“The cohort as a concept in the study of social change.” American Sociological Review, 30(6), 843-861.
Purpose of essay is to direct the attention of sociologists toward the study of cohorts in contradistinction to conventional period analyses
- Cohorts experience the same historical event very differently
- The continual emergence of new participants in social processes and the continual withdrawal of their predecessors compensate the society for limited individual flexibility
- A cohort’s size matters for individual experiences/opportunities
- The composition of the cohort also matters (this may be important for marriage prospects, for instance)
- Common wisdom suggests that young adults tend to act as an impetus for social change
- Have less invested in the status quo
- Ryder describes schools as “cohort-creators”
- The schooling process gives the cohort time to identify itself as a historical entity
- Furthermore, schools promote independent thought to the extent that what they teach differs from what individuals learn at home
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