Between Generations

Recent literature has identified modern "parenting" as an expert-led practice--one which begins with pre-pregnancy decisions, entails distinct types of intimate relationships, places intense burdens on mothers and increasingly on fathers too. Exploring within diverse historical and global contexts how men and women make--and break--relations between generations when becoming parents, this volume brings together innovative qualitative research by anthropologists, historians, and sociologists. The chapters focus tightly on inter-generational transmission and demonstrate its importance for understanding how people become parents and rear children.

Social isolation across generations is epidemic. But there’s still time to end divisive generational stereotypes and reclaim the social connections that unite all of us. This book explores how we got here and how we might change course and foster lasting, rewarding relationships across among generations—from Boomers to Millennials.

Recent literature has identified modern “parenting” as an expert-led practice—one which begins with pre-pregnancy decisions, entails distinct types of intimate relationships, places intense burdens on mothers and increasingly on fathers too. Exploring within diverse historical and global contexts how men and women make—and break—relations between generations when becoming parents, this volume brings together innovative qualitative research by anthropologists, historians, and sociologists. The chapters focus tightly on inter-generational transmission and demonstrate its importance for understanding how people become parents and rear children.

ÔThere is so much to praise in this important and timely book. Drawing on unique, fresh and intimate qualitative studies of families and the complex histories of their lives and businesses, the book will invigorate entrepreneurial studies with its intricate, theoretically bold and innovative analysis. The author takes us on a sensitive and fascinating journey with these families, and makes an outstanding contribution conceptually, politically, ethically and methodologically to the field, showing us how narratives are not simply methodological tools but ontological resources for gender and identify formation. It is an elegant and refreshing book which will be a rewarding and enlivening read for students and researchers.Õ Ð Elaine Swan, University of Technology Sydney, Australia ÔThoughtful, perceptive, and meticulously researched, Eleanor HamiltonÕs Entrepreneurship across Generations is an important contribution that will help advance the field of family business studies both conceptually and empirically. Based on fascinating field work with families in business and placing ÒfamilyÓ at the very heart of her study, Hamilton shows, through the stories her subjects tell, just how deeply and complexly family and firm are intertwined. A must-read for all those interested in family firm entrepreneurship.Õ Ð Andrew Popp, University of Liverpool Management School, UK Entrepreneurship across Generations examines dimensions of identity, gender and learning to understand the complex fabric of family business. An interpretation of narratives from two generations in five families constitutes entrepreneurship as an inherently social, rather than individual, phenomenon. This enriching book explains how entrepreneurial capacity is shared between generations, showing how learning is embedded within everyday social practice in the family and the business. It explores patriarchal practice and gendered entrepreneurial identities in family business. The author challenges dominant discourses of entrepreneurship. She argues that entrepreneurial identities are mediated by narrative and subject to constant negotiation within and across generations. With a new perspective on entrepreneurship, this insightful study will be essential and supplementary reading for students and practitioners within the field of entrepreneurship and family business.

Now that five different generations are on the job simultaneously--from Traditionals to Generation Y to Millennials--it's important for companies to understand how their people can not only coexist and cooperate, but thrive together as a team. Written by Meagan and Larry Johnson, a father-daughter team of two generational experts, Generations, Inc. offers the perspectives of people of different eras to elicit practical insights on wrestling with generational issues in the workplace. This book provides Baby Boomers and Linksters alike with practical techniques for: addressing conflicts, forging alliances with coworkers from other generations, getting people with different values and idiosyncratic styles to work together, and running productive meetings where all participants find value in each other’s ideas. The generation we were born in influences our expectations, actions, and mind-sets. Generations, Inc. includes realistic strategies for relating to your team members’ different views of loyalty, work ethic, and the definition of a job well done--and tips to make those perspectives work together to strengthen your workforce and grow your business.

Written for those struggling to manage a workforce with incompatible ethics, values, and working styles, this book looks at the root causes of professional conflict and offers practical guidelines for navigating multigenerational differences. By exploring the most common causes of conflict--including the Me Generation’s frustration with Gen Yers’ constant desire for feedback and the challenges facing Gen Xers sandwiched between these polarities--Generations at Work offers practical, spot-on guidance for managing the differences with consideration to each generation’s unique needs. Along with the authors’ insights for managing a workforce with different ways of working, communicating, and thinking, this invaluable resources offers: in-depth interviews with members of each generation, tips on best practices from companies successfully bridging the generation gap, and a mentorship field guide to help you support the youngest members of your team. Generations at Work has the tools that are key to helping your workforce interact more positively with one another and thrive in today’s wildly divergent workplace culture.

Immigrants and their American-born children represent about one quarter of the United States population. Drawing on rich, in-depth ethnographic research, the fascinating case studies in Across Generations examine the intricacies of relations between the generations in a broad range of immigrant groups—from Latin America, Asia, the Caribbean, and Africa—and give a sense of what everyday life is like in immigrant families. Moving beyond the cliché of the children of immigrants engaging in pitched battles against tradition-bound parents from the old country, these vivid essays offer a nuanced view that brings out the ties that bind the generations as well as the tensions that divide them. Tackling key issues like parental discipline, marriage choices, educational and occupational expectations, legal status, and transnational family ties, Across Generations brings crucial insights to our understanding of the United States as a nation of immigrants. Contributors: Leisy Abrego, JoAnn D’Alisera, Joanna Dreby, Yen Le Espiritu, Greta Gilbertson, Nazli Kibria, Cecilia Menjívar, Jennifer E. Sykes, Mary C. Waters, and Min Zhou.