A Seedbed of Autonomy: Women's Role Expansion, Modernity, and the Life Course

Extending Robert Merton's concept of role-sets, Rose Coser's thesis of "role complexity as a seedbed of autonomy" challenges the view that modern social differentiation mostly generates alienation and role conflict. In In Defense of Modernity (1991), Coser argues that engaging in multiple roles across diverse spheres may cultivate self-reflection, negotiation skills, cognitive flexibility, and intellectual creativity through managing diverse and conflicting expectations, especially for women whose lives have been constrained by the simple role-sets of traditional, Gemeinschaft institutions.

This session revisits Coser's insights to examine their global relevance in the 21st century. We invite empirical research addressing the following questions: How do social changes driven by demographic transitions, democratic shifts, economic restructuring, evolving social infrastructures, and social policies at the urban or local level expand or constrain women's opportunities to engage in multiple roles beyond traditional family and routinized work spheres? What new roles are becoming accessible or being co-created through civic organizations, interest-based groups, local, digital, and transnational communities, religious and ethnic spheres, and flexible or gig-based labor markets? How are these opportunities distributed across women in different life stages (young adulthood, midlife, later life) and women of color, women of minority status, and (im)migrant women of different visa categories? What are the social consequences of role complexity at the individual, community, and societal levels?

We welcome contributions that reflect on the interplay of women's changing roles and processes of modernization across diverse societal contexts, drawing broader implications for women's status, gender equality, and social change in turbulent times.