Andrew Achenbaum
Professor of History and Social Work
Email: achenbaum@uh.edu
Room: 333 Social Work Building
Phone: 713-743-8070
Current Curriculum Vitae
Personal statement:
A Boomer destined to become a lawyer or proctologist, I became a teacher because an undergraduate mentor said that he was "happy" doing what he was doing. Being a professor is a wonderful calling-it affords me the opportunity to find and digest ideas, and then try to convey my enthusiasm to people. I especially enjoy interacting with students who are willing to take intellectual risks and who intend on giving back to society more than they have received. I have had the privilege of serving as chair of the National Council on the Aging, several Federal and philanthropic blue ribbon panels, and other opportunities because of my "esoteric" research interests. But I find nothing more satisfying than mentoring.
Education:
B.A.,
Amherst College, 1968
M.A. University of Pennsylvania, 1970
Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1976
Specialization:
History of aging, ranging from images to policymaking to spirituality
Courses taught:
Historical Research on Social Welfare and Policy in U.S.; Spirituality and Aging; Philosophy of Science
Research interests:
I am interested in issues where historical research and the gerontological imagination intersect. This puts me at the margins of a discipline and a field of inquiry. Marginality is terrific: I can choose to write what I wish.
Publications:
Old Age in the New Land (Johns Hopkins, 1978)
Shades of Gray (Little Brown, 1983)
Social Security (Cambridge, 1986)
Crossing Frontiers (Cambridge, 1995)
Life's Uncertain Voyage (Johns Hopkins, in press)
