Gunhild Hagestad, born in Søre, Herefoss, Norway, in 1942. Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Professor of Sociology at Agder University College, Kristiansand, and Senior Researcher at NOVA (Norwegian Social Research), Oslo.
Fellow (1 September 2002 – 30 June 2003)
Because my data were delayed through technical problems, I spent a good deal of the year working on conceptual and theoretical issues. In many ways, this turned out to be more productive than the original plan, as NIAS provided the ideal context for such efforts. My theoretical efforts focused on three themes:
age segregation: causes and consequences
family interdependence across generations in changing societies
time, age, and place I developed a conceptual model for linking age segregation and ageism and worked with Peter Uhlenberg on ways to test it using available research and data sources. An article is forthcoming in the Journal of Social Issues, another has been sent to Research on Aging. In addition, I am finalising an article entitled, ‘What are you doing here? Time rhythms, age and place’ and another entitled, ‘Age segregation and life course risks’.
Building on my earlier work on interdependence, I did some new thinking on links between parenting and grandparenting across societies. Here, two other NIAS colleagues were inspiring discussion partners: Heidi Keller and Christine Oppong. I submitted an article on grandparenthood and parenthood to the journal Research on Aging. Another piece, addressing the impact of divorce on grandparent-grandchild relations will also go out for review. Keller, Oppong and I will continue to work on a common theoretical framework and hope to find support for collaborative, cross-cultural research.
Finally, because of encouraging conversations at NIAS, I picked up my unfinished book manuscript, Falling out of time: Reflections from an illness journey. It will go to the publisher this fall.