The Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Families / Edition 1

by Jacqueline Scott, Judith Treas, Martin Richards

Overview

Tackling issues relevant to family life today, this authoritative Companion shows why studying social change in families is fundamental for understanding the transformations in individual and social life, across the globe.

• Contains original essays by expert contributors on a wide range of topics relating to the sociology of families.
• Includes coverage of social inequality, parenting practices, children’s work, the changing patterns of citizenship, and multi-cultural families.
• Gives special attention to European and North American examples.
• Discusses previously neglected groups, including immigrant families and gays and lesbians.
• Explores how revolutionary changes in aging, longevity, and sexual behavior have radically affected the experience of different generations, and the relationships between them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781405175630
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	11/12/2007
Series:	Wiley Blackwell Companions to Sociology
Pages:	626
Product dimensions:	6.80(w) x 9.70(h) x 1.36(d)

About the Author

Jacqueline Scott is a Reader in Sociology at the University of Cambridge and Co-Director of the Cambridge Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Ageing. Her recent publications examine youth and disadvantage, inter-generational attitudinal change and cross-national comparisons of family and demographic change.

Judith Treas is Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine. A Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, she is recognized for research on the life course and aging, family, sexuality, inequality, and population. Her recent publications investigate cross-national differences in gender beliefs and family behavior, the lives of elderly immigrants, and the determinants of change in sexual attitudes.

Martin Richards is Director of the Centre for Family Research and Professor Family Research at the University of Cambridge. His publications include Sexual Arrangements: Marriage and Affairs (with Janet Reibstein, 1963), What is a Parent: A Socio-Legal Analysis (2001) and Body Lore and Laws (2002), both edited with Andrew Bainham and Shelley Day-Sclater.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors.

Preface: (Jacqueline Scott, Judith Treas, and Martin Richards).

Part I: Families in a Global World:.

1. Globalization and Western Bias in Family Sociology: Don Edgar.

2. Changing European Families: Trends and Issues: Kath Kiernan (University of York).

3. Recent Demographic Trends in the US and Implications for Well-Being: Sinikka Elliott and Debra Umberson (University of Texas).

4. Children, Families, States, and Changing Citizenship: Hilary Land (University of Bristol).

5. Families and Local Communities: Graham Crow (University of Southampton) and Catherine Maclean.

Part II: Life Course Perspectives on the Family:.

6. Generations, the Life Course, and Family Change: J. Beth Mabry, Roseann Giarrusso, and Vern L. Bengtson (all University of Southern California).

7. Children’s Families: Jacqueline Scott (University of Cambridge).

8. Aging and the Life Course: Chris Phillipson and Graham Allan (both Keele University).

9. Parenting Practices: Duane F. Alwin (Pennsylvania State University).

10. Time, Through the Life Course, in the Family: Jonathan Gershuny (University of Essex).

Part III: Inequality and Diversity:.

11. Inequality and the Family: Philip N. Cohen (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) and Danielle MacCartney (Webster University).

12. Families of the Poor: Robert Walker and Claire Collins (both Nottingham University).

13. Social Capital and the Family: Frank F. Furstenberg and Sarah B. Kaplan (both University of Pennsylvania).

14. Family, the State, and Health Care: Changing Roles in the New Century: Ronald J. Angel and Jacqueline L. Angel (both University of Texas at Austin).

15. Immigrant Families in the US: Karen Pyke (University of California, Riverside).

16. Immigrant Families in the UK: Alison Shaw (University of Oxford).

Part IV: Changing Family Forms and Relationships:.

17. Religion, Romantic Love, and the Family: Bryan S. Turner (National University of Singapore).

18. Trends in Formation and Dissolution of Couples: Joanne J. Paetsch, Nicholas M. Bala, Lorne D. Bertrand, and Lisa Glennon (all University of Calgary).

19. Children, Families, and Divorce: Jan Pryor (Victoria University of Wellington) and Liz Trinder (Newcastle University).

20. The Lesbian and Gay Family: Jeffrey Weeks, Brian Heaphy, and Catherine Donovan (all Southbank University).

21. Couples and Their Networks: Eric Widmer (University of Geneva).

22. Men in Families and Households: David H.J. Morgan (University of Manchester).

Part V: Changing Social Contexts:.

23. Sex and Family: Changes and Challenges: Judith Treas (University of California, Irvine).

24. Feminism and the Family: Michelle Budig (University of Massachusetts).

25. Work and Families: Shirley Dex (University of London).

26. Public Policy and Families: Wendy Sigle-Rushton and Catherine Kenney (both Princeton University).

27. Assisted Reproduction, Genetic Technologies, and Family Life: Martin Richards (University of Cambridge).

28. Families in a Runaway World: Ulrich Beck (University of Munich) and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim (University of Erlangen).

Bibliography.

Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

”I would recommend this book strongly. The social sciences in general, and the study of family in particular, permeate much of academic life nowadays… Most academic libraries are therefore likely to find eager users for this book.”
Reference Reviews

"This is a classic handbook providing a considerable number of original essays written by experts in the field on a wide variety of issues. The strengths of the volume lie in its multi-dimensional approach to the knowledge of the dynamics which modify family life in a globalizing world."
INTAMS Review

“This authoritative volume shows why studying social change in families is fundamental for understanding the transformations in individual and social life, across the globe.” Family Therapy

Editorial Reviews

”I would recommend this book strongly. The social sciences in general, and the study of family in particular, permeate much of academic life nowadays… Most academic libraries are therefore likely to find eager users for this book.”
Reference Reviews

"This is a classic handbook providing a considerable number of original essays written by experts in the field on a wide variety of issues. The strengths of the volume lie in its multi-dimensional approach to the knowledge of the dynamics which modify family life in a globalizing world."
INTAMS Review

“This authoritative volume shows why studying social change in families is fundamental for understanding the transformations in individual and social life, across the globe.” Family Therapy

From the Publisher