what is your location in the course of life? explain the similarities and differences.

Life course theory, more commonly termed the life course
perspective, refers to a multidisciplinary paradigm for the study of people's lives,
structural contexts, and social change. This approach encompasses ideas and observations
from an array of disciplines, notably history, sociology, demography, developmental
psychology, biology, and economics. In particular, it directs attention to the powerful
connection between individual lives and the historical and socioeconomic context in
which these lives unfold. As a concept, a life course is defined as "a sequence of
socially defined events and roles that the individual enacts over time" .These events
and roles do not necessarily proceed in a given sequence, but rather constitute the sum
total of the person's actual experience. Thus the concept of life course implies
age-differentiated social phenomena distinct from uniform life-cycle stages and the life
span. Life span refers to duration of life and characteristics that are closely related
to age but that vary little across time and place.The family is perceived as a micro
social group within a macro social context—a "collection of individuals with shared
history who interact within ever-changing social contexts across ever increasing time
and space" Aging and developmental change, therefore, are continuous processes that are
experienced throughout life. As such, the life course reflects the intersection of
social and historical factors with personal biography and development within which the
study of family life and social change can ensue
.

Several fundamental principles characterize
the life course approach. They include: (1) socio-historical and geographical location;
(2) timing of lives; (3) heterogeneity or variability; (4) "linked lives" and social
ties to others; (5) human agency and personal control; and (6) how the past shapes the
future. Each of these tenets will be described and key concepts will be highlighted. An
individual's own developmental path is embedded in and transformed by conditions and
events occurring during the historical period and geographical location in which the
person lives. For example, geopolitical events (e.g., war), economic cycles (e.g.,
recessions), and social and cultural ideologies (e.g., patriarchy) can shape people's
perceptions and choices and alter the course of human development. Thus, behavior and
decisions do not occur in a vacuum, because people and families interact within
sociohistorical time. Indeed, an understanding of the location of various cohorts in
their respective historical contexts aids scholars and policy makers to identity
circumstances that have differentially affected people's respective life
histories.