Sociology of Family

SOCIOL 1206 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

This course approaches families as social arrangements shaped by broader forces and as arenas in which we make choices about our lives. As such, we will consider how family forms and relationships reflect wider systems of gender, race, class, sexuality, and state policy, as well as how they provide sites of resistance to dominant social norms. We will focus on contemporary studies of key aspects of family, such as: partnering and marriage, diversity of family forms and chosen family, reproduction, childrearing, work–family arrangements, care work, and aging. Our goal is for students to develop tools to critically analyze contemporary debates about “the family” and reflect on their own assumptions about what families are and what they do. As a seminar, assessment will be based on close reading of assigned texts, participation in discussion, and development of a student-led project.