Soc 155/255
The Changing American Family
Reading Questions; Check back regularly for updates
Rev
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Week 1: |
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April 4 |
Introduction to the class |
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Week 2: |
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April 7 |
Cherlin, Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage, Chapters 1-3 (Demographic Trends, Explanations, and Consequences)
Cherlin, Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage, Chapter 1 (Demographic Trends). * What is a cohort? * What is the Baby Boom and when did it occur? * Can you see evidence of the Baby Boom in Figure 1-1? * What is the trend in extra marital cohabitation, and what is the effect of education on cohabitation? (see Figure 1-2) * What is the effect of longer life expectancy on the percentage of marriages that eventually end in divorce?
Cherlin, Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage, Chapters 2+3 (Explanations and Consequences) * What is the difference between 'period' and 'cohort' explanations for the baby boom? What evidence is available for each explanation? * What is the trend in married women's labor force participation, how might this effect the divorce rate? * What are the effects of divorce and what are some limitations of the research on the effects of divorce?
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April 9 |
Cherlin, Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage, Chapters 4+5 (Race and Poverty, The State of Our Unions)
* What are the differences between white and black family patterns in the late 20th century, and what explains these differences? * What is the story of the infamous 'Harvard-Yale' study of female marriage probabilities? |
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Week 3: |
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April 14 |
* What does * What are some of the advantages of marriage for the couple, for children, and for society? * What is the sex ratio, and how can it explain culture and gender roles?
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April 16 |
Moynihan “The Negro Problem” * What does Moynihan see as the main differences between black and white family structure? * What is the effect of matrifocal family structure on black society? * Where does Moynihan think the black matrifocal family comes from? * What kinds of public policy priorities does Moynihan advocate?
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Week 4: |
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April 21 |
* What was Gutman's argument about slavery and the black family, and what is * Does welfare give poor women an incentive to have children out of wedlock? * Compare Wilson's analysis on the effects of divorce to Cherlin's analysis.
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April 23 |
Reading from the Feminine Mystique, Chapters 1 and 2, and the first 6 pages of Ch 3 (p 57-127 in the paperback edition) * What is the problem that has no name, and why does it have no name? * What is the feminine mystique, who promotes it, and who suffers by it? * What kinds of choices does Friedan report having made about her own career ambitions? * What kind of evidence does Friedan employ in her analysis of women’s happiness and satisfaction?
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Week 5: |
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April 28 |
Reading from the Feminine Mystique, Chapter 4, Chapter 6, chapter 14 and chapter 15 (epilogue). * What happened in * Who were Lucy Stone and Susan B. Anthony, and what role did they play in 19th century feminism? * What kind of image (or mis-perception) is Friedan trying to defend the 19th century feminists from? * What is functionalism, and why in Friedan’s view is functionalist social theory inherently anti-feminist?
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April 30 |
Faludi, Backlash, Chapters 2, 9, and Epilogue * What, according to Faludi, were the errors of the Harvard-Yale study of female nuptiality, and why was the study so eagerly accepted by the popular press? * What does Faludi have to say about the research produced by Lenore Weitzman (and the aftermath of divorce for women), about Judith Wallerstein (and the effect of divorce on children). * What kind of irony does Faludi find in the professional lives and family choices of women leaders of the New Right? * Where does the backlash against feminism (an in Faludi’s view, against women) come from? What audience is most susceptible to the backlash, and why? |
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Week 6: |
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May 5 |
In-class Midterm |
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May 7 |
Rosenfeld, The Age of Independence, Ch 1-2 * What is Family Government, and what is its significance? * What was bundling? * What effects did the Great Depression, World War II, and post-war suburbanization have on American families? |
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Week 7: |
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May 12 |
Rosenfeld, The Age of Independence, Ch 3,4,5 * What is the Independent Life Stage, when did it first appear, and what is its significance? * What is the trend for young adults to live independently from their parents? * What is the trend in age at first marriage? * What are nontraditional unions, and what do their increasing numbers tell us? * What is the relationship between nontraditional unions and geographic mobility? * What explains the relationship between age and rate of interracial marriage? |
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May 14 |
Rosenfeld, The Age of Independence, Ch 6,7 * How has childhood changed over time, and how do we know? * How do changes in childhood relate to other changes in the family system, such as the rise of the independent life stage? * What are the key factors that influence tolerance towards homosexuals? * What is demographic metabolism, and how does it work? |
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Week 8: |
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May 19 |
Rosenfeld, The Age of Independence, Ch 8,9 * Identify the following Supreme
Court decisions, and explain their significance: Griswold v. * Identify the following state court same-sex marriage decisions, and explain their significance: Baehr v. Miike, Baker v. State, Goodridge v. Dept of Public Health. * Explain the significance of the US Defense of Marriage Act (1996). * How has the nature of privacy rights changed in the US since 1965, and what explains the change? |
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May 21 |
Sullivan, Same Sex Marriage Pro and Con, chapters 4 and 5 * What are the politically Left arguments against same sex marriage? * What are the politically conservative arguments for same sex marriage? * What do these different political perspectives on same sex marriage tell us about the different political views of what marriage means?
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Week 9: |
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May 26 |
No class, Memorial Day |
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May 30 |
Sullivan, Same Sex Marriage Pro and Con, chapters 3 and 8 * What are the legal precedents for same sex marriage, and what is the current legal status of same sex marriage? * What do incest, polygamy, and adultery have to do with same sex marriage? * What does the 'slippery slope' argument imply about marriage and history?
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Week 10: |
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June 2 |
The Second Shift, chapters 1-6, 16, and 17 * Define the second shift, and explain why it continues to exist * How do women rationalize allowing their husbands to do less than half of the work around the house? * In what ways do the new expectations of gender equality make married life easier or more difficult? |
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June 4 |
Final Exam Review |
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Tuesday, June 10 |
In Class final exam, 12:15-3:15 |