The Sociology of the Ageing Society – An introduction to the social, cultural, and economic analysis of ageing and social change

Aim

After completing the course, the student will be able to:

• describe and discuss key issues of the ageing society, the individual bases, societal foundations and relevant challenges of ongoing age-structural shifts as well as its relations to social, cultural and economic change from a social science perspective.

• reflect on problems of social and economic policies in the ageing society from an interdisciplinary perspective.

• discuss scenarios for future developments of the ageing society in an interdisciplinary perspective on social, cultural and economic change on the national, European and global level.

Content

The course gives and introduction to the social science analysis of the ageing society. It will take a sociological micro- as well as a macro perspective and discuss the ageing society from the perspective of individual life as well as of social, cultural and political change in the 21st century. After an introduction to the basics of theory and demography of the ageing society, the course will address key challenges, research perspectives and policy prospects with a national and international focus.