth, Age and Family in the New World Economy, Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
ISBN: 978-0253218704
Registrar Notes:
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS