Sociology 346: The Family in a Changing Society
Sociology 369: Family in a Changing Society
University of Southern California
Spring 2012
M 4-6:50 pm, KAP 144
Professor: James Thing, Ph.D. Office Phone: 213-740-3533 Office: KAP 348J Email: thing@usc.edu
Office Hours: M 1:30-3:30 pm
Or by appointment
Course Description
The family is one of society’s most basic and important institutions; therefore, studying the family is integral to understanding the larger society in which we live. While most of us grow-up in some sort of family and thus have direct experience with its forms and functions, generally we do conceptualize our families as socially and historically constructed institutions. To help provide a sociological framework for understanding our own families as well as those of others in our society, this course explores the linkages between family forms, relationships and functions and the larger social conditions in which families develop.
Since the 1950’s the “traditional” or “ideal” family consisting of a breadwinner-husband, a homemaker-wife, and two to three children has become less common, while other family forms such as dual-earner families, single-parent families, stepfamilies, and gay and lesbian families – among others – have become increasingly more common. While some scholars, pundits and policy makers lament the increasing diversity of family patterns and predict the demise of the family, others maintain that the family is a resilient institution whose capacities and functions are not diminished by its current diversity. This course will help us avoid simplistic understandings of contemporary families by facilitating a critical sociological analysis of the relationship between the family and the ever-changing economic, political, social and cultural landscape in which contemporary family forms exist.
Course Objectives
• To learn the major theoretical models and empirical research within the sociology of the family scholarship.
• To understand how family is constructed in relation to complex historical and social processes and how changes in the family relate to these larger processes.
• To be able to critically examine the relationship between family and other institutions including the economy, politics, religion, etc.
• To be able to examine and analyse how changes in family structures, relationships and functions impact family members and society as a whole.
• To be able to clearly and intelligently articulate, both in writing and verbally, the knowledge gained in the course.
The professor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus as needed to address the educational needs of the class.
Required Texts
Bengston, Vern L. Timothy J. Biblarz and Robert E.L. Roberts. 2002. How Families Still
Matter: A Longitudinal Study of Youth in Two Generations. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Skolnick, Arlene S. and Jerome H. Skolnick. 2009. Family in Transition. Fifteenth
Edition. Boston: Pearson
Stacey, Judith. 2011. Unhitched: Love Marriage and Family Values from West
Hollywood to Western China. New York: New York University Press.
*Additional required readings are posted on Blackboard and are labeled as such on the weekly reading schedule below.
Course Requirements and Grading
Midterm: 25%
Final: 30%
Journal: 10%
Five Pop Quizzes: 10% (2.5% each: We will only count your best four out of five.)
Research Paper or JEP: 15%
Attendance and Participation 10%
*Thirty percent (30%) of the grading rubric depends on how well you are prepared for class. Students who miss class regularly, come to class late, browse the Internet during class, don’t do all of the assigned reading or are generally unprepared and/or uninterested are at a clear disadvantage – a disadvantage that will have a very adverse effect on your grade.
**All Assignments must be your original work. Plagiarism will be dealt with according to university policy.
Attendance and Participation: Given that this class only meets once a week and that we have two weeks off of class due to holidays, attendance is mandatory. Therefore attendance will be checked every class. Excused absences include documented illness or emergency, military service, religious holidays, athletic games, or other special circumstances that I deem acceptable (please discuss “special circumstances” with me in-person prior to missing class if possible).
Student participation is a vital component of creating a vibrant learning environment. Students should come prepared to class having read all of the articles and ready to write about and discuss course materials. Students should not only be active participants in class discussions but should also be active and courteous listeners. While not all of you will be as interested in the all of the topics we cover as I am, I expect you to be very, very attentive and engaged. We will discuss several sensitive social issues in the course, so, collegiality and respect are expected of each student.
Please try not to arrive late or to leave early unless it is unavoidable. Also, please refrain from using your cell phones for receiving calls, texting or any other e-communication. Further, please use your computers only to take notes – not to update your facebook pages, chat online or browse the web. All of these activities are disruptive and disrespectful to me, and your colleagues in class. I will deduct point from students’ attendance and participation grade if I notice that you are browsing the web.
Email Etiquette
The best way to contact me is through email: thing@usc.edu Make sure to write “Sociology 369” in the subject line. Please do not email me to let me know that you will be absent, unless, of course there is some sort of emergency or illness. Again, in this situation, in order to be excused you must have documentation. Email questions should be short and to the point. As all of us are very busy, any questions that require a lengthy response should be asked in a face-to-face conversation. Absolutely no assignments are accepted via email.
Midterm (March 5) and Final Exam (May 7, 4:30-6:30)
The midterm and final exams will be some combination of definition, short answer and essay. The midterm will cover the first half of the class and the final will cover the second half. I will provide study guides one week before the exams. The exams are closed book, in-class exams – no negotiation. There will be no make-up midterms or finals unless you have a documented medical reason, some other (documented) type of emergency, or unless the dates conflict with a religious holiday, or military service.
Reading Response Journal (Final Journal Due April 16)
Students are required to keep a weekly journal. At the beginning of each class we will write for about 15 minutes on a prompt that I provide. The prompts relate to course readings; therefore it is necessary to come to class having read all of the assigned readings. The prompts will include questions about the substance of the readings and, sometimes, will ask your opinion about the topic. Each week I will call on students to share what they have written in the journal as a way to spark conversation. Students who are called on will not be required to read their entry verbatim, if they do not want to, but you must address the prompt if asked. “I don’t know” or “I didn’t read that article” is not an acceptable response. If unprepared, I will note that and it will negatively impact your final journal grade and possibly your participation grade if I notice a pattern of unpreparedness.
Students may choose to hand-write in a binder or use your computers for the in-class writing. For the final journal project students will choose FOUR entries to turn in for their grade. Each entry should state the prompt at the beginning of the entry and then proceed to the response. Since these journal entries will be graded, students should work on these responses to refine them before turning them in. The final document must not exceed eight pages, and each individual journal should not exceed two pages. No bibliography is required for this assignment. The final document then should consist of four separate entries stapled together and must be double-spaced, use 12-point Times New Roman font and have1-1.5 inch margins all around. There is no minimum page requirement for this assignment.
Course Project (Due April 23)
Option A
JEP and Participant Observation Paper
Conducting a quasi-research project through participation in JEP, the Joint Education Project, is an option for this assignment. Students who chose this option will be placed in various social service organizations or schools that serve families in some capacity. Students volunteer for 2 hours a week for 8 weeks at these sites. The assignment will entail reflection journals that will be turned in to the JEP as well as a 5-6 page final paper for the class. For this option you will receive a grade from JEP – based on your performance at the site including attendance, enthusiasm, professionalism etc. as well as a grade on your 5-6 page observation paper.
Students must sign up for JEP by the end of the second week of class. Students, then, work with JEP to be placed in an appropriate site as well as to receive training. For each of the 8 weeks students will address a Reflective Question designed to help you understand your JEP experience in relationship to this class and this project. Some of the Reflective Questions will help move you toward your final paper.
Your final JEP paper should be basically a summary of your observations as they relate to the course material. This paper is very open and can be very creative. It is important is that you reflect on and incorporate course material/concepts/discussions into your paper and show me how your JEP assignment is relevant to the course.
Option B: Library-Based Research Paper
This is a 13-15 page research paper. The assignment is to do an in-depth exploration of some issue that is both of interest to you and relevant to contemporary family life. The range of topics is very open and could include topics such as Internet Dating or Hooking-Up, Interracial Dating or Marriage, Gay Marriage, Relationships in Stepfamilies, Cohabitation, etc. You should have a clearly defined thesis indicating your position on the topic of study (e.g., Internet dating optimizes time and energy spent on developing new dating interests; parent-child relationships in step families are just as strong and in some cases stronger to those in biological families; gay marriage would contribute positively to our economy, etc.) and argue that the thesis in your paper.
You are required to engage at least 15 scholarly sources for your literature review. The literature review should inform the reader about the state of the academic research for your topic. Your final paper should include four sections: an introduction, literature review - analysis of relevant empirical data and a conclusion.
Introduction
The introduction should describe the primary focus of your research and explain why it is relevant to understanding contemporary families and relationships. You should identify some of the relevant positions on the issue and provide a thesis stating which position (or combination of positions) you will argue in the paper. The introduction should “grab” the reader so that we don’t want to put the paper down.
Literature Review
The literature review should basically summarize the theoretical perspectives and empirical findings of the scholarly sources. Again, you are to use at least 15 scholarly articles or books. This review should provide a few sentences or paragraph summarizing the main points of each article and/or book – as they relate to your topic. So, while an article may discuss several aspects of, for example, step-families, your literature review should focus on step-parent-child relationships (if you are arguing that these relationships are more/less/equally viable as biological relationships). You should not restate every detail of the article/book, but rather, your objective is to extract the primary line of reasoning underlying your research question and the findings that are most relevant to your topic. You may find that a few articles or books espouse similar arguments, and you may group them together accordingly; or, you may find that the articles’ findings are contradictory, in which case you compare and contrast the findings.
Analysis
In this section you should clearly re-state your thesis, making a case for your argument. You should develop your argument using the literature that supports your viewpoint: This section should move beyond simply restating main points of the articles and should instead develop the logics of your position based on the literature. You should also address any contradictory viewpoints argued in the articles and books you engage.
Conclusion
The final section should just wrap up the paper.
Course Reading Schedule
Section I: The Social Construction of Families:
Past and Present Family Processes
January 9
Introduction to Class: syllabus, course objectives, requirements
JEP will present in class
January 16: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday – NO CLASS
January 23
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 1 “The Theoretical Importance of the Family” by William J. Goode
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 2 “The Global Revolution in Family and Personal Life” by Anthony Giddens
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 3 “The Life Course Revolution” by Arlene Skolnick
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 4 “The Family in Trouble: Since When? For Whom?” by Claude S. Fischer and Michael Hout
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 5 “The Mommy Wars: Ambivalence, Ideological Work, and the Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood” by Sharon Hays
• Dill, Bonnie Thorton. Our Mother’s Grief: Racial Ethnic Women and the Maintenance of Families” (Blackboard)
January 30
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 6 “Decline of the Family: Conservative, Liberal and Feminist Views” by Janet Z. Giele
• Popenoe, David: “American Family Decline 1960-1990: A Review and Appraisal.” (Blackboard)
• Stacey, Judith. “Good Riddance to ‘The Family’: A Response to David Popenoe (Blackboard)
• Cherlin, Andrew J. “Should the Government Promote Marriage?” (Blackboard)
• Heath, Melanie. “State of Our Unions: Marriage Promotion and the Contested Power of Heterosexuality” (Blackboard)
Section II: Gender/Sex, Sexuality and Modern Families
February 6
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 7 “Destined for Equality” by Robert M. Jackson
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 8 “What Do Women and Men Want” by Kathleen Gerson
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 10 “Sexual Revolutions” by Beth Bailey
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 11 “The Decline of the Date and the Rise of the College Hook Up” by Paula England And Rueben F. Thomas
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 12 “Cohabitation” by Lynne M. Casper and Suzanne M. Bianchi
February 13
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 14 “American Marriage in the Early Twenty-First Century” by Andrew Cherlin
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 16 “Divorce: The Silent Revolution” by Lawrence M. Friedman
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 18 “the Modern American Stepfamily: Problems and Possibilities” by Mary Ann Mason
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 19 “New Families: Modern Couples as New Pioneers” by Philip Cowan and Carolyn Pape Cowan
February 20: Presidents’ Day – NO CLASS
Section III: Families and Children
February 27:
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 22 “Beyond Sentimentality: American Childhood as a Social and Cultural Construct by Steven Mintz
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 20 “Caring for Our Young: Child Care in Europe and the United States” by Dan Clawson and Naomi Gerstel
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 23 “Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life” (Continued on Next Page)
• Stacey, Judith and Timothy J. Biblarz. “How the Sexual Orientation of Parents Matter” (Blackboard) Stacey, Judith. Unhitched, Introduction and Ch. 1&2
********************March 5: Midterm Exam********************
March 12-17: Spring Break
Section IV: Families Definitely Matter
March 19
• Bengston, Vern L, Timothy J. Biblarz and Robert E.L. Roberts. How Families Still Matter, Ch. 3 “The Changing Contexts of Family Life” Ch. 4 “Educational and Occupational Aspirations of Youth Across Generations” Ch. 5 “Self-Esteem: Self-Confidence and Self-Deprecation”
March 26
• Bengston, Vern L, Timothy J. Biblarz and Robert E.L. Roberts. How Families Still Matter Ch. 6 “Value Orientations: Youths’ Individualism and Materialism Across Generations and Ch. 7 “Continuity and Change in Family Influences Across Generations”
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 25 “A Longer Road to Adulthood” by Jeffrey J. Arnett
Section V: Diverse Intimacies on Three Continents
April 2
Stacey, Judith. Unhitched. Introduction and Ch. 1&2
April 9
Stacey, Judith. Unhitched. Ch. 3-5 and Conclusion
Section VI: Navigating Family Life and the Economy
******************April 16: Reflection Journals Due**************
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 26 “The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home” by Arlie Hochschild with Anne Machung
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 27 “The Work-Home Crunch” by Kathleen Gerson and jerry A. Jacobs
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 29 “Families on the Fault Line” by Lillian B. Rubin
• Skolnick and Skolnick : Reading 30 “The Economy That Never Sleeps” by Harriet B. Presser
Section VII: “Diverse” Families
*****************April 23: Research/JEP Papers Due**************
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 32 ”Diversity within African American Families” by Ronald L. Taylor
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 33 “Diversity within Latino Families” by Maxine Baca Zinn and Barbara Wells
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 34 “Cultural Diversity and Aging Families” by Rona J.Karsasik and Raeanne R. Hamon
• Skolnick and Skolnick: Reading 35 :Gay and Lesbian Families: Queer Like Us”
*****************May 7th: 4:30-6:30 Final Exam ******************
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