James E. Cote – författare

This book explores the causes and consequences of the contradictions in young people’s lives stemming from the affluence–purpose paradox: a lack of purpose-in-life among many of those living in the most affluent societies in human history. This paradox is endemic to identity societies where people experience a choice-contingent life course, and is examined using an interdisciplinary approach—largely with an integration of developmental psychology and sociology, but also using historical, anthropological, economic, and political perspectives.

The transition to adulthood is now commonly a prolonged process, with young people facing a number of psychological challenges and sociological obstacles in their identity formation. Challenges include difficulties in making prudent choices about goals. Obstacles involve cross-pressures in the wider society as well as in educational institutions. Consequently, many youth experience their education as alienating and stressful rather than as an opportunity for personal development. Those without a sense of purpose have more difficulties with their identity formation that can produce symptoms of anxiety and depression. The current student mental health crisis is examined in this context. An additional challenge is an ambiguously defined adulthood. Young people who are confused about appropriate adult roles often value hedonistic activities rooted in narcissism and materialism rather than in more fulfilling long-term goals. Conversely, those who are agentic in their personal development can thrive in adulthood, especially when they combine agency with generativity. This book ends with a series of recommendations for researchers and policy makers to help youth cope with the affluence–purpose paradox.

This book explores the causes and consequences of the contradictions in young people’s lives stemming from the affluence–purpose paradox: a lack of purpose-in-life among many of those living in the most affluent societies in human history. This paradox is endemic to identity societies where people experience a choice-contingent life course, and is examined using an interdisciplinary approach—largely with an integration of developmental psychology and sociology, but also using historical, anthropological, economic, and political perspectives.

The transition to adulthood is now commonly a prolonged process, with young people facing a number of psychological challenges and sociological obstacles in their identity formation. Challenges include difficulties in making prudent choices about goals. Obstacles involve cross-pressures in the wider society as well as in educational institutions. Consequently, many youth experience their education as alienating and stressful rather than as an opportunity for personal development. Those without a sense of purpose have more difficulties with their identity formation that can produce symptoms of anxiety and depression. The current student mental health crisis is examined in this context. An additional challenge is an ambiguously defined adulthood. Young people who are confused about appropriate adult roles often value hedonistic activities rooted in narcissism and materialism rather than in more fulfilling long-term goals. Conversely, those who are agentic in their personal development can thrive in adulthood, especially when they combine agency with generativity. This book ends with a series of recommendations for researchers and policy makers to help youth cope with the affluence–purpose paradox.

Higher education has come under increasing public scrutiny in recent years, assailed with demands for greater efficiency, accountability, cost reduction, and, above all, job training. Drawing upon examples from across the world, with an emphasis on Anglo-American higher-education systems, this handbook employs sociological approaches to address these pressing concerns. The second edition is thoroughly updated and adds several new chapters to shed further light on the transformations wrought by the interrelated processes of massification, vocationalization, and marketization that have swept through universities in the wake of neoliberal reforms introduced by governments since the 1980s.

The handbook explores recent developments in higher-education systems and policy as well as the everyday experiences of students and staff and ongoing problems of inequality and diversity within universities. In doing so, the chapters address a number of current issues concerning the legitimacy of higher-educational credentials, from the continuing debate regarding traditional pedagogies and the role of universities in social class reproduction to more recent concerns about standards in mass systems.

Collectively, this handbook demonstrates that the sociology of higher education has the potential to play a leadership role in improving the myriad higher-education systems around the world that are now part of an interrelated set of subsystems, replete with both persistent problems and promising prospects. This book is therefore necessary reading for a variety of stakeholders within academia as well as professionals and policy-makers interested in understanding higher education and the acute challenges it faces.

Higher education has come under increasing public scrutiny in recent years, assailed with demands for greater efficiency, accountability, cost reduction, and, above all, job training. Drawing upon examples from across the world, with an emphasis on Anglo-American higher-education systems, this handbook employs sociological approaches to address these pressing concerns. The second edition is thoroughly updated and adds several new chapters to shed further light on the transformations wrought by the interrelated processes of massification, vocationalization, and marketization that have swept through universities in the wake of neoliberal reforms introduced by governments since the 1980s.

The handbook explores recent developments in higher-education systems and policy as well as the everyday experiences of students and staff and ongoing problems of inequality and diversity within universities. In doing so, the chapters address a number of current issues concerning the legitimacy of higher-educational credentials, from the continuing debate regarding traditional pedagogies and the role of universities in social class reproduction to more recent concerns about standards in mass systems.

Collectively, this handbook demonstrates that the sociology of higher education has the potential to play a leadership role in improving the myriad higher-education systems around the world that are now part of an interrelated set of subsystems, replete with both persistent problems and promising prospects. This book is therefore necessary reading for a variety of stakeholders within academia as well as professionals and policy-makers interested in understanding higher education and the acute challenges it faces.

A landmark volume in the scientific study of identity formation and youth development, this fully revised second edition synthesizes sociological and psychological approaches to the study of identity. It illuminates the challenges and opportunities that contemporary young people face as they attempt to form identities in societies undergoing transition.

The book introduces Simplified Identity Formation Theory, which helps newcomers connect the dots across a broad and promising area of study. Part I places the “identity question” in historical and cultural context, providing a multidimensional framework for studying the developmental dynamics of identity formation. Part II examines the development of perspective-taking and moral reasoning, exploring their relationship to ethics and agency in identity formation. Part III investigates scientific evidence concerning identity formation in various societal contexts, implications for understanding youth mental health problems, and the most promising treatments, programs, and practices for addressing the identity issues young people face today.

This book is an essential text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying self and identity development within developmental psychology, social psychology, clinical psychology, and sociology. Educators and practitioners in child welfare, mental health services, social work, youth and community work, and counselling will also benefit from its introductory and jargon-free nature.

A landmark volume in the scientific study of identity formation and youth development, this fully revised second edition synthesizes sociological and psychological approaches to the study of identity. It illuminates the challenges and opportunities that contemporary young people face as they attempt to form identities in societies undergoing transition.

The book introduces Simplified Identity Formation Theory, which helps newcomers connect the dots across a broad and promising area of study. Part I places the “identity question” in historical and cultural context, providing a multidimensional framework for studying the developmental dynamics of identity formation. Part II examines the development of perspective-taking and moral reasoning, exploring their relationship to ethics and agency in identity formation. Part III investigates scientific evidence concerning identity formation in various societal contexts, implications for understanding youth mental health problems, and the most promising treatments, programs, and practices for addressing the identity issues young people face today.

This book is an essential text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying self and identity development within developmental psychology, social psychology, clinical psychology, and sociology. Educators and practitioners in child welfare, mental health services, social work, youth and community work, and counselling will also benefit from its introductory and jargon-free nature.

In 1928, Margaret Mead published her first book, entitled Coming of Age in Samoa, in which she described to the Western world an exotic culture where people "came of age" with a minimum of "storm and stress." In 1983, Derek Freeman, an Australian anthropologist, published a book in which he systematically attacked Mead''s conclusions about that culture and the way people came of age. Since then, a great deal of attention has been directed toward the Mead-Freeman controversy. This book contributes to that controversy and to the general understanding of adolescent storm and stress by undertaking an interdisciplinary analysis of Freeman''s criticisms and an assessment of the plausibility of Mead''s work. Addressing the issue of what has become of Mead''s Samoa of the 1920s, this book historically tracks the nature of the "coming of age in Samoa" to the present, in order to give the reader an understanding of the circumstances confronting young people in contemporary Samoa. It shows that Mead''s Samoa has been lost; what was once a place in which most young people came of age with relative ease has become a place where young people experience great difficulty in terms of finding a place in their society, to the point where they currently have one of the highest suicide rates in the world. While much has been written about this controversy during the past decade, a gap exists in the sense that most of the publicity about Mead''s work has missed her main focus concerning the processes governing the "coming of age" of her informants. A valuable historical document and a pioneering study, Mead''s book anticipated changes that are still unfolding today in the field of human development. The preoccupation with issues tangential to her main focus--issues involving the Samoan ethos and character--have not only diverted a clear analysis of Mead''s work, they have also led to the creation of a number of myths and misconceptions about Mead and her book. The author also has an interest in Mead''s original focus on the relative impact of biological and cultural influences in shaping the behavior of those coming of age--in all societies. Despite what has been said by her critics, not only was this a crucial issue during the time of her study, but it is also an issue that is now just beginning to be understood some 60 years later. In addition, the issue of biology versus culture--the so-called nature-nurture debate--carries with it many political implications. In the case of the Mead-Freeman controversy, this political agenda looms large--an agenda which is clearly spelled out in this book.

In 1928, Margaret Mead published her first book, entitled Coming of Age in Samoa, in which she described to the Western world an exotic culture where people "came of age" with a minimum of "storm and stress." In 1983, Derek Freeman, an Australian anthropologist, published a book in which he systematically attacked Mead''s conclusions about that culture and the way people came of age. Since then, a great deal of attention has been directed toward the Mead-Freeman controversy. This book contributes to that controversy and to the general understanding of adolescent storm and stress by undertaking an interdisciplinary analysis of Freeman''s criticisms and an assessment of the plausibility of Mead''s work. Addressing the issue of what has become of Mead''s Samoa of the 1920s, this book historically tracks the nature of the "coming of age in Samoa" to the present, in order to give the reader an understanding of the circumstances confronting young people in contemporary Samoa. It shows that Mead''s Samoa has been lost; what was once a place in which most young people came of age with relative ease has become a place where young people experience great difficulty in terms of finding a place in their society, to the point where they currently have one of the highest suicide rates in the world. While much has been written about this controversy during the past decade, a gap exists in the sense that most of the publicity about Mead''s work has missed her main focus concerning the processes governing the "coming of age" of her informants. A valuable historical document and a pioneering study, Mead''s book anticipated changes that are still unfolding today in the field of human development. The preoccupation with issues tangential to her main focus--issues involving the Samoan ethos and character--have not only diverted a clear analysis of Mead''s work, they have also led to the creation of a number of myths and misconceptions about Mead and her book. The author also has an interest in Mead''s original focus on the relative impact of biological and cultural influences in shaping the behavior of those coming of age--in all societies. Despite what has been said by her critics, not only was this a crucial issue during the time of her study, but it is also an issue that is now just beginning to be understood some 60 years later. In addition, the issue of biology versus culture--the so-called nature-nurture debate--carries with it many political implications. In the case of the Mead-Freeman controversy, this political agenda looms large--an agenda which is clearly spelled out in this book.

The goal of Identity, Formation, Agency, and Culture is to lay the basis of a theory with which to better understand the difficulties and complexities of identity formation. It provides an extensive understanding of identity formation as it relates to human striving (agency) and social organization (culture). James E. Côté and Charles G. Levine have compiled state-of-the-art psychological and sociological theory and research into a concise synthesis. This volume utilizes a vast, interdisciplinary literature in a reader-friendly style. Playing the role of narrators, the authors take readers through the most important theories and studies of self and identity, focusing on pragmatic issues of identity formation--those things that matter most in people''s lives. Identity, Formation, Agency, and Culture is intended for identity-related researchers in the behavioral and social sciences, as well as clinicians, counselors, and social workers dealing with identity-related disorders. It also serves as a main or supplemental text in advanced courses on identity, identity and human development, social development, moral development, personality, the sociology of identity, and the individual and society taught in departments of psychology, sociology, human development, and family studies.

The goal of Identity, Formation, Agency, and Culture is to lay the basis of a theory with which to better understand the difficulties and complexities of identity formation. It provides an extensive understanding of identity formation as it relates to human striving (agency) and social organization (culture). James E. Côté and Charles G. Levine have compiled state-of-the-art psychological and sociological theory and research into a concise synthesis. This volume utilizes a vast, interdisciplinary literature in a reader-friendly style. Playing the role of narrators, the authors take readers through the most important theories and studies of self and identity, focusing on pragmatic issues of identity formation--those things that matter most in people''s lives. Identity, Formation, Agency, and Culture is intended for identity-related researchers in the behavioral and social sciences, as well as clinicians, counselors, and social workers dealing with identity-related disorders. It also serves as a main or supplemental text in advanced courses on identity, identity and human development, social development, moral development, personality, the sociology of identity, and the individual and society taught in departments of psychology, sociology, human development, and family studies.

This Advanced Introduction to Youth Studies analyses the historical development of the sociology of youth in the context of changing population demographics. Howard Williamson and James Côté explore competing paradigms underlying current understandings of youth with reference to key philosophical, theoretical and methodological debates.

Young people’s transitions to adulthood and youth cultural behaviour are then explored. The authors conclude with a consideration of youth policies and how, in the future, these may be better informed by sociological research.

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