Glen H. Elder, Jr., PhD, is Howard W. Odum Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a leading figure in the development of life course theory and methods through longitudinal studies of children and adults who were influenced by the hard times of the Great Depression and World War II. Other major longitudinal projects include a multigenerational study of families and children under economic stress in the Midwest, and an inner-city longitudinal study of white and minority young people in Philadelphia. His books include Children of the Great Depression: Social Change in Life Experience. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has served as vice president of the American Sociological Association as well as president of the Society for Research on Child Development.

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Janet Z. Giele is Professor Emerita of Sociology, Social Policy, and Women’s Studies at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management of Brandeis University. Her research focuses on the changing life course of women and the emergence of American family policy. Her work has been supported by the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations, German Marshall Fund, Lilly Endowment, National Institute on Aging, and National Science Foundation. She is the author, editor, or coeditor of eight previous books.