PAA Presidential Address Topics: Where Are They Now?

View the recording. 

In what we hope will be the first of a regular series of similar events, this panel session features four PAA Past Presidents reviewing the main points of their respective PAA Presidential addresses and commenting on how demographic and social changes have evolved since then. Could they give essentially the same address today and have it still be true? Why or why not? 

We encourage you to review in advance the PAA history interview with each of the Past Presidents, and to read the published version of their presidential address. These files are available on the PAA website. 

Past President Panelists

• Samuel Preston, University of Pennsylvania, PAA President in 1984: "Children and the Elderly: Divergent Paths for America's Dependents."
• Jane Menken, University of Colorado, Boulder, PAA President in 1985: "Age and Fertility: How Late Can You Wait?"
• Arland Thornton, University of Michigan, PAA President in 2001: "The Developmental Paradigm, Reading History Sideways, and Family Change."
• Barbara Entwisle, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,  PAA President in 2007: "Putting People Into Place."

Four demography Ph.D. students have been invited to discuss the presentations. Alexis Dennis from UNC, Chapel Hill will comment on Sam Preston’s presidential address, Kyungwon Choi from the University of Chicago will comment on Jane Menken’s presidential address, Andrea Tilstra from the University of Colorado, Boulder, will comment on Arland Thornton’s presidential address, and Nick Graetz from the University of Pennsylvania will comment on Barbara Entwisle’s presidential address.

Hosted by the PAA History Committee: John Weeks (Chair and PAA Historian), Win Brown, Karen Hardee, Dennis Hodgson, and Emily Merchant.