Family in Transition

by Skolnick, Arlene S.; Skolnick, Jerome H.; Skolnick, Arlene S.; Skolnick, Jerome H.

• ISBN13: 9780205325269
• ISBN10: 0205325262
• Edition: 11th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-08-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

The classic reader on family life that reflects current trends, places them in historical context, and balances cutting-edge scholarship with time-honored pieces. With every edition, this best-selling reader has chronicled changes in the contemporary American family. The popularity of this text speaks to the authors' ability to find articles that are timely and germane to the subject on one hand, and accessible to undergraduate students on the other. While the selections vary from one edition to the next, they all demonstrate in various ways how family life is bound up with the social, economic, and ideological circumstances of particular times and places.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction: Family in Transition	1	(14)
PART ONE The Changing Family	15	(62)
Families Past and Present	17	(23)
``The Global Revolution in Family and Personal Life''	17	(6)
Anthony Giddens
Throughout the world, societies are experiencing a transformation in family and gender relations
``The Life Course Revolution''	23	(8)
Arlene Skolnick
Changes in mortality rates have had profound, yet little-appreciated, effects on family life
``What We Really Miss about the 1950s''	31	(9)
Stephanie Coontz
Nostalgia for the ``traditional'' family of the 1950s influences much of the way Americans feel about changes in family life
Public Debates and Private Lives	40	(37)
``The Mommy Wars: Ambivalence, Ideological Work, and the Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood''	40	(17)
Sharon Hays
Working mothers and stay-at-home mothers are faced with contradictory cultural messages about their choices
``Decline of the Family: Conservative, Liberal, and Feminist Views''	57	(20)
Janet Z. Giele
Contemporary debates on the state of the family reflect three distinct perspectives - conservative, liberal, and feminist
PART TWO The Sexes	77	(154)
Changing Gender Roles	81	(38)
``Destined for Equality''	81	(8)
Robert M. Jackson
The institutions of modern life are structured to create equality, and will eventually result in the end of male dominance
``Children of the Gender Revolution: Some Theoretical Questions and Findings from the Field''	89	(12)
Kathleen Gerson
This new generation faces unprecedented social dilemmas and is creating new pathways for family and life choices
``Men's Family Work: Child-Centered Fathering and the Sharing of Domestic Labor''	101	(13)
Scott Coltrane
Michele Adams
As women make more gains in the workforce, men's contributions to family work are slowly increasing
``Japan's Battle of the Sexes: The Search for Common Ground''	114	(5)
Sumiko Iwao
Contemporary Japanese women have shunned the traditional family in favor of work and independence, resulting in a declining birth rate and concern for the future of the Japanese family
Sexuality and Society	119	(32)
``Sexual Revolution(s)''	119	(17)
Beth Bailey
The cultural changes of the 1960s transformed not only the way Americans think about sex, but also their sexual behavior and relationships
``Culture Channels Sexuality''	136	(15)
Burton Pasternak
Carol R. Ember
Melvin Ember
Cross-cultural studies show how a society's norms and values shape the way individuals channel their sexual behavior
Courtship and Marriage	151	(39)
``Going-With: The Role of a Social Form in Early Romance''	151	(15)
Don E. Merten
Early adolescent romance is a ``social form'' that sets the stage for adult relationships
``The Future of Marriage''	166	(6)
Frank F. Furstenberg, Jr.
The institution of marriage has undergone tremendous changes, prompting a rethinking of the nature and function of marriage in contemporary society and what its future may be
``Few Good Men: Why Poor Mothers Stay Single''	172	(10)
Kathryn Edin
Statistics show that poor adults from disadvantaged minority groups marry and remarry less than others
``Peer Marriage: What Does It Take to Create a Truly Egalitarian Relationship?''	182	(8)
Pepper Schwartz
Changing gender roles has created a new style of marriage based on friendship and an egalitarian relationship
Divorce and Remarriage	190	(41)
``Divorce Culture: A Quest for Relational Equality in Marriage''	190	(12)
Karla B. Hackstaff
The presence of divorce in U.S. culture may propel marital and family relationships in an egalitarian direction
``Women in Stepfamilies: The Fairy Godmother, the Wicked Witch, and Cinderella Reconstructed''	202	(20)
Anne C. Bernstein
The roles and relationships of women in stepfamily arrangements are emotionally complex
``Divorce: Challanges, Changes, and New Chances''	222	(9)
E. Mavis Hetherington
Tracy C. Law
Thomas G. O'Connor
Divorce is not a single event, with the same effects on all the children and adults who experience it. It is a long, complicated process, with varying outcomes
PART THREE Parents and Children	231	(78)
Parenthood	235	(53)
``Becoming a Parent''	235	(13)
Carolyn P. Cowan
Phillip A. Cowan
Parenthood in America is usually a difficult period of transition
``A Typology of Approaches to Child Care: The Centerpiece of organizing Family Life for Dual-Earner Couples''	248	(24)
Rosanna Hertz
Approaches to child care reflect distinct perspectives on the nature of childhood and children's development
``Chasing the Blood Tie: Surrogate Mothers, Adoptive Mothers, and Fathers''	272	(16)
Helena Ragone
Surrogate mothers and adoptive parents are in a complex relationship of motivations and cultural values
Childhood	288	(21)
``Revolutions in Children's Lives''	288	(10)
Donald Hernandez
David E. Myers
Over the past 200 years, the lives of American children have been transformed several times by changes in the economy, society, and family life
``What Children Think about Their Working Parents''	298	(11)
Ellen Galinsky
A landmark survey explores the perceptions of children about their working parents
PART FOUR Families in Society	309	(4)
Work and Family	313	(1)
``Families on the Fault Line''	313	(17)
Lillian B. Rubin
``Downsizing,'' corporate moves, and other workplace changes have undermined the security of working-class families-no matter what their race or ethnic group
``The Family and Part-Time Work''	330	(14)
Cynthia Fuchs Epstein
Carroll Seron
Bonnie Oglensky
Robert Saute
The emergence of a part-time professional workforce is linked to issues of gender, family, and child care
``The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home''	344	(8)
Arlie Hochschild
Anne Machung
Men who do not share the work of the home may be harming their marriages
Family Diversity	352	(1)
``Mixed Doubles''	352	(5)
Robert Suro
Media images reflect the rapid political, social, cultural, and commercial growth of Asian and Hispanic populations
``Diversity within African American Families''	357	(24)
Ronald L. Taylor
Explores the variety of structural and socioeconomic experiences of African American families
``Diversity within Latino Families: New Lessons for Family Social Science''	381	(26)
Maxine Baca Zinn
Barbara Wells
Reveals the economic and social differences and the variety of family forms found in the diverse Latino population
``Reinventing the Family''	407	(22)
Laura Benkov
Lisbian and gay parents are creating a variety of family types that challenge the traditional meaning of family structure
The Age Revolution	429	(1)
``The Family in an Aging Society: A Matrix of Latent Relationships''	429	(10)
Matilda White Riley
Unprecedented increases in longevity will have profound consequences on the norms and quality of family and kin relationshipsd
``The Modernization of Grandparenthood''	439	(7)
Andrew J. Cherlin
Frank F. Furstenberg, Jr.
Grandparenthood as a distinct and nearly universal part of family life is a relatively new phenomenon, appearing in the decades since World War II
Trouble in the Family	446	(1)
``Why Do They Do It?''	446	(14)
Kristin Luker
Teen pregnancy and teen motherhood especially are the result of limited educational and economic opportunities
``Family Values against the Odds''	460	(15)
Katherine S. Newman
The working poor in the inner city struggle to maintain family values under difficult circumstances
``Anatomy of a Violent Relationship''	475	(13)
Neil S. Jacobson
John M. Gottman
Investigates the complex factors in the development of violent relationships
``Monster Moms: On the Art of Misdirection''	488
Barry Glassner
``Babies having babies'' and other alarming images of bad mothers have emerged in our public consciousness