SOCIAL GENERATIONS: A METHODOLOGICAL EXPANSION IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF GENERATIONS

Abstract

The sociology of generations is one of the relatively new fields of study of sociology and has a developing literature. The problem of generation, which has been overshadowed by different disciplines for a long time, has been studied in macro contexts such as philosophy of history, sociology of time and social change. The most comprehensive theoretical contribution to the problem of generation was made by the German sociologist Karl Mannheim as an original field of study in the sociology of knowledge. Describing generations as social positions formed by the collective consciousness experienced internally in the historical process, Mannheim tried to reveal his theory with historical evidence. However, the empirical analysis of the generational problem has been possible within the framework of the work of other writers who contributed to the sociology of generations after Mannheim. Among these authors, the work of Jane Pilcher provided methodological modifications to Mannheim's reading of historical generations. Pilcher, starting from Mannheim's theory, discussed the possibilities of examining generations empirically, and in this respect, she brought important initiatives to make the sociology of generations a grounded field of study. In this study, Mannheim's sociology of generations is discussed within the framework of Pilcher's innovations. With this aim, first of all, the main lines of Mannheim's theory will be revealed, then the works of authors who contributed to the sociology of generations after Mannheim will be mentioned. Finally, Pilcher's contributions to the sociology of generations will be discussed within the framework of the methodological concept of social generation.