Baylor University Will Host Final Lecture of Outstanding Sociology Opportunity Speaker Series

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WACO, Texas (April 18, 2018) — Baylor University's department of sociology will conclude the Baylor University Outstanding Sociology Opportunity (BU OSO) Speaker Series for spring 2018 with a talk from Markus Schafer, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology and faculty associate of the Institute of Life Course and Aging at the University of Toronto, at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 19, in Room 152 of Draper Academic Building, 1400 S. Seventh St.

Schafer will present "Staying Connected During Disablement: Social Networks, Homes and Cars in Later Life."

"The United States, along with other developed countries, is seeing a surge in its older population. People are not only living longer lives than ever before, but they are experiencing more years of chronic disease and disability," Schafer said. "The extent to which people remain socially connected during these challenges later life has important implications for well-being. I am interested in exploring how the home environment and the ability to drive shapes older adults' social connectedness once disability sets in."
Schafer's research interests include adult health problems associated with childhood adversity, the association between health and social networks among older adults, the role of the physical environment in shaping older adults' social connectedness and health and the intersection of personal networks and religion.

"Social isolation is a problem experienced by many older adults. I believe it's important that we gain greater awareness of the challenges that people face as they grow older, including developing a better understanding of conditions that promote or impede social connectedness as one's health declines," said Lindsay Wilkinson, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology.

Schafer's work on networks and health is funded by the Province of Ontario's Early Research Award program and by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. He currently serves as an associate editor of Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences and on the editorial board of several other interdisciplinary journals.

"Dr. Schafer is a leading sociologist and prolific scholar whose work focuses on health and aging. We are delighted to have him as a visiting scholar at Baylor this semester and wanted to give faculty and students the opportunity to learn about the important research he is doing in these areas," Wilkinson said.

For more information about Baylor's department of sociology, visit the sociology department website.

by Joy Moton , student newswriter, (254) 710-6805

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