Lives in Time and Place

Time and place are of the greatest significance for scientific inquiry about human lives. As we seek to better understand the nature and rhythm of the life course in modern societies, its effective analysis and explanation simultaneously becomes more pressing and more complicated. This information is crucial for developing and reforming social policies, services, and interventions aimed at improving human development and welfare. Yet as our scientific treatments have become more elaborate, they have also become more fragmented within and between academic disciplines, across the study of specific life periods, and by method.

R. A. Settersten

Introduction Lives in Time and Place. Describes the aims of the volume and outlines each chapter. Chapter One The Study of Lives: Emerging Propositions and Controversies. Discusses propositions related to the study of lives from the standpoints of different disciplines, and explicates debates about the nature and rhythm of the life course in modern societies. Chapter Two Challenges Posed by Age and Age Structuring. Explores the meanings of age for individuals, groups, and societies, and the uses and measurement of age in developmental theory and research. Chapter Three Challenges Posed by Generation and Cohort. Discusses the significance of the concepts of generation and cohort, and strategies for handling them, in developmental scholarship. Chapter Four Challenges to Understanding Lives the Long Way. Introduces central concepts and parameters for describing the life course, and discusses the theoretical and methodological challenges associated with analyzing lives in and through time. Chapter Five Challenges Posed by Place and Other Issues. Addresses the significance of social contexts in shaping lives, and how social contexts might be better incorporated into developmental scholarship. Also introduces other important strategies for analyzing lives. Chapter Six An Agenda for Developmental Science. Highlights the most pressing challenges that must be confronted to usher in an exciting new era of theory and research on human development. References Index Name Index, Subject Index