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COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY
Marriage, Family, and Intimate Life (SOCI 309)
Fall 2004

Overview
The objective of this course is to provide a sociological framework for understanding the family as a public and private institution. We will examine the history of the family, gender roles within the family, and the relationship between government and families. In addition, the course will look at different types of families–working-class families, Vietnamese immigrant families, gay and lesbian families, and reconstituted (or step-) families. Family takes different forms depending on the ethnicity, race, economic circumstances, and sexual orientation of those who perceive themselves as "family, " and through readings, discussions and films, this course will broaden your understanding of your family experience and the lives of others whose families are different from yours. Through the sociological lens, we will see marriage and families as evolving social institutions.

Books
The books required for this course are marked with an asterisk (*). The class will be divided into groups for reading the Rubin, Kibria, or Weston books which are marked with double asterisks (**).

Andrew J. Cherlin. 2005 (4th edition). Public and Private Families: A Reader. New York: McGraw-Hill.*

Steven Mintz and Susan Kellogg. 1988. Domestic Revolutions: A Social History of American Family Life. New York: Free Press.*

Arlie Hochschild (with Anna Machung). 1990. The Second Shift. New York: Quill/HarperCollins.

Lynell Hancock. Hands to Work: The Stories of Three Families Racing the Welfare Clock.* (The paperback version of this book is just out so my copy has a slightly different subtitle.)

E. Mavis Hetherington and John Kelly. 2002. For Better or for Worse: Divorce Reconsidered.* New York: W. W. Norton.

Lillian B. Rubin. 1994. Families on the Fault Line. New York: HarperPerennial.**

Nazli Kibria. 1993. Family on the Tightrope: The Changing Lives of Vietnamese Americans. New York: Princeton University Press.**

Kath Weston. 1997. (Revised Preface). Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship. New York: Columbia University Press.**

Additional Readings to be used.
“Barbie Girls vs. Sea Monsters: Children Constructing Gender," by Michael A. Messner, in Gender & Society, Vol. 14, No. 6, pp. 765-784 (December 2000). (This article is available through the GMU Library Website. See the reference librarian if you have problems with downloading articles.)
.
“The Buddy System,” by Laura Sessions Stepp, The Washington Post, 26 February 2003. (This article is available through the GMU Library Website. See the reference librarian if you have problems with downloading articles.)

“Love and the Marriage Market,” by Randall Collins and Scott Coltrane, pps. 252-278 in Sociology of Marriage and Family. Chicago: Nelson-Hall Publishers. 4th edition. (This article is available in the folder on my office door, marked “Sociology 309 Readings.”)

“Battered Women: Strategies for Survival,” by Kathleen Ferraro. Reading 11-1, pps. 243-256, in Andrew J. Cherlin’s Public and Private Families: A Reader, 1988 edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. (This article is available in the folder on my office door, marked “Sociology 309 Readings.”)

“Absent Fathers in the Inner City,” by Mercer Sullivan. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 501(1989): 48-58. This article is available through the GMU Library Website. See the reference librarian if you have problems with downloading articles.)

Grading Criteria
Class assignments will include (1) two long book reports, Hochschild and Machung and either Rubin, Kibria, or Weston --(15 points), and two short book reports (10 points each). Questions for the book reports are attached to this syllabus. (2) a journal collected midway through the course and at the conclusion of the course (40 points); guidelines for the journal are attached. (3) Article and summary on “Domestic Violence” (10 points); (4) Finally, there will be two assignments (Take-home assignments 1 and 2), on related to Divorce Reconsidered, the other a project on Hands to Work (20 points each). Letter grades will be assigned as follows:

Based on 150 points:
145-150 points = A (100%)
141-144 = A- (94%)
137-140 = B+ (91%)
128-136 = B (85%)
121-127 = B- (81%)
114-120 = C+ (76)
111-113 = C (74%)
107-110 = C- (71%)
101-106 = D (67%)
100 points or fewer = F

Attendance Policy
Though as the Catalog states, "absence alone is not reason for lowering a grade," in this class, failure to participate because of excessive absences will lead to your receiving a lower grade. Clearly, you cannot participate in a class which you do not attend, and much of the material for this class will be covered through lectures that provide a context for the readings. Therefore, 10 points of your grade will be assessed on the basis of participation. You may miss two classes (for personal reasons or because of illness or family emergencies, or even "car trouble"). Beyond these absences, however, your participation points will be decreased.

Honor Code
George Mason University, like all Virginia universities and colleges, operates under an Honor System, the provisions of which are spelled out in the University Catalog. As a faculty member, I am obligated to enforce this code, and any violations will result in an "F" for the course and possible academic suspension or dismissal. You should familiarize yourself with the requirements for citing sources of ideas and quotations that you use in your course work because lack of familiarity with "the rules" can lead to inadvertent plagiarism. Proper citation is also important to good scholarship. Finally, as a member of the academic community, you are obligated to report any violations of the Honor Code by other students that you observe.

Conferences
If at any time you have questions about the material we are covering or other concerns about the course, I am available to discuss them with you, either during my regular office hours, at a time that is mutually convenient outside of these hours, or on the phone.

Class Schedule and Reading Assignments
(Readings are listed under the week when they will be discussed and should be read prior to the class. I reserve the option of giving “pop quizzes” periodically to gauge whether students are doing reading.

Week 1–August 31: Introduction to the course

Week 2–The History of the Family
Cherlin Reader: 1-1. 1-2; Mintz and Kellogg: Chapters 1-5;

Week 3–September 14: History (continued)
Mintz and Kellogg, Chapters 5-10 and “Epilogue”; Cherlin Reader 2-2.
Video: “The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter”

Week 4–September 21: Learning Gender
Cherlin Reader: 3-1, 3-2; Article: “Barbie Dolls and Sea Monsters,” by Michael E. Messner. This article is available through the GMU Library Website; see full citation under “Additional Readings.”

Week 5–September 28: Sexuality, Love, Partnership, and Marriage
Cherlin Reader: 6-1, 6-2, 7-2: Articles: “The Buddy System,” by Laura Sessions Stepp; “Love and the Marriage Market,” by Randall Collins and Scott Coltrane. Discussion of Families We Choose, by Kath Weston. Those assigned this book will lead the class discussion and turn in their long book report; students assigned either the Kibria or Rubin books should complete and turn in the short questions on this book.

Week 6–October 5: Work and Families
Discussion of The Second Shift, by Arlie Hochschild (with Anna Machung); Cherlin Reader: 8-1, 9-1.

Week 7–October 12: Classes meeting Tuesday do not meet this week because of the Columbus Day Holiday; if you usually have class on Monday, your class meeting shifts to Tuesday.

Week 8–October 19: Ethnicity and Class as Factors in Shaping the Family Experience
Cherlin Reader: 4-1, 4-2, 5-2; “Absent Fathers in the Inner City,” by Mercer Sullivan. This article is available through the GMU Library Website; see full citation under “Additional Readings.”

Week 9–October 26: Class and the Family Experience
Cherlin Reader, 5-1: Discussion of Families on the Fault Line, by Lillian Rubin. Those assigned this book will lead the class discussion and turn in their long report; students assigned either the Kibria book or the Weston book should complete and turn in the short questions on this book.

Week 10–November 2: Ethnicity and the Family Experience
Discussion of Family Tightrope, by Nazli Kibria. Those assigned this book will lead the class discussion and turn in their long report; students assigned either the Rubin or Weston books should complete and turn in the short questions on this book.

Week 11: November 9: Domestic Violence
“Battered Women: Strategies for Survival,”by Kathleen J. Ferraro (Reading 11-1 in Public and Private Families: A Reader (2nd edition.); Cherlin Reader (the edition we are using): 11-1. Each student should bring an article on domestic violence to class with a 2-page summary of the article and their reactions to it. All students should bring their copy of Divorce Reconsidered to this class; you will be preparing for the discussion of this book.

Week 12 and 13: November 16 and 23: Divorce, Remarriage, and Blended Families
During these two weeks we will read Hetherington and Kelley’s book, Divorce Reconsidered. Chapters will be assigned to groups of students for presentation. Students should bring their copy of Hands to Work to this class; you will be preparing for the discussion of this book. Take Home Assignment 3 on Divorce Reconsidered will be distributed on November 23. It is due in class on November 30.

Week 14 and 15: November 30 and December 7: The State and Poor Families
During these two weeks, we will read LyNell Hancock’s book, Hands to Work: Three Women Navagate the New World of Welfare Deadlines and Work Rules, Chapters will be assigned to groups of students for presentation. Take-home assignment 4 on Hands to Work will be distributed on November 30. It is due in my mailbox, 3rd floor Robinson B, in the Sociology and Anthropology Department by December 13.

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