The mysterious case of the pervasive choice biography: Ulrich Beck, structure/agency, and the middling state of theory in the sociology of youth

Woodman, Dan

doi:10.1080/13676260902807227

Cited by 171 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Beck theorizes contemporary transitions within a society of reflexive modernity, where young people construct their own iden-tities based on chosen affinities, rather than familial or class con-straints. Although recently supported by Woodman (2009), individualization has been critiqued by many as placing blame for failing to attain one's 'choice biography' on the individual, not paying enough attention to structural barriers that often preclude the opportunity to follow up desired choices (Furlong and Cartmel, 1997;Skelton, 2002). Giddens' (1991) version of the individualiza-tion thesis has also been taken up by researchers.…”

Section: Reviewing Theories Of Youth Transitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding youth transition as ‘Becoming’: Identity, time and futurity

2009

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Drawing on recent work in psychology, philosophy, and youth geographies, this article responds to calls for theoretical rigour in children's geographies by developing the concept of becoming for youth transitions research. Becoming has been used by psychologist Gordon Allport (1955) in his work on the proces-sual nature of personal identity, while Elizabeth Grosz (1999) has used the concept of becoming to explore conceptions of time as a lived experience, focusing on the dynamics of time as duration. This article uses the unifying concept of futurity to tie together the works of Allport and Grosz, exploring how the concept of becoming can be used to consider the inherent complexities of contemporary youth transi-tions. To demonstrate the value of working with these reconceptualizations, examples of becoming will be explored through research with visually impaired young people. This research productively uses nar-rative and a life mapping technique to capture the messiness of becoming, seeing transition through the scale of a life and important life events.

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Section: Reviewing Theories Of Youth Transitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding youth transition as ‘Becoming’: Identity, time and futurity

2009

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“…The central argument (which respects some of the key themes introduced by Beck without arriving at the same conclusions in relation to the supposed death of class), rests on the idea that young people are increasingly seeking individual level solutions to situations that are still clearly class-related. In our view, this is clearly a structured process and certainly does not carry the suggestion that individualisation is 'simply a subjective phenomenon concerning self-identities and attitudes alone', as Atkinson (2007: 353) and Woodman (2009) suggest. 2 What we termed the 'epistemological fallacy' of late modernity refers to a growing disjuncture between objective and subjective dimensions of life whereby underlying class relationships may be obscured as a result of a diversification of experiences.…”

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confidence: 99%

Revisiting transitional metaphors: reproducing social inequalities under the conditions of late modernity

Furlong

2009

Journal of Education and Work

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This paper focuses on some of the conceptual implications changes in youth transitions over the last 40 years. I argue that changes have often been exaggerated with researchers too enthusiastic to jump on theoretical bandwagons without due regard for empirical evidence. While I suggest that there are important changes that impact on the ways in which social classes are reproduced, involving a perception of increased opportunity and greater scope for individual agency, a degree of class-based convergence and illusions regarding the disappearance of class, I will argue that the new mechanisms lead to the re-establishment of very familiar patterns of socioeconomic inequality which can largely be understood by employing established theoretical ideas. While biographical approaches are regarded as useful, the continued se of social class is defended. u

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“…Recent scholarly debate has sought to reconstruct the significance of some of Beck's theory for youth studies (Roberts 2010(Roberts , 2012Woodman 2009Woodman , 2011, in some cases forging revealing parallels between the precarity of youth employment opportunities in developed economies and the longstanding insecurity and informality which characterises labour markets in the Global South (e.g. Furlong and Kelly 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%

Collaborative Individualization? Peer-to-peer Action in Youth Transitions

Cuzzocrea

Collins

2015

YOUNG

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In this article we propose the notion of collaborative individualization (henceforth, C.I.) as a means of characterizing young people’s attempts to define their identities as simultaneously self-reliant and in need of support and collaboration. Our arguments are based on the findings of a transnational case study: a recent Council of Europe policy project called Edgeryders, an online platform whose participants were invited to discuss their experience of attempting to achieve ‘fully independent adulthood’. In light of findings which suggest that individualization amongst the young might take forms which are more collaborative than self-focused, we argue that youth scholars ought to rethink the assumptions made about the nature of individualization in youth transitions. We propose that such theorizations should embrace the potential described by C.I. in order to provide constructive responses to young people’s changing socio-economic needs, and refocus attention on young people’s situatedness within the communities many are demonstrably committed to working with and for.

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The mysterious case of the pervasive choice biography: Ulrich Beck, structure/agency, and the middling state of theory in the sociology of youth

Cited by 171 publications

References 20 publications

Understanding youth transition as ‘Becoming’: Identity, time and futurity

Understanding youth transition as ‘Becoming’: Identity, time and futurity

Revisiting transitional metaphors: reproducing social inequalities under the conditions of late modernity

Collaborative Individualization? Peer-to-peer Action in Youth Transitions

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