Reflections on a Lifetime of Life-Course Research: Turning Opportunity into Passion

As graduation from Gymnasium, the academic track of high school in the Swiss educational system, drew closer in the early 1970s, the impending choice of a major for my studies at the University of Zurich weighted heavily on me. With my interests as broad as they possibly could be and advisors offering little clues, I stumbled upon sociology. Given the political climate of the times, with the unrest of the late 1960s even striking conservative Switzerland, sociology appealed to me as a progressive choice and thus a an attractive subject to study. In retrospect, my interest in the functioning of society has most likely also been kindled by my experiences as an exchange student to the United States (upstate New York). This early year abroad definitely made me aware of how much beliefs and values, norms, and behaviors may vary from one country-or from one context-to the other. The desire to learn more about these societal differences and to better understand their causes and consequences made me go into sociology.