Sociology Seminar on Family and Gender Relations

Great Class being offered this quarter!

Fall 2013, Mondays, 5:30-7:20 pm, in Savery Hall

Soc 551: Family and Gender Relations

(The 9/30 class will be rescheduled. The first meeting will be October 7)

DESCRIPTION OF SEMINAR

This graduate seminar explores substantive issues that are central to contemporary debates about the family, many of which are at the intersection of family and gender. Readings and discussion will draw on a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives from sociology, economics, and demography. Usually, the focus will be industrialized countries, with emphasis on the US. However, the substantive topics covered will vary so that they accommodate the diversity of stages and substantive interests of the students enrolled.

This is a participatory seminar, requiring students to complete all readings prior to class and take an active role in discussion. Discussion is an integral part of this graduate seminar and gives students the opportunity to engage with the material on a much deeper level. This requires thinking about the readings and the discussion questions before class. The goal is to generate an informative probing discussion grounded in theory, method and substance, not personal opinion.

OVERVIEW OF MATERIAL COVERED

• The social demography of families and households
• Trends in the family and the associated explanations offered for these trends.
• Socioeconomic variation in family behaviors (e.g., non-marital childbearing, timing of marriage, child-rearing practices, etc.) that have policy or theoretical relevance and debates over the causes of the variation.
• Low income families and policy
• The gender based division of labor within families, and work and family conflict.

For additional information contact the instructor, Professor Aimée Dechter, dechter@u.washington.edu

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