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Theoretical perspectives in sociology
How is my generation different than my parents
Sociological Perspectives
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Society is continually changing to complement an increasingly diversifying world. The collective set of behaviours within a specific time period can serve as a loose framework for that generation, where the social patterns can be analysed to predict future response. Various factors in a generation can manipulate the view of an individual’s personal image as well as their position in a social community. Weinrich and Saunderson (2003) emphasised on identity having ‘a structural representation of the individual’s existential experience’ while Erikson (1968) stressed the importance of ‘sameness and continuity’. This paper will take both definitions into account as it explores the difference between my generation and my parents’, with an in-depth focus on the economy and employment and how it contributed to the overall outlook of identity.
In my parent’s generation, industrial production brought forth the predominant principle of a ‘family-wage economy’, where a nuclear family relied on the support of the working wage as well as being self-efficient around the household to maintain a healthy lifestyle (Tilly and Scott, 1978). Therefore, my Dad was the primary bread winner. This notion promoted the generational explanation of what it is meant and required to be a man and a woman in a modern society. Despite the upheaval of the feminist movement, one’s biography was dictated by social patterns concerning various issues such as employment, preventing one’s control of their ‘individual autonomy’ (Beck, 1992). Nationally in 1979, 40% of women were in the workforce compared to a staggering 74% for men (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2004). This statistic reinforces gender norms providing someone who is born in this generation, a pre-co...
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... they find relatable. A body of individuals that does so is advantageous for an institution as they are better equipped to any circumstances that may come their way.
Those born in a particular generation are faced with their own set of societal issues. The economy from my parents’ generation was much more stable compared to my generation where unemployment rates are increasing. This meant that many from my parents’ time would find work in industrial production where the social pattern was for men to be the primary bread winner in contrast to people from my generation where there would be continual need to improve their credentials in the hope of being employed. Therefore, although there was a restriction of one’s biography, identity was used as a tool in establishing solidarity, while today there is a focus for an identity to be flexible, adaptable and unique.
In her book, Difference Matters, Brenda Allen discusses the importance of identity in an individual and in society. She addresses specific factors, from age to social class, that affect society. In her first chapter, more specifically, she talks about these factors as a whole in introducing the why differences matter. She then lays out the issues associated with differences in society. There are misinterpretations and misconceptions that become problematic between the relationship with individuals and society. This chapter is perfect for my topic because it shows that people differ from
The competition in today’s job market makes it seemingly impossible to be considered a competitive candidate without having some sort of college degree. This very fact has pushed researchers to analyze and report on the performance of students with various educational backgrounds along with the factors that affect their ability to obtain a college degree. One particular subset of students who show interesting graduation patterns are first generation students, whose parents have do not have a college degree. First generation students frequently encounter difficulty in school and must jump over many hurdles in order to graduate and receive a college degree. These hurdles include language barriers, intergenerational gaps and social class achievement
In his 1971 paper “Personal Identity”, Derek Parfit posits that it is possible and indeed desirable to free important questions from presuppositions about personal identity without losing all that matters. In working out how to do so, Parfit comes to the conclusion that “the question about identity has no importance” (Parfit, 1971, p. 4.2:3). In this essay, I will attempt to show that Parfit’s thesis is a valid one, with positive implications for human behaviour. The first section of the essay will examine the thesis in further detail and the second will assess how Parfit’s claims fare in the face of criticism.
The sources for the aspects that define identity have change over time with social climates altering moral priorities. This fluctuation of values was seen over the course of the great depression as tragedy befell millions of Americans who lost everything that they had spent most of their lives striving towards. The most common examples were families being foreclosed and thrown out of their homes because of lack of work. There were more and less extreme examples all having the same devastating effect of eroding away the things that they used to identify with; there houses, jobs, clothing, family keepsakes, and more just to survive. The economic depression during the 1930’s lead to the destruction of American morale as individuals’ identities rooted in their homes and jobs suddenly disappeared leaving people with no foundation. Motivated by personal crisis, Americans wrote political figures hoping to regain some semblance of normalcy without having to forfeit their pride when describing the loss they had experienced to strengthen their pleas.
In the last two decades, there has been a revival in generational theorizing by a handful of scholars outside the United States. Inspired by the cultural turn in the social sciences, these scholars have brought a more explicitly cultural perspective to bear on Mannheim’s original formulation of “The Problem of Generations”. Scholars have thus begun to theorize the generation concept in Bourdieuian terms of “habitus, hexis, and culture” (Eyerman and Turner, 1998), “cultural fields” (Gilleard, 2004), and in terms of “cultural circles” (Corsten, 1999). The Bourdieuian influence can be seen when Eyerman and Turner describe the generation as “a mode of distinction” and when Gilleard describes the generation as
Society has seen the male dynamic of superiority, designation as the “bread winner”, or head of household for centuries. Women were specifically assigned to the roles of wife, mother, and nurturer through the process of the sexual or gendered division of labor. However, that has not always been the case. Over centuries of change and shifts in economic development, the roles of women have changed to adapt to their specific roles in society. The status of the individuals in society was defined by sex, age, physical trai...
—. Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1989.
As times have changed, so has our culture. Our country tends to veer children towards one particular individualization over another. It seems developmental individualization is more common. People have expectations by society which they must fulfill, and are expected to do so at particular times in their lives, as said by Tamara Haraven who argues the importance of “… the timing of transitions, with those to adulthood becoming more uniform and orderly.” People are expected in life to go to school, work, get married, start a family, all these things are expected to be done at a certain time in their life. People may not want to do all this in this order and whatever point in their life, but they do because they are expected to do so. This is all supposed to happen developmentally. People are molded by society, actively making decisions and trying to be ahead of life’s obstacles. This is occurring in not only America but as well as in Europe, as Wallace observes how instead of becoming their own individual people, people “choose identities from among and increasingly complex array of options”. Sven Morch makes similar observations, on youths who must ‘master’ their adolescence ‘ways’ in order to become successful adults, showing the importance of structure to their culture. Life must be followed in a particular sequence according to ‘contemporary capitalism’ in order to succeed in life. With a million and one people trying to get the same task done, people do things because they have to, not because they want to.
In this paper I will be focusing on Erikson’s Theory mainly about identity versus role confusion. Finding one’s identity is not always an easy task. Everyone at some point in his or her life has had, as Erikson puts it, an identity crisis. Everyone experiences different struggles that can have either a positive or negative impact on their identity. On my path to identity, I have reached identity achievement, which means I have explored and made commitments. I will also be focusing on two articles highlighting a fifth possible outcome regarding identity and looking at identity statuses as developmental trajectories.
In today's world, society creates an impact on human life. More of an impact can be seen among family and peers. They can be found at home, work, and school. At home with family, identity can be created on the difference of having one parent, divorced or separated parents, no parents, abusive parents, or even negligent parents. For example, children who grow up without a father or mother figure tend to become more independent at an early stage. Another example is where certain experiences within the family such as constantly witnessing parents argue can cause one's identity to be confined and distant. But, some people shape their identity similar to their parents. Such as a son became a soldier in the army because his father was in the army. Siblings, if any, are also an influence on the social identity of a person. They either become your friend, mentor, or you...
In conclusion, the formation of one’s identity has many components. Beginning at the onset of adolescence and continuing to expand, grow and form and reform as we live through the struggles or success of life. Many theorists have endeavored to clarify the development of identity formation. However, Erik Erickson offered one significant theory involving the formation of one’s identity. Expounding on Erickson theory, Marcia developed his Identity Status Model according to the existence or absence of crisis and commitments. These four statuses, diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium and achievement can combine in various ways to produce a self. One’s sense of identity is determined largely by the choices and commitments made, therefore, having a well-developed sense of self can provide an individual with insight to their strengths, weaknesses, and individual uniqueness. An individual that finds themselves
The question of identity can be universally translated, always seeming like a difficult one to answer, especially for those who are culturally dislodged, growing up in two worlds simultaneously, just as immigrants are forced to do. There exists external components of identity which are bestowed upon people; cultural classifications such as race, religion and gender, as well as societal characterizations such as one’s family, career, and title. Many people use these labels and external definitions to describe or define themselves, however, there is much value in going beyond these external descriptors to recognize one’s complete and true identity.
generation different from your parents’ generation? Use specific reasons and examples to explain your answer.
Generation Z is determined to change the future and is at an advantage over all previous generations to do so. This group is those born between the years 1995 and 2012, whom are currently ages 4 to 21. Statistics show Gen Z is extremely mature for their age with the lowest levels of drug use, alcohol consumption, smoking, and teenage pregnancy in decades, as stated by JWTIntelligence. This demonstrates that they are future orientated. Generation Z is unified, diverse, realistic, and technologically advanced, making them the generation with the power to impact the world.
The generation that I was born into can sometimes be easily misunderstood by those in earlier generations. The individuals in my generation get thrown many different labels such as those that Rosie Evans (n.d.) listed in her article, “Millennials, Generation Y, the Lost Generation, boomerang kids, the Peter Pan generation…” and more. This can impact us as a whole because some will begin to live by the labels, in some cases that can be negative but in others it may be beneficial. Many people in this generation believe that they can’t reach their full potential due to labels and prejudgment, while there are others believe nothing can hold them back. When we get labeled all together that is also what may drive some to try to stand out from the