The "Other" in Ourselves: Exploring the Educational Power of the Humanities and Arts

Long before age was something to be “studied,” before statistics, theories, models, hypotheses, longitudinal designs and other empirical approaches became the dominant way knowing, there were the humanities and arts. In ancient Greece, the humanities formed the “trivium” (grammar, rhetoric and logic) which, along with the “quadrivium” (artithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music) comprised the ideal education. While the humanities and arts have always included topics and issues involving later life—Shakespeare’s King Lear which warns of the dangers of surrendering property and care to one’s children, the myth of Bacchus and Philamon which extols the virtues of long-standing love and generosity, Rembrandt’s self portraits in later life, and countless others—they hold a marginalized place within gerontology and geriatrics. Many textbooks do not mention the important influence of humanities and arts scholarship in the development of the field or provide tools for educators and researchers to include the humanities and arts in their work. This special issue was therefore developed to provide a space for those whose work in the humanities and arts transforms gerontological and geriatric education.

The goal of the humanities and arts has been described as “dedicated to understanding human experience through the disciplined development of insight, perspective, critical understanding, discernment, and creativity” (Cole, Carlin, & Carson, 2014, p. 3). Through cultural representations (e.g., texts, drama, paintings), we can see ourselves through the symbols and stories of others. These cultural representations provide a space for critical reflection and new imagination, to step into places, people and situations that otherwise wouldn’t be possible in the physical world. As such, the humanities and arts offer great potential in education, as the articles in this issue demonstrate.

Pamela Pitman Brown and Kelly Niles-Yokum’s article describes the use of the novel, Kate Quinton’s Days by Susan Sheehan in an undergraduate and graduate class. The purpose of the novel was to help students connect to the lives that are affected by long-term care systems, to include the immigrant women working as direct care providers, the daughters of the main character who found their childhood struggles with place and identity within the family resurfaced in the context of caring for their mother, and of course, the main character, Kate Quinton, through flashbacks and reminiscence. The authors note that “the students were able to read and analyze how a family attempts to navigate the complex landscape of care and caring, age and aging, and how, in the end, as they consider their own future selves and career choices, they might be able to make difference as gerontologists, social workers, and advocates for older adults and their families” (p. 248).

Elena Bendien’s article focuses on educational courses for older adults themselves using written reminiscence. She writes that “each course that is directed toward a deeper understanding of human life, or—as in our case—of the remembering process and human aging, will benefit from teaching methods with a narrative orientation” (pp. 255–256). The purpose of the narrative approach was to connect the learner with his or her own experiences, which, as the analysis of the writings demonstrated, occurred in a powerful, transformative way.

Jacqueline Eaton’s article describes the development of an online course in Aging and the Arts for undergraduate and graduate students. Initially targeted to address the humanities and aging competency developed by AGHE, the course brings in various aspects of aging to explore late life potential through the arts. Students gathered and shared resources associated with aging and the arts, provided links to aging theory and issues, and engaged in discussions and other postings to better understand themselves and their views on aging. As Eaton writes, “The humanities and arts promote a holistic view that moves beyond the deficit model of aging while promoting interdisciplinary collaboration that bridges science and art” (p. 273).

The final two articles describe ways in which theater was used in community settings. The article by Anne K. Hughes and colleagues describes a transformative theatre approach which engaged community activists and academic and community leaders to think deeply and share their thoughts and experiences about the invisibility of older adults within the LGBT community. From this work came a draft script, which, after revisions based on input from the group, was performed for an audience who was asked to provide feedback. This use of art as an integrative form of education, expression, protest, and resolution highlights the potential of the arts to move people in ways that may not be possible through pamphlets, research articles, or other more traditional approaches. As the authors state, “Whether bias is overt, covert, or even unconscious, theatrical frameworks offer the opportunity to observe human behavior; peel back the layers of defensiveness, rationalization, fear, and guardedness within each of the characters; and to ultimately see their humanity. The theatre experience can engender empathy and create a space in which to imagine new behavior, practice, and policy” (p. 294).

While Jackie Reynolds and colleagues also used drama, they did so in a somewhat different way than Hughes et al. The Aging, Drama and Creativity course they describe brought together 18 participants (selected from an applicant pool of 59) for “participatory drama” or active story telling centered around various experiences of aging such as ageism, generational attitudes, myths and stereotypes about aging, and others. Overall, through feedback from participants, they found that “the approach to active learning, the opportunities for reflection on one’s own attitudes and experiences of aging, and the emphasis on gaining ideas and tools to be applied in people’s practice” (p. 325) were are important, valuable aspects of the course.

Overall, the articles point to the many ways in which tools from the humanities and arts can help students, community members, older persons, gerontologists and so on discover the "Other" in themselves. Aging becomes more than a number, a quality, a characteristic, a measurement, and instead is something real that others can experience in some meaningful way. As gerontology and geriatrics continue to move forward, it’s important to keep in mind that the questions about aging need not be limited to “how” or “why,” but rather should be open to explorations about what it means to grow old.