Sociology of the Life Course

4 credits · Undergraduate

Society is ordered by age. Age is not the only ordering dimension of society, but it is a central one. A life course perspective represents a sociological way of understanding how age structures society. Our lives progress through a sequence of socially constructed stages—childhood, adolescence, middle adulthood, and later adulthood. A life course perspective is particularly interested in the rules and norms that govern transitions between these stages.