Generations of Change

Generation From Wikipedia Generation (from the Latin gener ā re, meaning "to beget"),[1] also known as procreation in biological sciences, is the act of producing offspring. In kinship terminology it is a structural term designating the parent-child relationship.

Generation From Wikipedia The term is also often used synonymously with cohort in “social science” cohort in “social science” People within a delineated population who experience the same significant event within a given period of time Generation in this sense of birth cohort is widely used in popular culture, and has been the basis for much social analysis. In 1863, French lexicographer, philosopher and social scientistEmile Littré had defined a generation as, "all men living more or less at the same time."Emile Littré had defined a generation as, "all men living more or less at the same time."

Generation From Wikipedia In 1863, French lexicographer, philosopher and social scientist Emile Littré had defined a generation as,Emile Littré "all men living more or less at the same time.” Littre was a contemporary of Auguste Comte and an early adopter of his theory of “positivism”.

Auguste Compte and Positivism founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism May be regarded as the first philosopher of science in the modern sense of the term Positivism is a philosophy of science based on the view that in the social as well as natural sciences, data derived from sensory experience, and logical and mathematical treatments of such data, are together the exclusive source of all authoritative knowledge Positivism assumes that there is valid knowledge (truth) only in scientific knowledge

Back to Generations In the early 1900s the term Generation became used to describe delineations in society based on age During this time period an new paradigm was established in which society and life were changeable and that civilization could progress over time Essentially what always “was” may not be the way things will always “be” This encouraged the equation of youth with social renewal and change By the end of the 19th century European intellectuals were disposed toward thinking of the world in generational terms, and in terms of youth rebellion and emancipation

What Caused the Paradigm Shift? Two important contributing factors to the change in mentality were the change in the economic structure of society and and increasing rate of technological innovation Because of the rapid social and economic change, young men particularly were less beholden to their fathers and family authority than they had been The skills and wisdom of fathers were often less valuable than they had been due to technological and social change being adopted most prominently by youth

Back to Compte Auguste Comte was the first philosopher to make a serious attempt to systematically study generations Comte suggested that : “social change is determined by generational change and in particular conflict between successive generations” As the members of a given generation age, their "instinct of social conservation" becomes stronger This inevitably and necessarily brings them into conflict with the "normal attribute of youth"— INNOVATION

Enter Karl Mannheim Mannheim suggested that there had been a division into two primary schools of study of generations until that time: Positivists, such as Comte who measured social change in fifteen to thirty year life spans, which he argued reduced history to “a chronological table.” The other school, the “romantic-historical” was represented by Dilthey and Martin Heidegger. This school emphasised the individual qualitative experience at the expense of social context.

Mannheim’s Middle Ground Mannheim emphasised that the rapidity of social change in youth was crucial to the formation of generations Not every generation would come to see itself as distinct In periods of rapid social change a generation would be much more likely to develop a cohesive character. Mannheim also believed that a number of distinct sub- generations could exist Typically every 15 to 30 years these societal divisions (gernerations) materialize

Modern Generations From the West The Lost Generation: describeS those who fought in World War I. The members of the lost generation were typically born between 1883 and The Greatest Generation : also known as the G.I. Generation, is the generation that includes the veterans who fought in World War II. They were born from around 1901 through 1924, coming of age during the Great Depression. Journalist Tom Brokaw dubbed this the Greatest Generation in a book of the same name

Modern Generations From the West The Silent Generation: born 1925 through 1945, is the generation that includes those who were too young to join the service during World War II. Many had fathers who served in World War I. Generally recognized as the children of the Great Depression The Beat Generation:, a popular American cultural movement that most social scholars say laid the foundation of the pro-active American counterculture of the 1960s. It consisted of Americans born between the two world wars who came of age in the rise of the automobile era, and the surrounding accessibility they brought to the culturally diverse, yet geographically broad and separated nation. Between the Silent Generation and the Baby Boomers

Modern Generations From the West The Baby Boom Generation: is the generation that was born following World War II, generally from 1946 up to 1964, a time that was marked by an increase in birth rates. Boomers are widely associated with privilege, as many grew up in a time of affluence Generation X: is the generation generally defined as those born after the baby boom ended. The term generally includes people born during all or part of the 1960s: Birth years generally end in the early 1980s Why Gen X?

Modern Generations From the West Millennials: also known as Generation Y, Generation Next, and Echo Boomers, describes the generation following Generation X who were born from 1982 to the early 2000s. There are no precise dates for when the Millennial generation starts and ends Generation Z: also known as Generation I, or Internet Generation, Generation AO (always on), Generation Text, and the "Digital Natives" by Marc Prensky and is the following generation. The earliest birth is generally dated in the early 1990s. Where do you feel YOU fit in?