Ross Macmillan
Associate Professor and Interim Director, Life Course Center
Ph.D. 1998 University of Toronto
Room 1039 Social Sciences
tel.: 612-624-6509
email: macmilla@atlas.socsci.umn.edu
Interest Areas
Life Course Studies; Research Methodology and Social Statistics.
Current Research
"The Structuring of the Life Course in Modern Society." This research examines the structure of the life course through the use of a latent pathway approach. Specific projects include: a) social differentiation in the transition to adulthood; b) the impact of economic recessions on the transition to adulthood; c) social change in the transition to adulthood in the US, 1950-2000; and d) the role of social origins and psychological orientations in the life course.
"Educational Careers and Life Course Attainments." This research examines the implications of different educational careers that begin in adolescence and extend through various educational institutions in subsequent years. Specific projects include: a) a general mapping of educational careers among American females and males; b) study of the relationship between background and careers pathways; and c) the implication of educational careers for educational and socioeconomic attainment.
"Minnesota Veterans Study." As part of the multifaceted Minnesota Entries and Exits Project, this research is conducting qualitative interviews with soldiers recently returned from Iraq. The goal of the research is to better understand the “inside” process of soldier reintegration, identify variation in the nature of reintegration experiences, and better understand sources of risk and success among soldiers returning to civilian life.
"Disability in the Life Course." This research examines the implications of physical and mental disability for the unfolding life course. Here, disability is studied as a structuring force in the life course that shapes both pathways through school, work, and family and serves to link social origins with life course attainments and experiences.
Recent Publications
Biography and the Sociological Imagination: Contexts and Contingencies, with Michael Shanahan. 2007. Contemporary Societies Series. New York, NY: W. W. Norton and Company.
"'Constructing Adulthood': Agency and Subjectivity in the Life Course." 2006. Advances in Life Course Research, Vol. 10, T. Owens, ed. Greenwich, CT: Elsevier/JAI Press.
"Families in the life course: Interdependency of roles, role configurations, and pathways," with Ronda Copher. 2005. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 67: 858-879.