Podcast #158: The Prime of Life — What It Means to Be an Adult | The Art of Manliness

During the past thirty or so years, the definition of what it means to be an adult has undergone a radical transformation. Where there were once clear markers of adulthood (get a well-paying job, get married, have kids) there are now fuzzy boundaries. It’s not uncommon to find 30-somethings muse, “Am I an adult yet?” And while we think that our ancestors weren’t plagued with this question, history tells a different story. Steven Mintz, a professor of history at the University of Texas, shows in his book, The Prime of Life: A History of Modern Adulthood, that what it means to be an adult in the West has been in constant flux since the 1500s. Today on the podcast, Professor Mintz and I discuss how society’s concept of adulthood has changed throughout the centuries and what we can learn from our ancestors about navigating the sometimes uncertain waters of being a grown-up. Originally published November 2015. Follow us! https://ift.tt/1FOPIX2 http://twitter.com/artofmanliness https://ift.tt/YAd15k https://ift.tt/1DUJeqE