The Life Course in Context

"The Life Course in Context introduces undergraduate and graduate students to the main themes and concepts of the life course perspective. It shows how these concepts are applied to the analysis of life course events and provides insight into the importance of considering cultural and historical context when examining the life course.

The studies in the collection have been grouped into four sections. Section one introduces the life course perspective as a dynamic theoretical approach and illustrates how it can be applied to studying the multiple connections between neighborhoods and individuals’ health. Section two incorporates a multicultural perspective to shed light on the early years of the life course.

In section three students gain a deeper understanding of family and employment patterns and expectations during adulthood, and in Section four the studies explore aging and dying as they are viewed within a cultural context.

The Life Course in Context is well suited to courses that address social issues related to life course transitions. It is also a useful supplement to gerontology courses that examine aging from a life course perspective.

Kyong Hee Chee holds a Ph.D in sociology from Iowa State University. She is an associate professor of sociology at Texas State University, where she participated in the creation of the university’s new master’s of science program in dementia and aging studies, which is the first of its kind in the United States. Her research interests include aging and the life course and community development. Her work has been published in The Gerontologist, the International Journal of Sociology of the Family, and Sociological Spectrum. In 2008 the Gerontological Society of America awarded her its Civic Engagement in an Older America Project Senior Scholar Award."