Profile

Dr. James Dowd

Professor Emeritus,
The University of Georgia

Contact Details

The University of Georgia
Athens, GA

Dr. James Dowd


Professor Emeritus,
The University of Georgia

Bio

I did my Ph.D. at USC under Vern L. Bengtson, Lamar Empey, and Alan Acock.  One of the Andrus Center's faculty members, Ruth Weg, funded a membership in the GSA for all of the graduate students affiliated with the Andrus Center.  That was in 1974.  I have been a GSA member on and off (mostly on) since then.  My early work was on sociological theory applied to older people.  My first project, Socialization to Old Age, was funded by the Administration on Aging.  It was a survey project and very quantitative.  Since then, my work has been based on qualitative interviews.  Two of these later projects were a study of U.S. Army generals who came on active duty as young officers during the Vietnam War and who remained in the Army through the 1990s.  More recently, I have just completed interviewing a group of 61 older runners (aged 50-81) about their running and their motivation for their participation in this form of exercise. 

Education

University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, United States
Ph.D., 1976
Sociology, social gerontology
1972 To 1975
Dissertation: Age consciousness among the aged.
Advisor: Dr. Vern L. Bengtson

University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland, United States
M.A., 1970
Sociology
1968 To 1970
Dissertation: On the representativeness of student samples.
Advisor: Dr. James J. Teevan

St. Peter's College
Jersey City, New Jersey, United States
B.S., 1968
Sociology, philosophy
1964 To 1968

Areas Of Expertise

  • Anti-Aging
  • Attitude Toward Aging
  • Attitude Toward Aging: Attitude Toward Self Aging
  • Attitude Toward Aging: Societal Perceptions of the Aged Population
  • Concerns of Old Age
  • Exercise
  • Exercise: Other
  • Exercise: Programs
  • Gender
  • Gender: Interaction
  • Health Promotion: Exercise
  • History of Gerontology
  • Humanities and the Arts: History
  • Humanities and the Arts: Literature
  • Humanities and the Arts: Other
  • Humanities and the Arts: Philosophy
  • Income: Pensions/Social Security
  • Intergenerational Relations
  • Medicare/Medicaid
  • Older Workers
  • Political Analysis
  • Political Analysis: Analysis of Societal Trends
  • Political Analysis: Analysis of Voting Patterns
  • Political Analysis: Public Opinion
  • Retirement
  • Retirement: Post-Retirement Activity
  • Successful Aging
  • Veterans
  • Work and Occupation: After Retirement

Discipline

  • Sociology