Sociology 323 rev 2/9/2012

Sociology of the Family

Syllabus

Fall quarter, 2010

Class Meets Thursdays, 2:15-4:05

Econ 218

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)

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.

Computer use in class:

In order to limit distractions in class, there is *no* computer use in class, except by special permission from Professor Rosenfeld.

Required Reading, all available at the Stanford Bookstore

* Anderson, Michael. 1995. Approaches to the History of the Western Family 1500-1914. Cambridge University press. ISBN-10: 0521557933. $27

* Cherlin, Andrew J. 1992. Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage. Second Edition. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. ISBN-10: 067455082X. $25

* Waite, Linda and Maggie Gallagher. 2001. The Case for Marriage: Why Married People are Happier, Healthier, and Better off Financially. Broadway Books.  ISBN : 0767906322. $11

* Friedan, Betty. 2001 [1963]. The Feminine Mystique. WW. Norton. ISBN : 0393322572. $11

* Wallerstein, Judith, and Sandra Blakeslee. 2004. Second Chances: Men, Women and Children a Decade After Divorce.  ISBN : 0618446893. $10

* Rosenfeld, Michael J. 2007. The Age of Independence: Interracial Unions, Same-Sex Unions, and the Changing American Family. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. ISBN-10: 0674034902. $20

* Hochschild, Arlie and Anne Machung. 2003 [1989]. The Second Shift. New Updated Edition. Penguin.  ISBN : 0142002925. $11

Requirements:

For Graduate Students (soc 255):

* Assigned Reading Discussant, one week	20%
* Regular class participation	20%
* Supplementary reading discussant, one week	20%
* In-class research presentation	20%
* Final paper	20%

NOTE:

For Supplementary readings, see my website

Week 1:
Apr 5	class orientation
Week 2:
Apr 12	First half of the class: Required text: Michael Anderson’s Approaches to the History of the Western Family (read the whole book)
	Second half of the class: Supplementary readings TBA
Week 3:
Apr 19	First half of the class: Required text: Andrew Cherlin’s Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage (read the whole book)
	Second half of the class: Supplementary readings TBA
Week 4:
Apr 26	First half of the class: Required text: Waite and Gallagher’s The Case for Marriage (read the whole book)
	Second half of the class: Supplementary readings TBA
Week 5:
May 3	First half of the class: Required text: Rosenfeld’s The Age of Independence (read the whole book)
	Second half of the class: Supplementary readings TBA
Week 6:
May 10	First half of the class: Required text: Wallerstein and Blaseslee’s Second Chances (chapters 1-7, 15-18, and the appendix).
	Second half of the class: Student research presentations
Week 7:
May 17	First half of the class: Required text: Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (read chapters 1-6 and ch 14)
	Second half of the class: Student research presentations
Week 8:
May 24	First half of the class: Required text: Hochshild and Machung’s The Second Shift (ch 1-6, 16 and 17)
	Second half of the class: Student research presentations
Week 9:
May 31	First half of the class: Required text: TBA
	Second half of the class: Student research presentations
Week 10:
	No class