Family in the 21st Century

Catalog description

Family is one of the most influential social institutions in our everyday lives. This course is designed to explore the fundamental sociological concepts, theoretical approaches, and issues in the study of the family. Who is considered family? Who decides who is family? We will explore how family is shaped by social, cultural, political, and economic structures. This course will focus on the developments in family sociology as it has adapted to the rapid changes in families since the mid-20th century as well as increasing understanding of diversity in family. We will cover classic topics of marriage, partnering, parenting, grandparenting, and divorce. We will further examine emergent concepts of family: delayed marriage, gray divorce, queer families, and voluntary childlessness. Finally, we will cover exclusion and marginalization among those who are not considered family by the state and other social institutions, particularly related to perceived deviance from the European-White-Christianity model of family. Counts as a Human Diversity & Commonality course.