Soc 155/255   

The Changing American Family

 

 

Reading Questions; Check back regularly for updates

Rev 2/27/08

 

 

 

Week 1:

 

April 4

Introduction to the class

 

 

Week 2:

 

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?

 

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?

 

 

Week 3:

 

April 14

Wilson, The Marriage Problem, Ch 1-3 (Two Nations, Why Do Families Exist, Sex and the Marriage Market)

    * What does Wilson view as some of the drawbacks to cohabitation (from a personal or societal view) as compared to marriage?

    * 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?

 

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?

 

 

 

Week 4:

 

April 21

Wilson, The Marriage Problem, Ch 5-7 (African Americans and Slavery, Mother-Only Families, Divorce)

    * What was Gutman's argument about slavery and the black family, and what is Wilson's critique of this argument?

    * 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.

 

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?

 

 

 

Week 5:

 

April 28

Reading from the Feminine Mystique, Chapter 4, Chapter 6, chapter 14 and chapter 15 (epilogue).

    * What happened in Seneca Falls in 1848?

    * 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?

 

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?

 

 

 

Week 6:

 

May 5

In-class Midterm

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?

 

 

Week 7:

 

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?

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?

 

 

Week 8:

 

May 19

Rosenfeld, The Age of Independence, Ch 8,9

     * Identify the following Supreme Court decisions, and explain their significance: Griswold v. Connecticut, Eisenstadt v. Baird, Loving v. Virginia, Roe v. Wade, Loving v. Virginia, Bowers v. Hardwick, Lawrence v. Texas.

     * 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?

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?

 

 

 

Week 9:

 

May 26

No class, Memorial Day

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?

 

 

 

 

Week 10:

 

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?

June 4

Final Exam Review

 

 

Tuesday, June 10

In Class final exam, 12:15-3:15