Study
Questions on Generations by Strauss and Howe: Chapters One to Five.
Chapter One:
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Which generation contributed most
of the recent US Presidents? Why?
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Which generation has contributed
less than might be expected in the way of Presidential leadership?
Why?
-
How many generational types are
there in Strauss and Howe's model? What are they?
-
Which type of generation arises
out of a Spiritual Awakening?
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Which type of generation arises
out of a Secular Crisis?
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Which are the most active generational
types? The most passive?
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Which kind of generation were
America's "founding fathers"?
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Which type of generation is most
likely to see itself as living off the achievements of the past?
-
What names are usually used to
describe the generations that are alive in America today? What are
their characteristics?
Chapter Two:
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Which generation was best described
in Gail Sheehy's book Passages?
-
What is meant by the term "cohort
group:"?
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What kind of evidence is there
that cohorts maintain consistent patterns over their life cycles?
-
What is meant by the "generational
diagonal"?
Chapter Three:
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How long is a generation?
-
What are the dividing lines between
the four "phases of life"?
-
What is meant by a "peer personality"?
-
What are some of the cultural
products (music, art, literature, television shows, etc.) that give a generation
a sense of identity?
-
In what way can you see these
generational patterns in your own family? In what ways are the older
generations different not because of their age but because they lived through
a different slice of history?
-
How might the expectations for
a president differ from one generation to another?
Chapter Four:
-
How many generations have there
been in North America since it was settled by Europeans?
-
How many Spiritual Awakenings
have there been?
-
How many Secular Crises?
-
If the patterns found here continue,
what would we look forward to in the next decades of American history?
Chapter Five:
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How do child rearing patterns
differ from generation to generation?
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Which type of generation tends
to be the hardest on children?
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Which type of generation tends
to be closes to the mother? to the father?
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How does Strauss and Howe's theory
differ from those of Klingberg and the Schlesingers?