This accessible book takes a fresh and original approach to the concept of youth, placing changes in the social construction of "youth" within a more general story of the rise and fall of grand theory in social science. Gill Jones evaluates the current relevance of these wider social theories to understanding youth in late modernity in the light of key examples of empirical work on young people. Individual chapters are organized around the themes of action, identity, transition, inequality and dependence - conceptual themes which cross-cut young people's lives. The book considers the validity...

This accessible book takes a fresh and original approach to the concept of youth, placing changes in the social construction of "youth" within a more general story of the rise and fall of grand theory in social science. Gill Jones evaluates the current relevance of these wider social theories to understanding youth in late modernity in the light of key examples of empirical work on young people. Individual chapters are organized around the themes of action, identity, transition, inequality and dependence - conceptual themes which cross-cut young people's lives. The book considers the validity...