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Handbook of the Life Course pp 3–19Cite as

The Emergence and Development of Life Course Theory

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Abstract

Today, the life course perspective is perhaps the pre-eminent theoretical orientation in the study of lives, but this has not always been the case. The life histories and future trajectories of individuals and groups were largely neglected by early sociological research. In the pioneering study, The Polish Peasant in Europe and America (1918-1920), W. I. Thomas (with Florian Znaniecki) first made use of such histories and trajectories and argued strongly that they be investigated more fully by sociologists. By the mid-1920s, Thomas was emphasizing the vital need for a “longitudinal approach to life history” using life record data (Volkart, 1951, p. 593). He advocated that studies investigate “many types of individuals with regard to their experiences and various past periods of life in different situations” and follow “groups of individuals into the future, getting a continuous record of experiences as they occur.” Though this advice went unheeded for decades, Thomas’s early recommendations anticipated study of the life course and longitudinal research that has become such a central part of modern sociology and other disciplines.

Keywords

  • Historical Time
  • Social Change
  • Birth Cohort
  • American Sociological Review
  • Great Depression

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27516-3997

    Glen H. Elder Jr.

  2. Department of Sociology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, 99164-4020

    Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson

  3. Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, 87112-1088

    Robert Crosnoe

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  1. Glen H. Elder Jr.
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota

    Jeylan T. Mortimer

  2. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

    Michael J. Shanahan

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Elder, G.H., Johnson, M.K., Crosnoe, R. (2003). The Emergence and Development of Life Course Theory. In: Mortimer, J.T., Shanahan, M.J. (eds) Handbook of the Life Course. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-306-48247-2_1

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