burial, perhaps signaling some belief in an afterlife. Bodies are prepared for some type
of removal from the world of the living, through either burial, cremation, or some
other event. Ancient Egypt developed sophisticated mechanisms for embalming
because only a fully intact body could pass over to the afterlife. Most cultures require
some form of funeral and public mourning by relatives and the larger community. In
some, mourners are required to be immensely sad, while in others the immediate fam-
ily is supposed to celebrate the life passed with merriment and song and a big feast.
Chinese funerals can be raucous, multiday affairs, with lots of ritual wailing and bands
playing bad music to scare ghosts away. Often people buy paper houses, appliances,
cars, and fake money to burn for the deceased to use in the afterlife. Chinese also cel-
ebrateqing ming,which is the day when people clean their ancestors’ graves and burn
fake money. Chinese are pragmatists... even in the afterlife!
What’s important sociologically is that death is a process, not an event. Death
may be the cessation of biological life, but its meaning changes dramatically from cul-
ture to culture. It is as much a cultural process as birth, maturation, and aging. Under-
standing how a group of people experience and explain death can provide a lens
through which one can view the entire society.Age and Inequality
Many societies place great value on the wisdom and authority that elders provide
(Etzioni, 2005); oldis a term of respect in Japanese, bestowed upon people who are
not elderly at all. But in the West, and especially in the United States, oldmeans fee-
ble, fragile, worn out, and outdated. On The Simpsons, Grandpa Simpson is con-
stantly the butt of jokes about his faulty memory, old-fashioned ideas, long-winded362 CHAPTER 11AGE: FROM YOUNG TO OLD
OBJECTIVE: This activity will give you an opportunity to
examine the life span by creating a visual graphic of the
life span.STEP 1: Plan
Think back to your grandparents’ (or other people who are
two generations older than you are) cohort and note the
year(s) they were born. You will be choosing one of these
years as a reference point for your life span graphic. You will
be exploring what the various stages of the life span would
have been like for one of your grandparents. Be sure to
explore all stages of the life span including childhood,
adolescence, young adulthood, middle age, and old age.
Think about what social roles would have been expected of
a person living in a particular stage at a particular time.STEP 2: Research
Spend some time researching the various stages of the life
span based on the time line you have chosen. There arenumerous sources available, but if possible consider inter-
viewing your parents or grandparents.STEP 3: Design
Design a life span graphic using poster board, magazine
photos, clip art, and any other graphics that you think
would help others understand the life span. Be creative and
make sure you include a time line or graphic that illustrates
the various stages.STEP 4: Discuss
Be prepared to share your life span poster in class. As part
of the discussion, examine what impact expected longevity
would have had on someone during your time period and
today. How has increased life expectancy changed the social
expectations of “old age”? Do you think we treat the elderly
better now than we did in the past? Explain.Thinking Sociologically about the Lifespan
Modified from an activity submitted by Sharon Barnartt,Gallaudet University