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The world is ageing – people are older and societies are facing hard realities. What are we to make our lives in this time of global ageing? In six weeks, we analyze critical questions about age and ageing around the world.
Syllabus
Week Zero: How do I critically appraise information about ageing?
Key Concepts:
- Resources
- Evaluation
- Interpretation
- Application
Week One: What is ageing?
Key Concepts:
- Biology and senescence
- Psychological ageing
- Social ageing
Week Two: What is it to be old?
Key Concepts:
- Familial and filial structure
- Functional status
- Social welfare/well being
- Ageing in place
- Longevity
Week Three: What is an ageing society?
Key Concepts:
- Ageing population (birth rate decline and longevity increase)
- Elder dependency
- Generativity
- Gerontocracy
- Gero-economics
Week Four: What is it to age well?
Key Concepts:
- Usual and successful ageing
- Healthy ageing
- Well being
- Quality of life
- Spirituality and ageing
Week Five: What are the global implications of ageing?
Key Concepts:
- Ageing workforce
- Caregiving workforce
- Migration
- Public health
- Public policy
Week Six: What do ageing societies need to do to prepare for the future?
Key Concepts:
- Human resources
- Financial resources
- Cultural precepts
- Ethical principles
For the full syllabus, click here.
Instructors
- Sarah Kagan - Nursing
- Anne Shoemaker - Nursing
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The University of Pennsylvania (commonly known as Penn), founded in 1740, is a private university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. A member of the Ivy League, Penn is the fourth oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and considers itself the first university in the United States to offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
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Coursera is a digital company offering massive open online course founded by computer teachers Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller Stanford University, located in Mountain View, California.
Coursera works with top universities and organizations to make some of their courses available online, and offers courses in many subjects, including: physics, engineering, humanities, medicine, biology, social sciences, mathematics, business, computer science, digital marketing, data science, and other subjects.