Jaeger, Hans. “Generations in History: Reflections on a Controversial Concept.” History and Theory, vol. 24, no. 3, Oct. 1985, pp. 273–292., https://doi.org/10.2307/2505170.
Hans Jaeger is a historian whose abstract about generations appears in the journal, “History and Theory” published by Wesleyan University in Connecticut. The purpose of Jaeger’s abstract is to analyze generations from the understanding of, as he puts it, “the understanding of several sociohistorical developments.” Jaeger’s abstract is a deep analysis of the contrasting pulse and imprint hypotheses of generations (In his abstract, the pulse hypothesis is referred to by its longer name the, “pulse-rate hypothesis”). Throughout the abstract, Jaeger argues that generations are affected from their childhood to young adulthood by historical events and society. Jaeger leans toward the imprint theory to explain the actions of generations, that they are “imprinted” by major historical and societal changes. I find myself agreeing with Jaeger’s conclusions and I believe his paper will serve an important role in my own research assignment. I envision the abstract as a sort of “skeleton” for my own paper. Jaeger’s claims in his abstract provide an important background to my key argument in defense of and to explain the impulse hypothesis. There is a key limitation, however. As a college student in the United States, my paper will primarily focus on patterns of generations in the United States. However, Jaeger is from Europe and most of his examples of the imprint hypothesis in action are European. Though, I am not too worried about our difference in nationalities, as the imprint theory can be transplanted against the background of any country’s major historical events.
Barenberg, Otto. “Generation Z Is Not Afraid”. Harvard Political Review: Harvard University, April 22, 2019 Monday. advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:5VY5-JVW1-JBSN-33K3-00000-00&context=1516831. Accessed April 11, 2022.
Otto Barenberg is a member of Harvard University. He wrote a newsletter in which he analyzed Generation Z against a geopolitical background. The main purpose of the article is to explain the “changing priorities” of Generation Z. No longer is the focus on the United States’ incursions in the Middle East. Instead, Generation Z believes that the more pressing concern is on climate change. I plan to use Barenberg’s source in a different way than Jaeger’s abstract. I’ll use Barenberg’s writing to better contextualize my own claims about Generation Z and I’ll analyze the passage to show what ways Generation Z is different from older generations in terms of the ways both history and current geopolitical events continue to shape the views of Generation Z. Admittedly, there is a limitation with this source mainly due to the length. There isn’t a huge amount of information to analyze and discuss unlike the previous source. Though, I feel the quality of information outweighs any negative of the lack of quantity.
Mohr, Kathleen, and Eric Mohr. “Understanding Generation Z Students to Promote a Contemporary Learning Environment.” Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence , vol. 1, no. 1, Mar. 2017, pp. 84–93.
I’ve chosen a different type of source as another Generation Z centric source. Rather than solely focusing on history, this source is from a teaching journal, with this particular abstract written for the purpose of preparing teachers and professors for Generation Z. Kathleen and Eric Mohr are both professors at the School of Teacher Education at Utah State University. Their abstract is sympathetic and understanding of Generation Z, with claims of Generation Z being a “we” generation with an emphasis on changing the world. Yet, I find myself disagreeing with a few points of the essay. Particularly ideas that Generation Z is “disinterested” with current events. I understand the abstract was written in 2017, which is a key weakness of using the source due to the absence of the Coronavirus pandemic from the discussion, though I feel like Generation Z has always been very aware of world events, both past and present. I plan to both analyze and argue with the abstract. In dispelling some stereotypes about Generation Z, I feel unfortunately, the writers of the abstract have perpetuated other stereotypes as well.
Yamashiro, Neil. “Generation X.” Defense Technical Information Center, 7 Apr. 1998, https://doi.org/10.21236/ada344977.
An interesting perspective, Neil Yamashiro was conducting research for the Department of Defense on generations, including Generation X. Included are perceived stereotypes about Generation X and possible events that have “imprinted” onto them. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find much information about the author, Neil Yamashiro. I do not know if he is writing the paper from the perspective of Generation X, or if he is looking at Generation X from the perspective of an older generation. That means I also don’t know his credentials aside from he authored this research project for the Department of Defense. Regardless, I think this paper provides an interesting perspective of the views on Generation X that may have influenced government opinion on the generation. Their described in very ways that echoes many descriptions I hear of Generation Z. The source will be used to help with my analysis of Generation X and the events that imprinted on them.
Fukuyama, Francis. “Reflections on the End of History, Five Years Later.” History and Theory, vol. 34, no. 2, May 1995, p. 27., https://doi.org/10.2307/2505433.
Originally I didn’t know if I would fully discuss the End of History in my essay, but I believe it’s important to bridging the gap between Generation X and Generation Z. I specifically chose Fukuyama’s reflection as he elaborates on many of the points he made in his original essay in order combat some critiques.
Goepner, Erik, and Trevor Thrall. “The New Faces of Internationalism: How Generational Change Is Reshaping American Foreign Policy Attitudes.” Cato Institute, 19 Apr. 2021, https://www.cato.org/working-paper/new-faces-internationalism-how-generational-change-reshaping-american-foreign-policy.
A long title and a long paper, luckily I’m able to search for keywords in the PDF. The abstract is important to my own research paper as the authors discuss the shifting of attitudes toward American foreign policy and how differing ideals of generations might play a part in that.
“How the Covid Shock Has Radicalised Generation Z.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 2 June 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/02/how-the-covid-shock-has-radicalised-generation-z.
A perspective on Generation Z’s outlook in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Salameh, Mamdouh. “A Third Oil Crisis?” Taylor & Francis, 21 Feb. 2008, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00396330412331344158.
This source isn’t necessarily a key source for the essay. I wanted to discuss some economic factors contributing to Generation X’s outlook and I wanted to get some tangible numbers.
Ours, Jan C. van. “The Great Recession Was Not so Great.” Labour Economics, North-Holland, 10 Feb. 2015, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537115000093.
Same as the above source. The title is a little deceiving, the paper does focus primarily on the Great Recession, which I don’t discuss in my essay, but earlier on in the paper the economic downturns in the 80s and 90s are discussed.
Prof L
Luke, a few points:
—You sometimes refer to articles as “abstracts” (the abstract is the paragraph-length summary that, depending on the publication, often precedes a scholarly article.)
It seems to me that as you find sources, the nature of your project could be shifting.
So I want to point out a few resonances I see (that you may already have noticed, but they aren’t here in writing yet)
First, that last source, the Cato paper (btw: they are famous as a libertarian think-tank, so expect a strong clearly articulated ideological stance)—the Cato paper would seem to suggest that generational experiences of history affect foreign policy attitudes.
If so, this takes you back to the pulse-imprint debate, and adds another layer: “history shapes a generation>history shapes a generation’s attitude toward history”
Second, the teaching source: this might work best for you as a tool to help craft a catchy intro. Are you “writing back” to these teachers? Your annotations suggest to me that such a strategy might work well (and from someone who imagines himself as possibly a future historian, it might fit your interests)
Finally, the Katerberg source and what you see as its limitations. Remember that every source you use need only have a purpose FOR YOU. In your case, Katerberg may help you bridge Coupland and Fukuyama. But do you need Coupland in the essay at all? Not NECESSARILY: but if his novel’s perspective on history was important to your thinking, then it too could work as an intro/setup device for your essay. (You could then possibly end up by imagining a GEN Z novel, and how that author might depict the experience of/attitude toward history that typifies said generation….
Luke Rapier
Truthfully I’ve been throwing around a lot of source ideas. For a while I was thinking about incorporating Coupland somehow, but as I write more of the essay, I find that it’s more likely I want to focus more on direct history and the imprint hypothesis without bringing Coupland in. I definitely don’t want to throw too many ideas at once into this research paper, so I’ll likely cut out Coupland unless I really get an epiphany from his novel.
Zuma78
Jaeger’s abstract on generations provides valuable insights for my research on the impulse hypothesis and historical events’ influence. Excited to incorporate his analysis!