PHILADELPHIA -- In a public panel discussion, "Time's Potential: The Past, Present, and Future of Aging," the Penn Humanities Forum addresses a lack of humanities research on the topic of aging. The discussion will take place at 4:00 pm on Wed., May 1 in Houston Hall Bodek Lounge, 3417 Spruce Street.

The panel of the University of Pennsylvania's faculty members include School of Arts and Science professors Jeffrey Kallberg, Christine Poggi and Susan Stewart who will explore the effect of aging on music, art and literature. Rosemary Stevens, former dean of SAS, offers a historical and social critique of hospital care in the United States.

Penn Medicine's John Trojanowski, co chair of the Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases, will provide an update on the science of the brain and the encoding of creative potential as one ages.

Penn Nursing's Neville Strumpf, noted gerontologist and former acting dean of nursing, argues for the importance of humanistic values in caring for the elderly.

The focus of the discussion will be on aging on a global scale, taking into consideration that several countries now have more people over the age of 60 than under the age of 20, such as Germany, Italy, Greece and others. More than 220 million people, almost the population of the United States, are currently over the age of 60 in China.