Nobody's burden : lessons from the Great Depression on the struggle for old-age security / edited by Ruth E. Ray and Toni Calasanti.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Ray, Ruth E., 1954-

Calasanti, Toni M.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Old age assistance--United States--Case studies.

Old age assistance.

Older people--Services for--United States--History--20th century.

Older people.

Older people--United States--Social conditions--20th century.

Older people--United States--Economic conditions--20th century.

Depressions--1929--United States.

Depressions.

Economic conditions.

Social conditions.

Older people--Services for.

History.

United States.

United States--Social conditions--1918-1932.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

vii, 369 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Md. : Lexington Books, [2011]

Summary:

Nobody's Burden: Lessons from the Great Depression on the Struggle for Old-Age Security is the first book-length study of the experience of old age during the Great Depression. Part history, part social critique, the contributors rely on archival research, social history, narrative study, and theoretical analysis to argue that Americans today, as in the past, need to rethink old-age policy and accept their shared responsibility for elder care. The Great Depression serves as the cultural backdrop for this argument, illustrating that during times of social and economic crisis, society's ageism and the limitations in old-age care become all the more apparent.

At the core of the book are vivid stories of specific men and women who applied for old-age pensions between 1927 and 1933. These stories raise the same issues that elders and their families face today: the desire for independence and autonomy; the importance of having a place of one's own, despite financial and physical dependence; the fears of being and becoming a burden to oneself and others; and the combined effects of ageism, racism, sexism, and classism over the life course. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Studying the 'Burden' of Age: The Work of the Hannan Archival Research Group / Ruth E. Ray Ray, Ruth E. 1

Part 1 The Burden of Age in the Great Depression 31

2 Public Response to the Needs of Old People / Thomas B. Jankowski Jankowski, Thomas B. 33

3 Private Response to the Needs of Old People / Ruth E. Ray Ray, Ruth E. 57

Part 2 This Old Man and That Old Woman 93

Client Sketches 95

Part 3 Old Age in Hard Times 119

4 The Multiple Roles of Social Workers in the Great Depression / Faith P. Hopp Hopp, Faith P., Nancy Thornton Thornton, Nancy 123

5 Resisting Dependence and Burden: On Refusing to Become a 'Little Old Lady' / Donyale R. Griffin Padgett Padgett, Donyale R. Griffin, Shu-hui Sophy Cheng Cheng, Shu-hui Sophy 147

6 Privileged But Pensioned? How Two Formerly Well-Off Women Experienced Receiving Aid / Chasity Bailey-Fakhoury Bailey-Fakhoury, Chasity, Heather E. Dillaway Dillaway, Heather E. 173

7 What is Held Dear: Personhood and Material Culture in Old Age / Sherylyn H. Briller Briller, Sherylyn H., Mary E. Durocher Durocher, Mary E. 197

8 Race, Class, Gender and the Social Construction of "Burden" in Old Age / Toni Calasanti Calasanti, Toni, Jill Harrison Harrison, Jill 223

9 The Haunting Fear: Narrative Burdens in the Great Depression / Janet L. Langlois Langlois, Janet L., Mary E. Durocher Durocher, Mary E. 245

Part 4 Rethinking the "Burden" of Age 271

10 Reflections on Ageism: Perspective of a Septuagenarian on the Avoidance of Burdenhood / Elizabeth Edson Chapleski Chapleski, Elizabeth Edson 273

11 The Continuing Struggle for Old-Age Security / Toni Calasanti Calasanti, Toni 293

12 Toward a Future When We Truly Care for Old People / Ruth E. Ray Ray, Ruth E. 317.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780739165317

0739165313

OCLC:

707966820