|
The term ‘successful aging’ is most commonly associated with the work of Rowe and Kahn (1987, 1998). In the 1980’s, a shift in the demographics of aging in the United States grew apparent when the first of the baby boomers began to reach their third decade of life. Researchers and legislators became concerned with the impact this would have on our social, economic and health care systems (Quadagno, 2008). “In 1985, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation assembled a group of scholars … to develop the conceptual basis for a new gerontology (Rowe & Kahn, 1998, p. xii).” This effort resulted in a series of coordinated research projects that looked at the biological, physical, social and mental factors that influence how people age.
For this issue of HJSR, we are interested in looking beyond individualistic qualities that influence how a person ages. We seek to explore how the structural contexts of community affect the experience of growing old. For the purposes of this exploration, community is defined as a group of people living in a shared location or having a particular characteristic in common.
Key themes include, but are not limited to:
- Social connectedness
- Racial resistance and resilience and aging
- Implications of culture, family or identity
- Models for increasing interdependence and improving quality of life
- Family and informal caregiving
- Re-imagining aging, late life and end of life
- Innovation in medical, behavioral or social services
We seek work that considers culture, community, and access to systems that support connections and quality of life. While we are interested in work on aging across communities, we particularly encourage submissions from those researching aging in rural or Indigenous contexts.
Submission Deadline: Sunday, November 15, 2020
Research Manuscripts: 12-point font, double-spaced, and generally not exceed 8500 words. Commentaries, creative writing, or poetry should not exceed 3000 words.
For submission details: https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/hjsr/ |
