Sociology 155/255 rev
“The Changing American Family”
Syllabus
Fall quarter, 2009
Class Meets Tuesdays and Thursdays
Class room TBA
Plus once a week section TBA
Michael J. Rosenfeld
Associate Professor
Department of Sociology
McClatchy Hall (Building 120) room 124
mrosenfe@stanford.edu
http://www.stanford.edu/~mrosenfe
(NOTE that the website contains reading questions and much additional class information)
Office Hour Tuesdays,
TAs:
Esra Burak eburak@stanford.edu
Karen Powroznik powroznk@stanford.edu
Overview:
The American family has changed a great deal in the past few decades. Extra-marital cohabitation and divorce have risen sharply in the past 30 years. Young adults are marrying later than ever before. Interracial marriage and same-sex cohabitation have increased. Same-sex marriage has emerged as one of the most divisive political issues in the U.S. Women’s roles in the labor force have changed, and women’s place in society and within the home seems to have changed as well. What do all these changes mean? Are recent changes in the American family really as dramatic as they seem? We will examine family change from historical, social, demographic, and legal perspectives.
Required Reading, all available at the Stanford Bookstore
* Cherlin, Andrew J. 1992. Marriage,
Divorce, Remarriage. Second Edition.
* Waite, Linda and Maggie Gallagher. 2001. The Case for Marriage: Why Married People are Happier, Healthier, and Better off Financially. Broadway Books.
* Friedan, Betty. 2001 [1963]. The Feminine Mystique. WW. Norton.
* Wallerstein, Judith, and Sandra Blakeslee. 2004. Second Chances: Men, Women and Children a
Decade After Divorce.
* Rosenfeld, Michael J. 2007. The Age of Independence:
Interracial Unions, Same-Sex Unions, and the Changing American Family.
* Hochschild, Arlie and Anne Machung. 2003 [1989]. The Second Shift. New Updated Edition. Penguin.
* Sullivan, Andrew, and Joseph Landau (Eds.). 2004. Same-
Sex Marriage: Pro and Con.
Further Required Reading, links available from my website:
* Moynihan, Daniel Patrick. 1965. “The Negro Family: The Case for National Action”
* Judith Stacey “Good Riddance to the Family”
* David Popenoe “Two-Parent Families are Better”
Requirements:
For Undergraduates (soc 155):
|
* Midterm Exam |
25% |
|
* Make one 15 minute presentation to discussion section, and lead (along with the TA) the section discussion for that week. |
20% |
|
* Regular section participation |
10% |
|
* A brief paper using GSS data |
10% |
|
* Final Exam |
35% |
For Graduate Students (soc 255):
|
* Midterm Exam |
20% |
|
* Make one 15 minute presentation to discussion section, and lead (along with the TA) the section discussion for that week. |
20% |
|
* Regular section participation |
10% |
|
* One 10 minute presentation to class, presenting a different book from the one you presented to section |
15% |
|
* A brief paper using GSS data |
10% |
|
* Final Exam |
25% |
Students with Disabilities:
Students with disabilities that may necessitate an academic
accommodation must initiate a request with the Disability Resource Center (
NOTE:
Questions are posted on my website for each reading.
See, specifically, http://www.stanford.edu/~mrosenfe/Soc_155_fam_reading_Q.htm
|
|
|
|
Week 1: |
|
|
Sept 22 |
Introduction to the class |
|
Sept 24 |
Cherlin, Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage, Chapters 1-3 (Demographic Trends, Explanations, and Consequences) |
|
|
|
|
Week 2: |
|
|
Sept 29 |
Cherlin, Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage, Chapters 4+5 (Race and Poverty, The State of Our Unions) |
|
Oct 1 |
Waite and Gallagher, The Case for Marriage, Ch 1-7 |
|
|
|
|
Week 3: |
|
|
Oct 6 |
Waite and Gallagher, The
Case for Marriage, Ch 8-14 |
|
Oct 8 |
Moynihan “The Negro Problem” (available on my website) |
|
|
|
|
Week 4: |
|
|
Oct 13 |
Reading from the Feminine Mystique, Chapters 1 and 2, and the first 6 pages of Ch 3 (p 57-127 in the paperback edition) |
|
Oct 15 |
Reading from the Feminine Mystique, Chapter 4, Chapter 6, chapter 14 and chapter 15 (epilogue). |
|
|
|
|
Week 5: |
|
|
Oct 20 |
Wallerstein, Second
Chances, reading assignment TBA |
|
Oct 22 |
Feminine Mystique, Ch 5, plus Judith Stacey “Good Riddance to the Family” (available on my website) David Popenoe “Two-Parent Families are Better” (available on my website) |
|
|
|
|
Week 6: |
|
|
Oct 27 |
In-class Midterm |
|
Oc 29 |
Rosenfeld, The Age of |
|
|
|
|
Week 7: |
|
|
Nov 3 |
Rosenfeld, The Age of |
|
Nov 5 |
Rosenfeld, The Age of |
|
|
|
|
Week 8: |
|
|
Nov 10 |
Rosenfeld, The Age of |
|
Nov 12 |
Sullivan, Same Sex Marriage Pro and Con, chapters 4 and 5 |
|
|
|
|
Week 9: |
|
|
Nov 17 |
One paragraph GSS proposal due Sullivan, Same Sex Marriage Pro and Con, chapters 3 and 8 |
|
Nov 19 |
The Second Shift, chapters 1-6, 16, and 17 |
|
|
|
|
Week of Nov 24 |
Thanksgiving break |
|
Week 10: |
|
|
Dec 1 |
GSS paper due |
|
Dec 3 |
Last class, review session |
|
|
|
|
Monday, December 7 |
Final Exam 3:30-6:30P |