| Sociology 150 Spring 2002 Office Hrs: T, 2 - 4 p.m. |
Ida H. Simpson Office: 275 Soc/Psy Bldg Phone: 660-5619 email: isimp@soc.duke.edu |
Sociology 150
The Changing American Family
Course objectives: The traditional American family is changing in function, structure, organization, and perceived importance in the lives of people. Some feel the institution is endangered, but others see the changes as welcome adaptations to the times. Our objective is to examine the changes with a view toward understanding the forces behind them and resultant social problems.
Course Plan: The format of the course will be lecture and discussion. Topics are given in the syllabus below, together with required readings. Note: the order in which chapters from Cherlin are assigned is not numerical.
Texts:
| Cherlin: Public and Private
Families Wallerstein and Blakeslee, Second Chances Poponoe, Life without Fathers |
Course Requirements:
1. Assigned projects. Short assignments on changes in family life.
They are given in the syllabus and are to be turned in as scheduled.
2. Term paper: Each student is expected to write a term paper. A written
statement giving the subject of your paper is due March 8. I will
not accept a paper whose topic has not been approved. Completed papers
are due April 24. If you are uncertain about an appropriate topic, methods
for study, or other concerns, email and/or see me.
3. Exams. There will be two examinations, one hourly given in
class and a take-home final. Exam 1 will be on materials in Parts I, II and
III of the syllabus. Exam 2 will be on Parts IV, V, and VI, and will include
Life Without Father and Second Chances.
Grades: Exams, assignments, term paper and class participation will contribute as follows to your final grade:
Exams: Exams: 60% (30% for each exam)
Assignments: 5%
Informed class participation: 5%
Term paper: 30%
Honor Code: All work in the class is governed by the Student Honor Code, including assignments, term papers, and examinations. Infractions of the Code include failure to properly cite references, unauthorized help, as well as copying others’ work. All work in the class must indicate compliance with the Code.
| Date |
Topic and Assignment
|
|
| Jan. 10 | Overview of the Course | |
|
PART I: CHANGING STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE
AMER. FAMILY
|
||
| Jan. 15 | Studying the Family: Concepts and Methods Cherlin, Chapter 1 | |
| Jan. 17 | The American Family over Time The traditional family: Its structure, functions, and idealization Cherlin, Chapter 2, pp. 33-55 |
|
| Jan. 22 | The state, other institutions, and the family:
Externalization of family functions Cherlin, Chapter 6 |
|
| Jan. 24 | Changes in the symmetry of gender relations in the family Cherlin, Chapter 3 |
|
| Jan. 29 | Changes in the family life cycle Wells, “Demographic change and the life cycle of American families” (Handout) |
|
| Jan. 31 |
The elderly family Assignment |
|
| Feb. 5 | Assignment due; discuss in class | |
| Feb. 7-12 | Pluralistic Family Forms: The Impact of Ethnicity, Race and
Social Class on the Family Cherlin, Chapter 2, pp. 56-74; Chapters 4, 5 |
|
|
PART II: LOVE, MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE
|
||
| Feb. 12 | Socialization for Marriage Sex, love, and marriage Cherlin, Chapter 7 |
|
| Feb. 14 | The Erotic Revolution: Decline of dating and courtship and
the rise of cohabitation Cherlin, Ch. 8 |
|
| Feb. 19 | Commercialization of sex: Assignment: Three examples from the media or other sources to be discussed in class and turned in . | |
| Feb. 21 | Decline of Marriage Lecture: Demographics on marriage: Increase singleness across the life cycle |
|
| Feb. 26 | Marriage: The Traditional Pathway to Family Formation Structural Constraints: The marriage market: Race, religion, and other constraints Cherlin, pp. 237-240; 248-256 Guttentag and Secord on sex ratio (handout) |
|
| Feb. 28 | Mate selection: Psychological and social influences “The wheel of love theory” (Handout) Changing structure of the mating process: Cohabitation to marriage? |
|
| March 5 | HOURLY EXAMINATION | |
| March 7 | TERM PAPER TOPICS DUE: SUGGESTIONS AND COMMENTS | |
|
PART III: MARITAL LIFE: ROLES, ADJUSTMENTS AND DIFFICULTIES
|
||
| March 19 | Patterns of Marital and Partner Relations Cherlin, Chapter 9 |
|
|
PART IV: CHANGING INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
OF CHILD REARING
|
||
| March 21 | Parenthood and Childhood Cherlin, pp. 293-295, chapter 14 |
|
| March 26 | Fatherhood over time Poponoe, Life Without Father |
|
| March 28 | The Single Parent Family Cherlin, pp. 262-267; 506-514 |
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| April 2 | Video: The Vanishing Father | |
| April 4 |
NO CLASS Assignment: Who rears our children? |
|
|
PART V: FAMILY LIFE AT THE TURN OF THE TWENTIETH-FIRST
CENTURY
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||
| April 9-11 |
The Dual Career Family The domestic scene: Who does the housework? Childcare? |
|
| April 17-19 |
Endings and New Beginnings: Separation and divorce Effects of divorce Remarriage and the reconstituted family |
|
| April 24 | Review and Reflections | |
| Apri 24 | TERM PAPER DUE | |
SUGGESTED TOPICS FOR TERM PAPERS
The family as a collectivity: its structure and functions
(1) Change in fictional depiction of the family in the 20th century. How well
does the fictional account correspond to structural and functional changes?
(2) Hardtimes and family coping over the century
-- The Great Depression (Grapes of Wrath), wars, and other national crises.
Did the crises institutionalize new adaptive patterns?
(3) Comparison of immigrant and/or ethnic families
in the early and late 20th century
(4) Change in family activities (functions)
over the century: childcare, elder care, family meals (rise of commercialization
of food preparation), and other domestic concerns
(5) The cemetery: Changes in the family relations
among the dead
(6) Changes in family rituals over the
century -- from family to national holidays and rituals
Love as a pathway to marriage
(1)
Gender differences in attitudes toward premarital
sex in the twentieth century
(2)
Effects of gender on views toward premarital
and extramarital sex and/or love
(3) The place of cohabitation in courtship
-- when does it lead to marriage?
(4) Is romantic love dead? Comparison of fiction in Ladies Home Journal
in 1920, 1950, and 1998
(5) Whatever happened to the engagement and
wedding rings?
(6) Compare the marriage markets of African-American,
whites, and Asians females, giving special attention to each racial group’s
ratio of females to males.
(7) Compare the role of love in first,
second, and multiple marriages
Motherhood and/or fatherhood over the century as evidenced in children’s books or some other source
(1)Authority relations over the century
(2) Sib relations in the early and late
20th century
(3) Mothering and/or fathering in dual
career and in one career families
(4) Latchkey children: the effects of
self care on the children
(5) Childcare: What do parents look for?
(6) Parental views toward daughters, sons-in-law; sons, daughters-in-law,
especially with regard to career and family roles. E.g., Do parents want their
daughters-in-laws to be as successful as their sons?
(7) Children’s expectations of and views toward
their parents over the century