2026/04/03 by Tim Riswick, Sanne Muurling, Theo Engelen · 1 voice
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Historical Economic and Social Studies #Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving #Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/1081602x.2026.2670358
openalex publication_date 2026/04/03 · openalex created_date 2026/05/15 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
This special issue marks the thirtieth anniversary of The History of the Family and celebrates the retirement of Jan Kok, whose scholarship has profoundly influenced historical family demography over the past decades. Using life course theory as its central organising framework, this introductory article applies core concepts such as life span development, agency, time and place, timing, and linked lives as analytical instruments to examine both Kok´s scholarly trajectory and the contributions assembled in this special issue. This article first interprets Kok’s academic career as a life course in itself, thereby situating his intellectual development within broader historiographical debates, institutional contexts, and collaborative research networks. It then extends this perspective to the collected contributions, allowing for a more systematic reflection on ongoing efforts to disentangle the complex interplay of social, economic, demographic, cultural and biological factors shaping families and societies across time and space. Finally, the discussion considers what these contributions reveal about emerging directions in historical family demography, future challenges facing interdisciplinary research on families, and the continuing evolution and ambitions of our journal.