The Battle Over Family Values in American Politics

Catalog description

Contemporary American politics is marked by numerous debates about the family. Issues such as same-sex marriage, abortion, abstinence and pre-marital sex, shifting gender roles within the family, and new parenting and reproductive methods are among the most hotly debated policy issues in the United States, illustrating the political struggle to define the soul of America and the role of the family within. This course explores contemporary political debates over the family, their policy implications, and significance to current elections, as well as the historical context and previous ideological battles that characterize the tumultuous relationship between the family and the American state.