Laura Hurd Clarke

		Office:	Auditorium Annex - Room 156C
		Phone:	604-822-4281
		Fax:	604-822-5884
		EMail:	laura.hurd.clarke@ubc.ca
Assistant Professor

Background

Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, B.A.H. Sociology 1992; Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, M.S.W. Social Work 1996; McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Ph.D. Sociology 2000.

Courses Taught

HKIN 261 (3) - Health, Policy, and Society (3)

The purpose of this course is to examine health policy and the social context in relation to active health, contemporary lifestyle, and consumerism. Specifically, the course will focus on conceptualizations of the body, body image, aging, chronic illness, health and healthy living, health care delivery, inequality, physical activity, alternative and complementary health care, technology, and the social determinants of health. In doing so, the course will also provide a critical analysis of health promotion and healthism.

Research

The overall objective of my research program is to critically examine how social structures (health care, the family, leisure) and social norms concerning health, later life, ageism, healthism, and physical attractiveness mediate individuals’ experiences of aging, the body, health, illness, and physical activity. My research program is supported by a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) Career Investigator Award.

The focus of my research is twofold: First of all, I am conducting research on body image and aging. Specifically, I am investigating older women’s use and experience of non-surgical cosmetic procedures such as botox injections, chemical peels, injectable fillers, laser hair removal, and microdermabrasion. Secondly, I am part of project examining the impact of multiple chronic illnesses on older adults’ participation in physical activity. Part of my research with this team also entails an exploration of the relationship between multiple chronic conditions and body image in later life.

Current Projects:

Project #1: Principal Investigator, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Standard Research Grant entitled “Body Image, Aging and the Experience of Non-Surgical Cosmetic Procedures”.

Project #2: Principal Investigator, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) Establishment Grant entitled “Non-Surgical Cosmetic Procedures: Health, Body Image and Aging”.

Project #3: Co-investigator, CIHR Team Development Grant entitled “Physical Activity and Quality of Life of Community-Living Individuals with Chronic Disease”. Janice Eng (Rehabilitation Sciences is the Principal Investigator and the other co-investigators are Bill Miller, Carlo Marra, Luc Noreau, and Karim Khan.

Publications

Hurd Clarke, L., Griffin, M., and the PACC Research Team.  (2008).  Failing Bodies:  Body Image and Multiple Chronic Conditions in Later Life.  Qualitative Health Research, 18 (in press).

Hurd Clarke, L. and Griffin, M.  (2008).  Visible and Invisible Aging: Beauty Work as a Response to Ageism.  Ageing and Society, 28 (3), (in press).

Hurd Clarke, L. and Griffin, M. (2007). Becoming and Being Gendered Through the Body: Older Women, Mothers and Body Image. Ageing and Society, 27 (5), 701-718.

Hurd Clarke, L. and Griffin, M. (2007). The Body Natural and the Body Unnatural: Beauty Work and Aging. Journal of Aging Studies, 21 (3), 187-201.

Hurd Clarke, L., Repta, R., and Griffin, M. (2007). Non-surgical Cosmetic Procedures: Older Women’s Perceptions and Experiences. Journal of Women and Aging, 19 (3/4), 69-87.

Hurd Clarke, L. (2006). Older Women and Sexuality: Experiences in Marital Relationships Across the Life Course. Canadian Journal on Aging, 25 (2), 129-140.

Hurd Clarke, L., Martin-Matthews, A. and Matthews, R. (2006). The Continuity and Discontinuity of the Embodied Self in Infertility. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 43 (1), 95-113.

Hurd Clarke, L., Liu-Ambrose, T., McKay, H., Khan, K. and Zyla, J. (2005). “Being Able to Do the Things that I Want to Do”: Older Women with Osteoporosis Define Health, Quality of Life and Well-being. Activities, Adaptation and Aging, 29 (4), 41-59.

Hurd Clarke, Laura. (2005). Remarriage in Later Life: Older Women’s Negotiation of Power, Resources and Domestic Labour. Journal of Women and Aging, 17 (4), 21-41.

Hurd Clarke, Laura. (2003). Overcoming Ambivalence: The Challenges of Exploring Socially Charged Issues. Qualitative Health Research, 13 (5), 718-735.

Hurd Clarke, Laura. (2002). Older Women's Perceptions of Ideal Body Weights: The Tensions Between Health and Appearance Motivations for Weight Loss. Ageing and Society, 22 (6), 751-773

Hurd Clarke, Laura. (2002). Beauty in Later Life: Older Women’s Perceptions of Physical Attractiveness. Canadian Journal on Aging, 21 (3), 429-442.

Hurd Clarke, Laura. (2001). Older Women’s Bodies and the Self: The Construction of Identity in Later Life. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 38 (4), 441-464.

Hurd, Laura. (2000). Older Women’s Body Image and Embodied Experience: An Exploration. Journal of Women and Aging, 12 (3/4), 77-97.

Hurd, Laura. (1999). ‘We’re not old!’: Older Women’s Negotiation of Aging and Oldness. Journal of Aging Studies, 13 (4), 419-439.