The Nature and Roles of Work in Our Families

Social Science/History | Registration opens 8/5/2024 12:00 AM MST (Arizona)

12535 W. Smokey Dr. Surprise, AZ 85378 United States

1011

8/26/2024 (one day)

10:00 AM-12:00 PM MST (Arizona) on Mon

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People work to earn a living, but the nature of work varies across individuals and generations.  For example, in 1900 approximately 40% of the U.S. population lived on farms. By 2016, that number had dropped to 1%.  The nature of some kinds of work has also changed dramatically in the last century—from our grandparents’ generation to ours—especially because of emerging technologies.  The roles of work also vary across individuals even within a single generation in a family.  For example, some of us see work as little more than a way to pay the bills; others see their careers as an important part of their identities.  We will also talk about resources for finding out about the nature of work
in our ancestors’ lives.

  • Duane has been tracing his roots since his teenage years, building a database with more than 32,000 ancestors. He and his wife, Maureen Roen, have also recorded their family history since 1978 by writing more than 19,000 daily journal entries on their children and other family members. Combining his professional and personal interests, Duane worked with colleagues to establish courses on writing and recording family history at Arizona State University. He is also the founding coordinator of the Project for Writing and Recording Family History in the ASU College of Integrative Sciences and Arts. 


Duane Roen has been tracing his roots since his teenage years, building a database with more than 32,000 ancestors. He and his wife, Maureen Roen, have also been recording their family history since 1978 by writing more than 19,000 daily journal entries on their children and other family members. Combining his professional and personal interests, Duane worked with colleagues to establish courses on writing and recording family history at Arizona State University. He also is founding coordinator of the Project for Writing and Recording Family History in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at ASU.