As people enjoy longer life spans, more people are pondering the question of how to best spend their older years. It is a question that touches us all, as people consider everything from how to best care for aging parents to how to best prepare for a healthy retirement.
This summer, 42 learners from around China enrolled in The Human Experience of Aging, a non-degree course exploring aging through the lenses of social work, public health, medicine, family relationships, social policy, and ethics.
Led by Xu Qingwen, director of NYU Shanghai’s Global Master of Social Work program, the four-week course featured lectures by faculty and experts including NYU Shanghai Provost and Global Distinguished Professor of Public Health Bei Wu, former head of Renmin University’s Social Work department Sui Yujie, and Huadong Hospital Deputy Director Huang Yiqin.
right：a lecture by Professor Bei Wu on the links between oral health and cognitive decline
Professor Xu said the course attracted a diverse range of students from different generations, including a mother and daughter who attended the class together. “I could genuinely feel how much people wanted to engage with a course that addresses some of the most difficult questions in life,” she said. “This was also an opportunity for me to learn from real experiences and see the inner strength with which people of different generations continue to pursue meaningful lives.”
For many of the students, the course was not only educational, but also deeply personal. One student was drawn to the course after spending the past few years caring for her terminally ill father. “I felt helpless and didn’t know how to cope,” she recalled. “I wanted to learn how to say goodbye well, and how to live well.”
The students also found ways to incorporate what they learned in the class into their lives, taking preventative and wellness measures for themselves and others. After a lecture by Professor Bei Wu on the links between oral health and cognitive decline, several students scheduled dental checkups for older family members. After another lecture on the importance of maintaining muscle strength throughout life, one student reported that she expanded her weekly sports routine. The course is part of a wide range of continuing education offerings offered by NYU Shanghai. “Universities should serve learners throughout their lives,” said Eric Mao, assistant vice provost of Non-Degree Programs. “Our goal is to combine academic depth with human warmth while bringing the distinctive educational experience of NYU Shanghai to a wider community.”
right：student sharing