The 'Other' in Ourselves: Exploring the educational power of the humanities and arts

Increasingly, scholars from many disciplines have begun to incorporate various modalities from the humanities and arts – novels, films, artwork, and other forms of expression – to help connect students with the experience of aging in deeply meaningful and person-centered ways. This collection examines how these approaches are incorporated into gerontology and geriatrics education. Rather than focusing solely on measurable outcomes, such as changes in learning over time – which is the purview of empirical pedagogy – chapters focus on strategies for successfully incorporating a specific work into the classroom, descriptions of humanities and/or arts exercises with students or older adults, and other ways that explore how the humanities and arts can be applied successfully and meaningfully in educational settings. This book was originally published as a special issue of Geronotology & Geriatrics Education.

Kate de Medeiros is Associate Professor of Gerontology at Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA. Her research involves narratives in later life and creative expression among people with dementia. She is author of The Short Guide to Aging and Gerontology (2016) and Narrative Gerontology in Research and Practice (2013), as well as numerous peer-reviewed articles.

Kelly Niles-Yokum is Associate Professor of Gerontology, and the Program Director for the MS in Gerontology, at the University of La Verne, California, USA. Her work focuses on street-level bureaucracy, control and choice in care for the elderly, rural aging and family caregiving. She is the author of The Aging Networks: A Guide to Programs and Service (with Wagner, 7th ed., 2010).

Judith L. Howe is Professor in the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY, USA. Her career interests include gerontology and geriatric education, interprofessional teamwork, community-based services, geriatric workforce issues and rural health issues. She is the author of Geriatric mental health disaster and emergency preparedness (with Toner and Miersaw, 2010).