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The stability of society depends on the continual integration of new actors who are capable of maintaining, promoting, and modifying basic components of social life. The phenomenon of socialization is therefore critical to sociology. In this chapter, we consider varied definitions of socialization, how the concept is tied to fundamental sociological issues, and how its original conceptualizations provided a framework for later investigations. Specifically, we focus on socialization through the adult life course, with emphasis on heterogeneity and contingency in life experiences. To develop a theoretical and methodological perspective that is sensitive to temporality, we call attention to individuals' biographies and temporal orientations, as well as historical variability in the ways people adapt to new social roles and circumstances. While we touch on themes deriving from early work on childhood and adolescent socialization …