ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the field of social gerontology provides a useful model of successful public sociology in action. It presents sociologists' understanding of what is meant by public sociology, as described by its major proponent and some of its skeptics. In social gerontology, distinctions between professional, critical, policy and public domains are blurred, even as ideal types, particularly between policy and public. The chapter describes its historical and theoretical development and comment on the theoretical debates as well as the underlying values that have animated its basic and applied research agendas. It provides some examples of social gerontology as public sociology in action. The chapter addresses several factors that have made social gerontology successful in achieving the goals of public sociology. Feminist gerontologists are also concerned with the role of the elderly as research subjects and the extent to which their lived experiences and understandings are incorporated into the development of knowledge in social gerontology.
