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Symposium

Social Research, Policy, and Practice

Principles of Queer Gerontology

Saturday, November 16, 2024
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PST
Location: Room 609
CE: 1.5

This symposium will present principles for queer gerontology – or gerontological scholarship aimed at promoting social justice for all, but especially for LGBTQ+ people as they age – and potential applications of this approach within existing and future scholarly projects. Building upon recent applications of queer theory and perspectives to aging studies and gerontology, we propose five principles of queer gerontology—1) Deeping Visibility and Awareness; 2) Developing and Applying Critical Perspectives; 3) Challenging Oppression and Injustice; 4) Engaging Multiple Epistemologies and Modes of Inquiry; and 5) Fostering Transdisciplinary Advancement—and present evidence and themes from existing empirical and conceptual scholarship that exemplify these principles. The first presentation will describe the need for queer gerontology, the iterative process through which these principles were developed, and present the principles. The second presentation will apply a critical secondary qualitative data analysis to illustrate the principles of queer gerontology in action. The third presentation will explore the theme of being a scholar-activist in the practice of queer gerontology. The symposium will offer a chance for attendees to reflect critically on their own scholarship and devise directions for future work with respect to these principles.

Learning Objectives:

  • After attending this session, participants will be able to articulate five principles for the practice of queer gerontology.
  • After attending this session, participants will be able to discuss the application of at least one of these principles to their own scholarship.

Presentations:

  • 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PST
    Working the Scholar-Activist Hyphen: Queer Gerontology Perspectives From Older Black Lesbians

    Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Austin G. Oswald, PhD (they/them/theirs) – Dalhousie University

  • 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PST
    Using Creative Narratives and Visions of Later Life to Queer Gerontological Scholarship

    Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Sarah Jen, PhD (she/her/hers) – University of Kansas

  • 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PST
    Principles of Queer Gerontology

    Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Vanessa Fabbre, PhD (she/her/hers) – Washington University in St. Louis