Abstract

The role of the humanities in shedding light on human values, emotions and perceptions at all stages of the life span is not new. However, the global “longevity revolution” heightens the importance of asking “What is it to be old?” and “What is the meaning of old age?” The traditional disciplines of the humanities, such as arts and literature, enhance our understanding of the meaning of aging beyond the lens offered by science and medicine. Since the 1970s, the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) has identified humanistic inquiry as crucial to the advancement of gerontology as a scientific field of theory and practice. This paper traces the development of GSA’s programmatic and organizational structures with special emphasis on new opportunities to examine the ways in which the arts and humanities contribute to ways of knowing that address complex questions of meaning that may have no definitive answers. We highlight and analyze types of humanities and arts articles (e.g., impact of cultural programs on elders’ health and functioning, cinematic representations of old age, role of the aged as story-tellers across cultures, poetry written by famous and “ordinary” older adults) to demonstrate the breadth of current inquiry and practice, and recommend renewed and new strategies to strengthen the capacity and relevance of the humanities for understanding and enhancing the later years.