- Ph.D. University of Chicago, 1986
BIO
I am a qualitative sociologist of aging. Early in my career, my work focused on various aspects of shared housing between young and old which allowed me to explore a number of sociological issues of interest to me – the social psychology of intergenerational relationships, the sociology of non-institutional forms of living arrangements for frail elders, and a sociologically-informed critique of social policy toward the elderly. Later, I combined my interests in aging and health care by conducting a multi-year, multi-site study of group homes for people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. In that work, from which I continue to publish, I explore two broad interrelated themes: (a) how the embeddedness of dementia care in specific care settings and caregiving relationships encourages the display of symptoms that are interpreted by many as a "loss of self," and (b) how the larger political economy, structure, and culture of care settings make the ideals of quality, humane care difficult to achieve.
I joined the faculty at ¶¶Òõ̽̽ in 2005 after spending the first twenty years of my career at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I earned my bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis and my master’s and doctoral degrees from The University of Chicago, all in sociology.
Area(s) of expertise
Qualitative methodology, aging, health care and policy, social psychology.
Bio
I am a qualitative sociologist of aging. Early in my career, my work focused on various aspects of shared housing between young and old which allowed me to explore a number of sociological issues of interest to me – the social psychology of intergenerational relationships, the sociology of non-institutional forms of living arrangements for frail elders, and a sociologically-informed critique of social policy toward the elderly. Later, I combined my interests in aging and health care by conducting a multi-year, multi-site study of group homes for people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. In that work, from which I continue to publish, I explore two broad interrelated themes: (a) how the embeddedness of dementia care in specific care settings and caregiving relationships encourages the display of symptoms that are interpreted by many as a "loss of self," and (b) how the larger political economy, structure, and culture of care settings make the ideals of quality, humane care difficult to achieve.
I joined the faculty at ¶¶Òõ̽̽ in 2005 after spending the first twenty years of my career at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I earned my bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis and my master’s and doctoral degrees from The University of Chicago, all in sociology.
Areas of Expertise
Qualitative methodology, aging, health care and policy, social psychology.