From Social Structure and Personality to Life Course Sociology: Glen Elder's Legacy at the University of Minnesota

Abstract

This article pays tribute to Professor Glen Elder whose ideas provided the intellectual foundation for the establishment of the Life Course Center at the University of Minnesota more than twenty years ago. His principles of accentuation, linked lives, and timing have been particularly useful in interpreting research on the impacts of parents on children's vocational socialization and subsequent occupational attainments, the reciprocal interrelation of values and work experiences, and the pervasive consequences of adolescent work experiences. Elder's life course perspective continues to animate the collaborative Youth Development Study, which is examining the multifaceted objective and subjective transition to adulthood.