Generational Consciousness, Narrative, and Politics

by Edmunds, June; Turner, Bryan S.; Andrews, Molly; Eyerman, Ron; Hepworth, Mike; López, Ángela; McDaniel, Susan; Hoikkala, Tommi; Purhonen, Semi; Roos, J P.; Watson, Peggy

• ISBN13: 9780742517318
• ISBN10: 0742517314
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-11-13
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

With the erosion of strong class theory, sociologists have recently started to look at aspects of social stratification other than class. One of the most interesting new areas of investigation is the sociology of generations. This book brings together the work of scholars who are making a major contribution to this new sociological interest. Through a combination of innovative theoretical and empirical studies, this book shows that an analysis of generations is essential to an understanding of major social, political and intellectual trends in the postwar period. Each author brings to the volume insights from their own area of specialism - with rich illustrative material spanning topics as diverse as African American identity and Spanish youth culture. Theoretical inspiration also comes from a range of traditions, including cultural and historical sociology; social interactionism; social and cognitive psychology and life course theory. However, a unifying thread emerges around questions about how generations should be conceptualized; the role of trauma generating generational consciousness; the relationship between auto-biography and generational identity and the nature of inter and intra-generational relationships. This volume, therefore, provides a lively contribution to debates about the nature of generations and a stimulating basis for further work in this area.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Generational Consciousness, Narrative, and Politics	1	(12)
June Edmunds
Bryan S. Turner
Strategic Generations: Historical Change, Literary Expression, and Generational Politics	13	(18)
Bryan S. Turner
Generations, Women, and National Consciousness	31	(20)
June Edmunds
Intellectuals and the Construction of an African American Identity: Outline of a Generational Approach	51	(24)
Ron Eyerman
Generational Consciousness, Dialogue, and Political Engagement	75	(14)
Molly Andrews
Generational Consciousness of and for Women	89	(22)
Susan A. McDaniel
Youth in the 1990s and Youth in the 1960s in Spain: Intergenerational Dialogue and Struggle	111	(20)
Angela Lopez
Generational Consciousness and Age Identity: Three Fictional Examples	131	(14)
Mike Hepworth
The Baby Boomers, Life's Turning Points, and Generational Consciousness	145	(20)
Tommi Hoikkala
Semi Purhonen
J. P. Roos
Nowa Huta: The Politics of Post-Communism and the Past	165	(14)
Peggy Watson
Conclusion	179	(8)
June Edmunds
Bryan S. Turner
Index	187	(8)
About the Contributors	195