Race and space play an important role in shaping the midlife years. While affluent Americans contemplate the empty nest and a long stretch of time free of the burdens of their earlier years, mature adults in the inner city confront a very different scenario. They reach middle age with fewer resources, the onset of chronic diseases before their time, and nests that don't empty. Many are responsible for the care of grandchildren whose own parents have been undone by the ravages of drugs. Midlife minorities in New York City must manage the aging process without the support structures that middle class Americans have come to expect. They teach us that context matters in thinking about midlife.

Cultural Functions of 'the Midlife' in Contemporary America: Generations, Race, Class, Culture and History

This lecture is the second of a series given in conjunction with this CAS interdisciplinary initiative during the spring semester 2000. One of the foremost age theorists in America, Miller Endowment Visiting Professor Margaret Morganroth Gullette began the series in February. Thomas Weisner, UCLA, explores "Countercultural Youth From the 60s at Midlife," on April 5.

Sponsored by: Center for Advanced Study

In conjunction with: Afro-American Studies and Research Program, Department of Anthropology, Department of History, Department of Speech Communication, Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities (IPRH), School of Social Work, Women?s Studies Program.