Narrative Gerontology: A Post-Modern Reading of the Latter Stage of Life: A Conversation with William Randall

Abstract

Contrary to the conventional view of aging as a story of inevitable decline, William Randall and his colleagues at St. Thomas University in Fredricton, NewBrunswick, are busy investigating and promoting an alternative view of aging as the "post-modern stage" of life-when a storied awareness of ambiguity opens possibilities for wisdom, "positive" irony, and soulful connections with others. This interview explores the concepts and practices that contribute to this richly hopeful conception of the generative "inner story" of the older adult. CRITICAL GERONTOLOGY BM (Bonnie Miller): Bill, I get the sense through our conversations that youhave a genuine respect for the field of gerontology, and you've been careful in our talks to give credit to what is being done there, but I wonder if we can start our interview by looking at some of the critiques that have informed your work. What has been absent from conversations and studies in the field of gerontology, in your opinion? WR (William Randall): I think since I started to teach gerontology in 1995, I've become aware of how the field and discipline of gerontology has focused extra heavily on the biomedical aspects of the aging process, and on the cognitive dimensions of aging, but in an empirical, positivist sort of way. Focusing on the low hanging fruit, things that can be measured. For example, rather than looking at the meanings of what our memories hold for us and how those meanings might change as we get older, the focus has been

Ontological security as an unconscious motive of social media users

“…What emerges is a participatory group discussion of some period of yesteryear, all centred on the personal experiences of one or more members of the group. This same technique provides benefits for older people who are not in an aged care facility (Miller, 2011). Life story groups are remarkably similar to the kinds of exchanges occurring on Facebook and YouTube in response to nostalgia-evoking stimuli.…”