Section on Aging and the Life Course

Roundtables and Research Groups

Current Research Groups

For submissions to Research Groups, send inquiries to the respective chair.

Research Group on Disability

Chair: Eva Kahana
Case Western Reserve University
Email: Eva.Kahana@Case.edu

Research Group on Parent-Child Relations

Chair: J. Jill Suitor
Purdue University
Email: jsuitor@purdue.edu

This research group provides a forum for discussing new research on relations between elderly parents and adult children. It is hoped that the discussion will include the consideration of conceptual frameworks and analytic strategies, rather than only the presentation of new findings. Projects of all types and in all stages of development are welcome for discussion. Networking and collaboration are facilitated.

Research Group on Comparative Aging

Chair: Duane A. Matcha
Siena College
Email: matcha@siena.edu

Our group offers a forum for discussing cross-cultural research on aging, and invite those doing research on foreign culture(s) to join us. At our meetings, we discuss research of all types and in all stages of progress, and presentations are generally quite informal. We also bring together scholars to encourage networking, collaboration, and exchange of information about upcoming international meetings, recent publications of interest, etc.

Research Group on Retirement

Chair: Maximiliane E. Szinovacz
University of Massachusetts Boston
Email: maxres@visi.net

The Work and Retirement Group meets in roundtable format at each annual meeting to discuss current interests regarding the behavior of older workers, retirees, and employing organizations. This year's session involved the participants in a discussion of the impact of pre-retirement influences on post-retirement self-esteem; factors affecting plans for retirement and what is associated with having no plans for retirement; and factors associated with the continuum of care post-retirement. We are interested in expanding our membership and hearing from scholars who are interested in a broad range of issues including decreased time spent in the labor force as well as issues post-retirement, such as increased activity in non-work roles.

Research Group on the Life Course

Chair: Joy Pixley
University of California, Irvine
Email: jpixley@uci.edu

This research group provides a forum for those who study the full range of sociological issues that involve the life course. Our purpose is to promote networking and intellectual contacts that help us each stay connected to the ongoing trends and emerging directions in our field. We are particularly interested in hearing from scholars who are new to life course studies, and we strongly encourage graduate students to participate in our annual presentations. These discussions include presentations from not only those who are completing research projects, but also those who are in the initial stages of their work, as well as those who want feedback on a larger research agenda. Our group has sponsored an average of 12-15 presentations per year, addressing a wide variety of different age groups and using an equally diverse range of qualitative and quantitative methods. Suggestions for the coming meetings are welcome.

Research Group on Race and Ethnicity

Chair: Sherrill Sellers
School of Social Work
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Email: slsellers@facstaff.wisc.edu

Research Group on Age and Consumption

Chair: David Ekerdt
Email: dekerdt@ku.edu

The Research Group on Age and Consumption welcomes scholars with an interest in age and all phases of the consumption cycle: markets, production, acquisition, possession, and disposal; who study all manner of commodities and goods, such as housing, financial services, leisure and travel, fitness, and self-care, but also a host of other consumer items; who focus on consumption from the perspective of the enterprise, the consumer, or both; who theorize the intersection of life course, identity, and consumption. The Research Group particularly welcomes graduate students as participants.

New Research Group?

If you have an idea for a new research group, please contact a member of the Committee on Research Groups and Roundtables to discuss what is involved in starting one.