Age, Gender, and the Demographic Transition: The Life Course in Agrarian Societies

Abstract

The homogenization of the world's peoples, particularly in the structural characteristics of their social orders, is a familiar theme in sociological research. This chapter aims to characterize some common features of the life course in societies where birth and death rates are high and the majority of families are engaged in agriculture. It illustrates with examples from Africa and Mexico how age and gender distinctions are structured and experienced in agrarian societies. The chapter shows that when death rates fall rapidly but birth rates remain high, the social structure of the life course is forced to change, but both the rate of change and the innovations that occur in response to demographic pressures reflect the diverse cultures of such societies. Customary beliefs and practices promoting fertility, birth spacing, and the domestic use of child labor are fundamental to the adaptive strategies by which agrarian parents maintain the family food supply and obtain both current support and long-term personal security.

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