Sociology of Aging
Gloria Kraus was born on September 15th in 1923, making her a part of the G.I. Generation. It is this generation that is mostly responsible for participation in WWII, as well as, reaching young adulthood during the years of the Great Depression. This cohort has been seen as having a strong demeanor due to the major historical events of the time. Gloria was fortunate to come from a middle to upper class Jewish family. This allowed for her to experience a childhood above the poverty line. Having a surplus of essential items for life such as food and water, allowed for Gloria to focus on schoolwork. For many others in this cohort, poverty was a very real aspect of life. Instead of a surplus of food, …show more content…
Having just recently gained the right to vote a few years before her birth, Gloria grew up in a society that had a greater understanding of the different roles a woman could play. Before this point, women were mostly subjugated to a role within the household unless there was a significant need for the woman to work in order to survive. However, this outlook of roles for woman began to change shortly before Gloria’s birth and throughout her life. This push for woman’s rights is what allowed for Gloria to have the opportunity to hold the esteemed position of Auditor for a large welfare office in …show more content…
By actually interviewing an elder, it allows for the student to delve into aging at a personal level. Whereas readings and videos can be effective, they tend to remain an impersonal reference. With the actual study of a person’s life, it allows for the study to relate class material to a specific example of aging. This allows for the student to relate broad national trends, as well as, rights birth –race, gender, sexual orientation, social class, etc.- to better understand not only how, but why the studied individual experienced aging in the way they did. By answering the question of why, the student gains the ability to focus the broad sweeping topics of class into a more refined scope. This refined scope is one of the best ways to focus on aging. This is due to the fact that all individuals age differently. Although the broad scopes discussed in class pertain to national trends, when attempting to study and therefore, better the aging process one must understand that to fix the national trends one must start at the individual and build from there. Through this individualistic examination, nation trends begin to offer ways in which to fix the specific aging problem that elders