FAMILIES AND SOCIETY
SOCY 4086
University of Colorado-Boulder
Fall 2006
Dr. Amy Wilkins
208 Ketchum Hall
Office hours: MW 12-1 or by appt
This course will focus on families within the context of the
This course is not a “how-to” course on doing families. Instead, it is a socio-historical analysis of families that examines and critiques the ways in which ideologies about family, social policies, and economic changes anchor inequalities of gender, race, class, and sexuality. In this course, we will deal with issues, situations, and choices that may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable for some of you. We may have guest speakers who talk about some of these topics. I expect students to treat speakers AND topics with respect.
Two things to keep in mind as you take this course: 1) Criticism of the family as an institution is not criticism of individual families, but rather a recognition of the ways in which the struggles of families are shaped by the expectations and constraints of the institution. 2) Your own experiences are not sociological evidence. While I will use anecdotes and examples to illustrate broader points, the information I give you is grounded in sociological research and analysis.
I hope this course will provide you with the resources you need to better make sense of both sociopolitical debates about “the family” and the complexities you will face as you make decisions about your own families.
Course Policies
1. Arriving to class late, sleeping, talking, reading newspapers, doing crossword puzzles, text-messaging or receiving messages on your cell phone (or being otherwise distracted and distracting) are not acceptable classroom activities, and are disrespectful to your instructor and to other students who want to listen and learn.
2. Let me know immediately if you have a health problem or a disability that necessitates leaving the classroom during lectures/discussion.
3. If you are likely to have a regular problem with getting to class on time, let me know ASAP.
4. I do not permit lap tops in class. If you are required to use a lap top because of a disability, please provide documentation.
5. You are unlikely to call your doctor by his/her first name unless you have established
a personal relationship; please treat me with the same courtesy.
6. You cannot make up in-class work. If you miss a class, please get notes from a classmate. You are responsible for all information communicated in class, whether or not you are in attendance. Please exchange contact information with several classmates and direct scheduling questions to them. In addition, information on scheduling changes, homework assignments, and grades will be posted on WebCT. Please consult WebCT before contacting me with these questions.
7. All assignments must be completed on time and handed in at the beginning of class on the stated due date—I do not accept papers sent via email. Papers must be:
a. typed in 11- or 12-point font,
b. have 1 inch margins,
c. be spellchecked,
d. grammar checked and proofread,
e. have numbered pages and
f. stapled in the left-hand corner;
Papers not following these guidelines will immediately have points taken off (also, do not use binders or folders to turn in your papers)—I deduct 5% from unstapled papers.
6. I will not accept late papers except with advance notice of an unavoidable conflict. The conflict must be documented. Please plan your schedules accordingly. I will not give incompletes except under (amply documented and amply dire) circumstances.
7. You may not turn in work from another class, even if it is your own work,
8. Make-up exams potentially create unfair situations among students. Therefore, you are only allowed to make-up an exam in the event of an unavoidable, extreme, documented circumstance (such as serious illness or family emergency that can be documented by the proper UNI administrative offices). If you must miss an exam, please let me know in advance as soon as possible. Any make-up request made after the test has been administered will not be considered, no exceptions! All make-up exams will be given at a mutually convenient time, no longer than 1 (one) week after the initial exam is given.
9. If you qualify for accommodations due to disability please let me know during the first two weeks of the semester. It is your responsibility to contact Disability Services and obtain documentation. The Disability Services Office is in Willard 322 and can be contacted at (303) 492-8671 or through http://www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices.
10. I take academic
dishonesty very seriously. Academic
dishonesty can result in an F for the course, probation or expulsion, even if
the act was not intentionally dishonest.
If you are unclear about the rules regarding plagiarism,
paraphrasing, quoting, or collaboration, please consult me. You are also
required to adhere to the University Honor Code which you can find at http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/.
Final Comments
Everyone wants to do well in this class. I want you to do well, by working diligently and meeting the course requirements. If you become concerned about your grade, please see me immediately. Do not wait until semester’s end, when I cannot help you. I will not be able to magically “find” extra points to add to your average, no matter how upset you might be.
I spend a great deal of time reading and grading your work and want the assignments to provide you with a learning experience. Therefore, upon receiving a graded paper or exam back, I require that 24 hours pass before we discuss it. When you get an exam or a paper back, take some time to read the comments, make an appointment with me, and come to the meeting having written down some questions and/or comments—without evidence of your focused thinking about the assignment, I will not entertain random “complaint” sessions regarding the desired grade you did not earn. I will not discuss graded exams or papers before, during, or after class—I reserve office hours for such types of individual-level discussions.
Expectations
and Evaluation
Participation (5%)
You are expected to come to class prepared to talk about course readings and issues. Participation should reflect careful, sociological thinking that moves beyond personal anecdotes. The material in this course is sensitive, emotionally and politically charged, and frequently challenging to the worldviews of most students. Participants should be respectful of the instructor, guest speakers, and other classmates. You will be evaluated on your ability to learn and apply the sociological concepts in this course.
Reading Statements (20%)
Each Wednesday, you will turn in a 1-2 page reading statement in which you reflect on the readings for the week. You will also include 2-3 discussion questions at the end of your statement. You are allowed to skip 2 papers without penalty. You will not get extra points for doing all the weekly papers. Be warned that skipping these papers will severely affect your grade.
Out-of-class Assignments (40%)
You will engage in a number of out of class assignments. These assignments are designed to give you a chance to conduct your own mini sociological studies, and will include various forms of data collection (e.g., interviews, participant-observation, content analysis, etc.). These assignments may include written and/or oral requirements. Assignments will be assessed on both their fieldwork and their analysis, and will sometimes require library research as well. Since these are a major portion of your grade, you should take them seriously.
You will be given classroom time on some Fridays to
do this work. Do not expect that there
is no formal meeting on Friday unless I have announced it.
Quizzes (10%)
I will occasionally (or frequently, depending on need) give unannounced quizzes on course material. Quizzes may cover either in-class material or readings.
Exam (25%)
There will be a cumulative final exam for this course, given during the time scheduled by the university. You are responsible for all readings, lectures, course discussions, guest speakers, and movies.
Attendance Policy:
Extensive absences
will influence your FINAL grade as follows:
0-3 absences: no
penalty
4-5 absences: 5% penalty
6-7 absences: 10% penalty
8-9 absences: 15% penalty
10-11 absences: 20% penalty
12 + absences: 25% penalty
This policy translates in the following way: Mary misses class 7 times. Her final grade is a 75, but the attendance policy will cause some adjustment to this grade. Seven absences result in a 10% or 10-point reduction from the final grade. Therefore, Mary went from a 75 to a 65, simply due to her unexcused absences from class. If you have ANY questions regarding this policy, please bring such questions to my attention immediately.
Course
Materials
All books are required and available at the campus bookstore.
Edin, Kathryn and Maria Kefalas.
2005. Promises I Can Keep: Why
Poor Women Put
Motherhood
Before Marriage.
Blair-Loy, Mary.
2003. Competing Devotions:
Career and Family among Women
Executives.
Lareau, Annette. 2003. Unequal
Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life.
Reich, Jennifer A. 2005. Fixing Families: Parents, Power, and the
Child Welfare System.
All other readings are available through the university’s electronic reserve system.
Course Schedule
Week 1
8/28-8/30
UNIT I: Coupling
Week 2
9/4-9/6
No Class on 9/4
Promises I Can Keep, pp. 1-103
Week 3
9/11-9/13
Promises I Can Keep, pp. 104-220
Week 4
9/18-9/20
Oswald, Ramona Faith, and Elizabeth A. Suter. "Heterosexist Inclusion and Exclusion
During Ritual: A "Straight Versus Gay" Comparison." Journal of Family Issues (2004)
Sniezek, Tamara. "Is it our Day Or the Bride's Day? the Division of Wedding Labor and
Its Meaning for Couples." Qualitative Sociology
28.3 (2005): 215-34.
Dalmage, Heather. “Finding a Home: Housing the Color Line” in Mixed
Messages
Romano, Renee. “The
Rights Revolution and Interracial Marriage” in Race-Mixing:
Black-White Marriage in Postwar
Week 5
9/25-9/27
Cancian, Francesca. “The Feminization of Love”
Wilkins, Amy C. “So Full of Myself as a Chick: Goth Women,
Sexual
Gender
Egalitarianism” Gender
& Society
Ferguson, Susan J. “Challenging Traditional Marriage: Never Married Chinese
American and Japanese American Women” Gender
& Society
Heath, Melanie. 2003. “Soft-Boiled Masculinity: Renegotiating Gender and Racial
Ideologies in the Promise Keepers Movement.” Gender & Society
UNIT II: Women, Work, and Motherhood
Week 6
10/2-10/4
Hays,
The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood
Crittenden, Ann. “The
Mommy Tax” in The Price of Motherhood
Hill Collins, Patricia. “Shifting the Center: Race, Class, and Feminist Theorizing about
Motherhood”
and the Struggle for Family Survival”
Week 7
10/9-10/11
Competing Devotions, pp. 1-90
Week 8
10/16-10/18
Competing Devotions, pp. 91-171
Week 9
10/23-10/25
Competing Devotions, 172-end
Pyke, Karen. “Class-Based Masculinities: The Interdependence of Gender, Class, and
Interpersonal Power” Gender & Society
Crompton, Rosemary and Clare Lyonette. “The New Gender Essentialism—Domestic
and Family “Choices” and Their Relation to Attitudes” The British Journal of Sociology
UNIT III: Children in Families
Week 10
10/30-11/1
Unequal Childhoods, Introduction and Part I
Folbre, Nancy. “Children as Public Goods”
Week 11
11/6-11/8
Unequal Childhoods, Part II
Week 12
11/13-11/15
Unequal Childhoods, Part III
Thanksgiving Break
UNIT IV: Intervening in Families
Week 13
11/27-11/29
Fixing Families, pp. 1-54
Roberts, Dorothy.
“Making Reproduction a Crime” in Killing the Black Body: Race
Reproduction, and the Meaning of
McGuffey, C. Shawn. “Engendering Trauma: Race, Class, and Gender Reaffirmation
After Child Sexual Abuse” in Gender & Society (2005)
Schnitzer, Phoebe Kazdin. “‘They Don’t Come In’: Stories Told, Lessons Taught About
Poor Families in Therapy” in American Orthopsychiatric Association
Week 14
124-12/6
Fixing Families, pp. 44-186
Week 15
12/11-12/13
Fixing Families, pp. 187-274