Showing papers in "Canadian Journal of Sociology in 1969"

An Ethnographic Textual Analysis of Aging and the Elders in South Western Nigeria

Abstract: Among the Yoruba of South-Western Nigeria aging represents a valued process leading to a stage in life when an individual assumes the position of an elder and is accorded reverence and awe. The aged, who are attributed to be elders, are highly valued because of the belief that they are the repository of experience, knowledge and wisdom that are germane to societal survival. Despite the respect accorded them, elders are also, in turn, expected to exhibit noble character as the contextual local culture demands. These expectations are reflected in indigenous social thought and Atari Ajanaku’s Agbalagba and Agba Langba poems. This study analyzed these poems using Akiwowo’s Theory of Sociation. The theory contextually explains the Yoruba social organization and social behaviour noting the concepts of iwa (character), ihuwasi (behavioural pattern), isesi (pattern of doing or simply action) and ajumose (doing in unison) as integral characteristics of the local social structure without which, the local social structure may not be contextually understood. The data for the study were generated from Atari Ajanaku’s poems on the elder and subjected to ethnographic analysis.

Theorizing Aging in Nepal: Beyond the Biomedical Model

Abstract: This paper has in part emerged from work recently undertaken by Parker and Pant under a British Academy funded Small Grant examining the phenomenon of aging in Nepal This has enabled them to work in collaboration with the Nepal School of Social Work in Kathmandu to both generate locally relevant empirical research on aging and to facilitate the creation of spaces for dialogue on the implications of aging in Nepal As a result of this project a network of key academics, activists, government policy makers and non-government organizations, both national and international, has been formed The findings of this study reveal a lack of both empirical data and theoretical development on aging in Nepal Aging in the west is often viewed from a biomedical perspective where the emphasis is on medical treatment and health and social care arrangements Biomedicine also dominates international health strategies, organizations, and the funding streams for aid, of which Nepal is a recipient Whilst longevity is clearly a positive outcome of development, it also presents health and social care dilemmas This paper provides an opportunity to explore some of these key issues and highlights the need for practitioners, policy makers and the research community in Nepal to provide an open dialogue in which local, culturally appropriate decisions can be developed in the best interest of older people in Nepal

Towards a Globalization of Aging

Abstract: This article locates an understanding of comparative grounding of aging through the theory of globalization. It reviews the trends of aging in various countries across the continents and points out important policy issues facing nation states with decreasing sovereignty in the face of various challenges brought about by globalization. The need to reconsider theorizing aging by exploring and integrating theories of globalization is highlighted.

George Herbert Mead on Ancient Greek Society: An Introduction

Abstract: The publication of these previously unpublished papers (in their complete version) (2) by George Herbert Mead unveils a very interesting aspect of his thought, and should attract attention because of their deep and original sociological foundations. Whereas Mead is widely known for his theoretical contribution to the development of social psychology (mainly through his posthumous book Mind, Self and Society)? which has had a considerable influence in sociology, his own sociological conceptions have remained somewhat less known. For a number of reasons, ranging from the fact that he scattered his articles in philosophical, psychological, and sociological journals without ever assembling them into a book, to the somehow problematic legacy of his thought in the Chicago School of sociology, as well as the almost exclusive--if partial--appropriation of his views by the symbolic interactionist school, Mead's wider sociological reflections have remained virtually unexplored until recently. (4) And even though the last part of Mind, Self and Society is devoted to "society," amounting to almost one-fourth of the total volume and pointing to many fertile developments in sociology, Mead's conceptions of society and sociological analysis per se still remain much neglected by contemporary sociology. While the "return to Mead" movement initiated by Hans Joas in the 1980s has been a fruitful and decisive attempt to revive the originality of this thinker, much work remains to be done if we want a more complete and clearer picture of Mead's legacy for sociological theory and sociological analysis. (5) For one thing, Mead's ideas on the development of an international society, which accompanied the unparalleled development of US society during the 20th century, strike us today as acutely relevant in these times where a unilateral "globalization" has imposed itself as the new catchword to describe our world--albeit more often than not deprived, because of the strictly positive (if not positivistic) content of that notion, of its internal dialectical dynamics concerning the individual's self-consciousness and social movements which were so crucial for Mead's sociological understanding. Also, Mead's historical reflections, which shun historicism while nevertheless embracing the requirements of a scientific view of society and an historicity inspired by the logic of experimentation, can still teach us some lessons about the possible contributions a Meadian sociological analysis can provide regarding the present state of contemporary society. Mead's concept of society, in other words, still demands further attention, and much can be gained in contemporary sociological analysis from his reflections on social larger dynamics, particularly when coupled with his ideas about social reform and an "experimental path" for social action. At any rate, and as the reader will see, the papers that follow presents Mead's main analytical claim about the relationship between individuals and society, the idea that "mind" always appears as the mediation between self-consciousness and the historical development of a specific society. For example, in addressing the development of Greek society with respect to its philosophy, Mead pays attention to the different movements that composed social relations of the times, as well as to the different spiritual and philosophical expressions that reflect them, making possible the reconstruction of highly complex social situations. The first paper situates a very important step in Mead's reflections, since it locates the origins of the scientific mind together with the social reforms that took place in ancient Greece, roughly between the 7th and 4th centuries BCE, which also witnessed the emergence of democracy as a political concept and practice. What interested Mead in this paper, then, is the demonstration of the social processes that form the basis of self-reflection, both on the part of the formation of individual consciousnesses and society as a whole, in terms of its reorganization. …

Clinical Sociology: Social Rehabilitation of Schizophrenia in China and Implications for Aging Research

Abstract: This article illustrates a clinical sociology approach to psychosocial inquiry and a heuristic analytical grid as a methodological guide. Key concerns of clinical sociology including the notion of self, individual–society relationship, a priority on experience and meaning (including implicit language), action/intervention, and other theoretical and methodological issues are reviewed. The heuristic analytical grid is depicted in seven themes: the individual, the society, the time dimension, “levels” or types of communication, social representation (of mental health/illness), intervention, and organizational dimension of (medical) intervention. Relevance to the study of gerontology is indicated by highlighting the similarities between the study of personal experience of psychiatric rehabilitation and the study of aging. Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.

Sociological imagination for the aged society

Abstract: The aim of this article is to explore how the sociological imagination may generate new insights regarding the dangers and possibilities that arise when an old order disintegrates and a new one has to be created. The new order is theorized as the “aged society”. The aged society is demarcated by radical population aging that also constitutes our main challenge, especially when coupled with globalization and new technological developments. In this article, the questions and challenges of the aged society, as an emergent world, are not perceived as purely financial, neuroscientific, biological, or technological ones, but as issues of freedom and reason. Contemplating the aged society, however tentative it might be since it regards social realities that are still becoming, might enable us to reconsider and reassess presuppositions of most current aging studies in terms of these values at risk