Bibliothèque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services... more Bibliothèque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Sireet 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON KI A ON4
Women’s magazines are widely read in Canada. The popularity of such magazines is significant beca... more Women’s magazines are widely read in Canada. The popularity of such magazines is significant because critical gerontologists, primarily drawing on content analyses of the magazines, often argue that these publications convey problematic messages about ageing. This article broaches the subject of women’s magazines and ageing from a different vantage point, that of the older woman reader herself. This audience-centred research draws on 21 semi-structured interviews with Canadian women over the age of 55. The study examines what older women say about the ageing-related content of women’s magazines, along with what they say about how, when, and why they read these magazines. Findings illustrate that participants are aware of the inadequate and unrealistic representations of older women in women’s magazines. Nonetheless, they value the publications as a source of practical information on a variety of topics and as a light and undemanding source of entertainment and relaxation. The study ...
Women's magazines are widely read in Canada. The popularity of such magazines is significant ... more Women's magazines are widely read in Canada. The popularity of such magazines is significant because critical gerontologists, primarily drawing on content analyses of the magazines, often argue that these publications convey problematic messages about ageing. This article broaches the subject of women's magazines and ageing from a different vantage point, that of the older woman reader herself. This audience-centred research draws on 21 semi-structured interviews with Canadian women over the age of 55. The study examines what older women say about the ageing-related content of women's magazines, along with what they say about how, when and why they read these magazines. Findings illustrate that participants are aware of the inadequate and unrealistic representations of older women in women's magazines. Nonetheless, they value the publications as a source of practical information on a variety of topics and as a light and undemanding source of entertainment and relaxat...
Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, 2018
This article is a qualitative examination of how older workers who lost their jobs during the Gre... more This article is a qualitative examination of how older workers who lost their jobs during the Great Recession and its prolonged recovery employed religion to cope with this stressful experience. Based on 62 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with middle-class adults age 50 or older, our data reveal five distinct themes in relation to religious coping with the job-loss experience: faith as solace, surrendering to God, meaning making, discontent with God or believers, and gaining strength from religious community. Findings are placed in the context of the broader religious coping literature and several empirical and applied implications are discussed.
One means to uncover common attitudes toward aging and older adults is to perform content analyse... more One means to uncover common attitudes toward aging and older adults is to perform content analyses of popular print media forms such as newspapers, magazines, and even greeting cards. This active learning activity involves small groups of undergraduate students replicating, in a limited way, elements of a published research study on the messages conveyed by age-related birthday cards. In the exercise, each group of students is asked to analyze a set of 15 different birthday cards and to share qualitative and quantitative findings with classmates before submitting a written "discussion section" on their results to the instructor. The author demonstrates how this exercise, because it is aligned with key course learning outcomes as well as with coursework preceding and following the activity, is integrated into the overall learning environment of the course. Comments on student findings, the potential benefits of and modifications to the exercise, and the transferability of the exercise to other course contexts are also provided.
This article is a qualitative content analysis of how aging and older adults are represented in t... more This article is a qualitative content analysis of how aging and older adults are represented in the articles of three Roman Catholic magazines in the United States: America, Commonweal, and U.S. Catholic. The findings suggest that, as in mainstream secular magazines, the concept of successful aging is common in portrayals of older adults in the Third Age. Distinctive in Catholic magazine portrayals of successful aging is an emphasis on meaningful activity and on the wisdom that is gained and transmitted in this stage of life. In contrast to the lack of attention to Fourth Age decline in mainstream magazines, in the Catholic publications the difficult features of such deterioration are acknowledged but are also reframed as potential sources of value. The theoretical implications of these more complex faith-based renderings of the Third and Fourth Ages are briefly explored.
This article is a qualitative content analysis of how autism and autism spectrum disorder are por... more This article is a qualitative content analysis of how autism and autism spectrum disorder are portrayed in the North American Roman Catholic print media. The findings suggest that there is an absence of medicalization and scientific explanations for the disorder in the magazines and newspaper analyzed. Instead, these publications stress the acceptance and inclusion of individuals with autism spectrum disorder and a celebration of their differences. The themes found in these Catholic publications differ dramatically from those found in mainstream secular magazines, which tend to approach children's developmental issues from a biomedicalized and risk society perspective that emphasizes intensive mothering.
In this qualitative study the authors examine the Scriptural images that 10 Lutheran pastors empl... more In this qualitative study the authors examine the Scriptural images that 10 Lutheran pastors employed in describing the ethical challenges in the pastor-congregant relationship. The analysis of Scriptural images is part of a larger study on pastors' experiences of a mandatory workshop, "Crossing the Boundaries (CTB),"which is required of Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) seminarians. The pastors' images were analyzed from the four perspectives of depth psychology, theology, social ethics, and sociology. In commenting on tensions in the pastors' Scriptural images the authors note commonalities among the four theoretical perspectives and discuss implications for practice and future research.
... Direct correspondence to Dana Sawchuk, Centre for the Study of Religion, 123 St. ... struggle... more ... Direct correspondence to Dana Sawchuk, Centre for the Study of Religion, 123 St. ... struggle in the 1960s. By the late 1970s, the gueriUa war h~d broadened into a massive popular insurrection which finally succeeded in ousting the dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle. ...
As their name and these lyrics suggest, The Raging Grannies are a movement of impassioned older w... more As their name and these lyrics suggest, The Raging Grannies are a movement of impassioned older women who are centrally concerned with the elimination of war and weapons and the promotion of peace and justice. Since 1987, when the first Grannies came together to rage against the presence of nuclear warships in Victoria Harbour, British Columbia, more than one hundred Granny “gaggles” (chapters) have sprung up in cities and towns across North America and around the world. Dressed stereotypically in colorful and kitschy granny costumes (often floral dresses with aprons and hats, sensible shoes and shawls), these women employ a wide range of street-theatrical tactics to attract attention to their antiwar messages.
The Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) sponsors the Crossing the ... more The Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) sponsors the Crossing the Boundaries (CTB) workshop, a program that focuses on the maintenance of appropriate boundaries in clergy-congregant relationships as a means to prevent clergy sexual misconduct. Drawing primarily on an analysis of the synod-sanctioned workshop materials, an observation of the workshop, and interviews with 10 pastors who have attended the workshop, this paper explores differing conceptions of power and gender held by the synod officials and workshop participants.
Bibliothèque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services... more Bibliothèque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Sireet 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON KI A ON4
Women’s magazines are widely read in Canada. The popularity of such magazines is significant beca... more Women’s magazines are widely read in Canada. The popularity of such magazines is significant because critical gerontologists, primarily drawing on content analyses of the magazines, often argue that these publications convey problematic messages about ageing. This article broaches the subject of women’s magazines and ageing from a different vantage point, that of the older woman reader herself. This audience-centred research draws on 21 semi-structured interviews with Canadian women over the age of 55. The study examines what older women say about the ageing-related content of women’s magazines, along with what they say about how, when, and why they read these magazines. Findings illustrate that participants are aware of the inadequate and unrealistic representations of older women in women’s magazines. Nonetheless, they value the publications as a source of practical information on a variety of topics and as a light and undemanding source of entertainment and relaxation. The study ...
Women's magazines are widely read in Canada. The popularity of such magazines is significant ... more Women's magazines are widely read in Canada. The popularity of such magazines is significant because critical gerontologists, primarily drawing on content analyses of the magazines, often argue that these publications convey problematic messages about ageing. This article broaches the subject of women's magazines and ageing from a different vantage point, that of the older woman reader herself. This audience-centred research draws on 21 semi-structured interviews with Canadian women over the age of 55. The study examines what older women say about the ageing-related content of women's magazines, along with what they say about how, when and why they read these magazines. Findings illustrate that participants are aware of the inadequate and unrealistic representations of older women in women's magazines. Nonetheless, they value the publications as a source of practical information on a variety of topics and as a light and undemanding source of entertainment and relaxat...
Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, 2018
This article is a qualitative examination of how older workers who lost their jobs during the Gre... more This article is a qualitative examination of how older workers who lost their jobs during the Great Recession and its prolonged recovery employed religion to cope with this stressful experience. Based on 62 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with middle-class adults age 50 or older, our data reveal five distinct themes in relation to religious coping with the job-loss experience: faith as solace, surrendering to God, meaning making, discontent with God or believers, and gaining strength from religious community. Findings are placed in the context of the broader religious coping literature and several empirical and applied implications are discussed.
One means to uncover common attitudes toward aging and older adults is to perform content analyse... more One means to uncover common attitudes toward aging and older adults is to perform content analyses of popular print media forms such as newspapers, magazines, and even greeting cards. This active learning activity involves small groups of undergraduate students replicating, in a limited way, elements of a published research study on the messages conveyed by age-related birthday cards. In the exercise, each group of students is asked to analyze a set of 15 different birthday cards and to share qualitative and quantitative findings with classmates before submitting a written "discussion section" on their results to the instructor. The author demonstrates how this exercise, because it is aligned with key course learning outcomes as well as with coursework preceding and following the activity, is integrated into the overall learning environment of the course. Comments on student findings, the potential benefits of and modifications to the exercise, and the transferability of the exercise to other course contexts are also provided.
This article is a qualitative content analysis of how aging and older adults are represented in t... more This article is a qualitative content analysis of how aging and older adults are represented in the articles of three Roman Catholic magazines in the United States: America, Commonweal, and U.S. Catholic. The findings suggest that, as in mainstream secular magazines, the concept of successful aging is common in portrayals of older adults in the Third Age. Distinctive in Catholic magazine portrayals of successful aging is an emphasis on meaningful activity and on the wisdom that is gained and transmitted in this stage of life. In contrast to the lack of attention to Fourth Age decline in mainstream magazines, in the Catholic publications the difficult features of such deterioration are acknowledged but are also reframed as potential sources of value. The theoretical implications of these more complex faith-based renderings of the Third and Fourth Ages are briefly explored.
This article is a qualitative content analysis of how autism and autism spectrum disorder are por... more This article is a qualitative content analysis of how autism and autism spectrum disorder are portrayed in the North American Roman Catholic print media. The findings suggest that there is an absence of medicalization and scientific explanations for the disorder in the magazines and newspaper analyzed. Instead, these publications stress the acceptance and inclusion of individuals with autism spectrum disorder and a celebration of their differences. The themes found in these Catholic publications differ dramatically from those found in mainstream secular magazines, which tend to approach children's developmental issues from a biomedicalized and risk society perspective that emphasizes intensive mothering.
In this qualitative study the authors examine the Scriptural images that 10 Lutheran pastors empl... more In this qualitative study the authors examine the Scriptural images that 10 Lutheran pastors employed in describing the ethical challenges in the pastor-congregant relationship. The analysis of Scriptural images is part of a larger study on pastors' experiences of a mandatory workshop, "Crossing the Boundaries (CTB),"which is required of Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) seminarians. The pastors' images were analyzed from the four perspectives of depth psychology, theology, social ethics, and sociology. In commenting on tensions in the pastors' Scriptural images the authors note commonalities among the four theoretical perspectives and discuss implications for practice and future research.
... Direct correspondence to Dana Sawchuk, Centre for the Study of Religion, 123 St. ... struggle... more ... Direct correspondence to Dana Sawchuk, Centre for the Study of Religion, 123 St. ... struggle in the 1960s. By the late 1970s, the gueriUa war h~d broadened into a massive popular insurrection which finally succeeded in ousting the dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle. ...
As their name and these lyrics suggest, The Raging Grannies are a movement of impassioned older w... more As their name and these lyrics suggest, The Raging Grannies are a movement of impassioned older women who are centrally concerned with the elimination of war and weapons and the promotion of peace and justice. Since 1987, when the first Grannies came together to rage against the presence of nuclear warships in Victoria Harbour, British Columbia, more than one hundred Granny “gaggles” (chapters) have sprung up in cities and towns across North America and around the world. Dressed stereotypically in colorful and kitschy granny costumes (often floral dresses with aprons and hats, sensible shoes and shawls), these women employ a wide range of street-theatrical tactics to attract attention to their antiwar messages.
The Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) sponsors the Crossing the ... more The Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) sponsors the Crossing the Boundaries (CTB) workshop, a program that focuses on the maintenance of appropriate boundaries in clergy-congregant relationships as a means to prevent clergy sexual misconduct. Drawing primarily on an analysis of the synod-sanctioned workshop materials, an observation of the workshop, and interviews with 10 pastors who have attended the workshop, this paper explores differing conceptions of power and gender held by the synod officials and workshop participants.
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Papers by Dana Sawchuk