Beyond Cultures and Transitions: A Review Essay on Youth Agency, Precarity, and the Future of Youth Sociology
Beyond Cultures and Transitions: A Review Essay on Youth Agency, Precarity, and the Future of Youth Sociology

Summary/Abstract: The Research Handbook on the Sociology of Youth stands as a notable contemporary contribution to the field, yet its true worth lies in its capacity to bridge enduring theoretical gaps, challenge the discipline’s Anglocentric dominance, and highlight the intricate agency of youth amid increasingly restrictive structural conditions. This review posits that the sociology of youth is at a pivotal point, grappling with global instability and non-linear life paths that necessitate the development of fresh conceptual frameworks. To evaluate the field’s preparedness, this review examines a selection of pivotal scholarly works to critique its prevailing paradigms, especially the ‘cultures vs. transitions’ dichotomy and the passive portrayals of youth that have historically constrained our comprehension. Therefore, the future vibrancy of the discipline hinges on its ability to transcend these divisions. This review calls for a more cohesive, globally conscious, and politically savvy sociology of youth, one that promotes a social-generational analysis capable of connecting personal narratives to historical contexts, agency to structure, and the local experiences of young individuals to the global political economy.

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