Full Circles: Geographies of Women over the Life Course

Full Circlesexplores the extent to which women's lives are defined by particular places and spaces. Historical, cultural and economic contexts, changing fertility patterns, class position, state policies and personal motivation all these influence the geographies of women's lives, constraining choices and providing options. Working across these geographical settings reveals the underlying processes through which construct their lives. Full Circlesdescribes the very different lives and expectations of women in post-industrial countries and developing countries from childhood to old age. Analyzing the differences and similarities of age, class, ethnicity, nationality and individual values, the authors explore the futures open to women in the diverse and changing locations in which they find themselves. These experiences range from prior experience, the significance of companionship, the potential for change, the diversity of women's roles in the home, theworkplace and the community, and the ways in which ideologies affect individual opportunity and collective experience Full Circlesexplores the geographic implications of these issues to reveal the critical intersections between space and time, place and person in women's lives, and the larger complex of social relations with which they are mutually determined.