ENGL 126G: Aging & Wisdom

This course is a First Year Seminar for non-native speakers of English. We will examine varied historical, cross-cultural, and literary views on aging and wisdom. Through a wide range of texts and genres, a visit to a nursing home and an interview with an octogenarian, we will take an in-depth look at the way individuals, society and families deal with and view the elderly, death and dying. We will analyze the causes and effects of these attitudes and how they relate to social and political expectations, policies and changes.