Human Development in the Life Course

'A landmark in the development of developmental science. Dense, rich, personal and abstract by turns, it provides a synthetic foundation for a future, genuinely integrative, developmental science.' Michael Cole, Distinguished Professor, Communication, Psychology, and Human Development, University of California, San Diego

'An exceptionally interesting book about the uniqueness of each human being. The volume centres on human development and its trajectories, meaning-making and imagination. This highly original collection of essays will attract cultural scholars and those who search for new ways of doing human and social science.' Ivana Markova, University of Stirling

Tania Zittoun is a Professor of Psychology and Education at the University of Neuchtel, Switzerland. Jaan Valsiner is a Professor of Psychology at Clark University, Massachusetts. Dankert Vedeler is Associate Professor Emeritus at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Joo Salgado is Assistant Professor and the Head of the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences at the Maia Institute of Higher Education (ISMAI), Portugal. Miguel M. Gonalves is a Professor of Psychology in the School of Psychology at the University of Minho, Portugal. Dieter Ferring is Professor of Developmental Psychology and Psychogerontology at the University of Luxembourg.

Preface: from dispute to collaboration; Introduction: melodies of living; Part I. Time for Development: 1. Solidity of science and fullness of living: a theoretical expos; 2. Imagination and the life course; 3. Moving through time: imagination and memory as semiotic processes; 4. Models of time for the life course; Part II. Spaces for Development: 5. Social framing of lives: from phenomena to theories; 6. Stability and innovation in adults narrating their lives: insights from psychotherapy research; 7. Paradoxes of learning; Part III. Beyond Time and Space: Imagination: 8. We are migrants!; 9. Playing while being serious: the lifelong game of development - and its tools; 10. Playing under the influence: activity contexts in their social functions; 11. 'Old age' as living forward; 12. Epilogue: the course of life as a melody.