Current debates in life course studies increasingly reference theories of individualization, standardization, and differentiation in the structure of the life course. This volume brings together leading scholars from a variety of fields to assess the theoretical underpinnings, the empirical evidence, and the implications of existing arguments. The contributions include comparative-historical work, demographic analysis, and detailed survey research. The topics covered include historical, cross-cultural, and racioethnic variation in the transition to adulthood, the school-to-work transition, educational careers, retirement, activity characteristics over the life span and the life course context of psychological well-being. The various contributions expand our understanding of the contemporary life course and its implications. The authors offer innovative theoretical and methodological approaches that demonstrate the utility of holistic approaches to conceptualizing the life course and understanding its implications for modern society.

Because life course sociology is an imaginative framework, Biography and the Sociological Imagination is less about "what we know" about the life course and more about "how to think" about changing societies and aging by drawing on life course ideas. Drawing from the latest research and using stories of real people, Shanahan and Macmillan spur readers to imagine alternative ways of organizing society and the implications of these alternatives for the biography.