KINE 1000 Chapter 8: Aging Reading summary
4 Jul 2018
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AGING
What do phoenix and sparkes mean when they point out that aging is something we do
rather than something that simply happens to us?
Age is something that we construct and perform by drawing on ideas, values, perspectives
and narratives from individuals, institutions and wider society.
What do the authors mean by a “narrative map”?
Narrative is a form of social practice which individuals draw from habit that they
assemble into personal stories”
Through this life and story are connected and are interlinked with the lives and stories of
others. These others may operate to construct, deny, confirm or problematize stories of
the future in relation to aging and embodiment. They do so by offering those who have
less knowledge of what lies ahead a “narrative map” of the future.
What is the authors’ goal and research method?
Goal: explore and understand the perspectives of young people looking forward and
expressing views on their own aging process and the different forms of embodiment they
expect, hope or are afraid to experience
Method: using questionnaires to identify and select undergraduate students who identify
as competitive athletes and who have had performance scores in various athletic
associations within the top and bottom thirds. These students are interviewed to” identify
patterns and meanings constructed both within and between stories, in order to facilitate a
comparative analysis of their narrative maps of aging.
The authors report that their analysis of student athletes’ narrative maps revealed that
students draw upon “…older and experienced others for information and advice
concerning the aging process. In particular, three inter-related resources were drawn
upon..” explain these three resources.
Family members: -through family, young people construct ideas relating to who the they
will be in the future. Parents provided narrative maps of middle age while grandparents
offered info of old age.
Old team members: - young athletes draw upon embodied experiences relating to the
past and present performances of older team member when storying their own sporting
bodies in the future.
Exercise and sports curriculum : -focused almost exclusively on the functional and
performance changes associated with the body over time. Along with the role of physical
activity in maintaining or managing the body throughout the life course. Aging =
problem, exercise= solution.
According to the authors, what are some of the problems that young athletes in particular
may have with aging as revealed by analysis of their narrative maps?
Their thoughts about aging are, perhaps not surprising, infused with feelings of anxiety
and foreboding. The narrative maps constructed by them. The young athletes may be very
vulnerable to the “negative” physical effects of aging on their senses of self as a
performer. Culture fails to provide adequate narrative resources for living one’s life
meaningfully and productively.
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