Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Theory And Generation X, Gary S. Marshall

Public Administration Faculty Publications

This special issues section of JPAE provides an opportunity to address the experience of the new generation of MPA students who are often labeled the X Generation. The term Generation X was coined by Coupland (1991); "X" in this case refers to the mathematical symbol for indeterminacy or the unknown. The argument implicit in the moniker is that, while all previous generations had some point of reference that provided them with a social anchor, the current generation does not have such an anchor through which to interpret their social experience. As a result, they are often depicted as "slackers" with …