Focusing on the Next Picture: Feminist Scholarship as a Foundation for Teaching about Ageism in the Academy

Abstract

Feminist pedagogy may offer a model for teaching about ageism in the university classroom. Because it challenges the status quo, questions assumptions about hierarchies and power, and encourages those typically portrayed as silent objects to become vocal subjects about their own experiences, feminist pedagogy provides an opportunity to help students learn about the experiences of the elderly as "the other." This paper suggests that teaching about ageism involves three strategies: making students aware of ageist stereotypes, helping students learn how to analyze images and texts, and preparing students to advocate for change. Instructors can help students to think critically about ageist stereotypes and can encourage students to consider how to change social messages that position the elderly as pariahs.