Transcript Sociological and Policy Perspectives on Families

Family Sociology
Montclair State University
Lecture 1
4/12/2016
Hi ! I am Professor Connie Gager
(pronounced Gay-jer)
Professor Connie Gager
Office hours:
Online office hours Monday 11:00 – 12:00
Thursday 1:15 – 2:15 2:00-3:00 or by appt.
Best way to contact me is e-mail:
[email protected]
I will try to be on-line during these hours and you
can also e-mail me any time, but see syllabus for
reply policies!
Professor Connie Gager
 Academic Interests:
 What I do when I am not teaching
– Predictors of marital quality and divorce
 Do children model their parent’s
relationship patterns?
– The division of housework in families
 Who does more -- husbands or wives
 Daughters or sons?
– Measuring martial quality
 Marital happiness
 Perceptions of fairness
 Sexual frequency
How to get a good grade in
this class:
 KEEP UP – This is a fast-paced On-line
Class
 Complete reading,review of lecture slides on
your own and assignments by the due date
 Check the wiki at least weekly!!
 Don’t fall behind!!
Course wiki
 We will use a course “wiki” in addition to
Blackboard
 Why: I HATE BLACKBOARD!
 How about you?
 Wikis are much more tech. forward
 And we can all post to the wiki – i.e. more
democratic
 A wiki is an editable web page
 http://fcstmsu342.wikispaces.com/
Course wiki
http://fcstmsu342.wikispaces.com/
Use the wiki for:
Course Syllabus
Lecture slides in Powerpoint
Blog assignments
Course café
Ask questions
Post interesting links
Get announcements
Use the wiki to ask questions!
Wiki: Post general questions under Course
Café link.
Please sign questions first name, last
initial as in: Madonna C.
I will check and answer questions weekly!
Everyone can benefit from your general
questions
Students! You can answer questions too!
YOU MUST JOIN THE WIKI!
 Go to home page of the wiki
 http://fcstmsu342.wikispaces.com/
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Your first assignment is to create a blog
Click on blogger link on home page
Follow instructions
YOU CANNOT sign up using your Montclair e-mail
Montclair has reserved your MSU e-mail address for
when we get G-mail
 If you already have a g-mail account you can use
that to sign up
Graded Class Requirements
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On-line GRADED writing assignments
You will write these in a blog you set up
Instructions in Assignment 1
Remember blogs are in the public
domain, don’t use your last name
 As a general rule, I say don’t write
anything you wouldn’t want your parents
to read!
Graded Class Requirements
 On-line blogging assignments
 These are worth 30% of your grade
 If you miss one blog assignment your
grade goes down a whole letter grade!!!
 You choose and complete 6 of the 7
assignments for full credit
 If you fail this blog section, you fail the
class!
Graded Class Requirements
 Group Research Project
 Critique a current relationship self help
book and find “real” data on an official
internet site related to topic of book
(25% of grade)
 Create and present a 12 -15 slide
PowerPoint presentation to be
presented in class during last 2 weeks
of classes
 Submit through Assignment feature on
Blackboard
Graded Class Requirements
 I will discuss the Group Project in detail in
class in February
 Project Due through ASSIGNMENT feature
on blackboard
 Make sure to attend this class during which I
will describe the group project
 You are in groups based on your last name, in
alphabetical order.
 See wiki – Groups are listed in the left panel
Graded Class Requirements
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Midterm Exam
(25% of grade).
Final Test – (Last week of class)
(20% of grade)
 Exams will be given on-line on Blackboard
 Exams are under the Course Documents/TESTS
folder on our Blackboard site
 NO class on exam days
Using Blackboard
 How do I access this class on Blackboard
?
– you must be registered for the class
– Login with User ID and password
– A listing of your classes will appear
– Click on Family Sociology
– MAKE SURE YOU ARE REGISTERED RIGHT
NOW!!!
Syllabus
 Click on “A Syllabus” link on green left
panel of wiki
Bookmark the wiki site
CHECK the wiki for announcements, and
answers to general questions at least
once a week!!!
Major Topics
 Introduction to sociology and the study
of families
 Defining families
 Review of contemporary families – what
are the latest demographic trends?
 Theory and methods used in the
Sociology of Families and Family Studies
Major Topics
 Gender and families
– How do husbands’ roles differ from wives’
roles?
– How have roles changed or not changed after
feminism?
– The good news
 http://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work_report_deta
il.aspx?id=56851
Major Topics
Report compares couples ages 30-44 in 1970 and
2007
Findings:
A larger share of women are married to men with
less income and less education
In 1970 only about 4% of husbands had wives
who brought home a higher salary
In 2007, 22% of husbands are married to wives
with higher earnings
Women are the majority of College Graduates
Major Topics
 Gender and families
– How do husbands’ family and work roles differ
from wives’ roles?
– How have roles changed or not changed after
feminism?
– Back in the day:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHsQpTbQ9Uo
 http://www.match.com/enus/landing/10659_eh/10659_eh.html?TrackingID=525774&BannerID=67
7070&gclid=CKPY-9bK9aMCFZJ95QodrCBt3w
 Believe it or not, I used to play Mystery Date!
 Today: More than 50% of women are not married –
but they still make Mystery Date!
Major Topics
 Diversity in families
– Race/ethnicity
– Gay and lesbian families
– What did you hear in the news about
gay families this past year, summer?
Major Topics
 Love and sexuality
– How often do couples have sex?
 Cohabitation
– 50% of couples now live together prior to
marriage
 Marriage
– How has the meaning changed – no longer
viewed as forever??
 Divorce
– Effects of divorce on children
– On ex spouses
Major Topics
 Family Policy
The State and family policies
Families and children in poverty
Welfare reform
How do we study families and
personal relationships?
 Who are the experts?
 What constitutes reliable data and
sources on families?
 Many books are published on
relationships and families but…
 Are these books/articles based on a
“representative” sample of people or did
the “expert” just interview their friends
and family?
What makes a family?
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Do members have to be related by
blood?
Do members have to be married?
Do they have to share the same
household?
Which picture is a family?
New Families
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ALL of them!!!!
Defining Families
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A proposed inclusive working definition:
A family is a relationship by blood, marriage, or
affection in which
1) the members may cooperate economically
2) may care for children
3) and may consider their individual identities to
be intimately connected to the larger group”
Seccombe and Warner, p. 6
The Sociological Approach –
Social Institutions
• Family sociologists examine how social institutions
interact and how they influence behaviors, attitudes,
and opportunities in families
Economy
Government
Education
Families
Religion
4/12/2016
Healthcare
How does the government or the
economy influence families?
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How has the Obama administration
affected families?
• Can the values of a president be translated to
families or individuals?
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How does the economy affect families
• New research shows the bad economy has
influenced the birth rate!
• How has it affected your family?
The downturn in the economy…
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…has actually led to a lower fertility rate
The fertility rate is the average number of
children per woman
The fertility rate has gone down since the
recession
This is an example of how a change at the
societal (MACRO) level affects decisions
at the a family MICRO) level
http://pewsocialtrends.org/pubs/753/american-birth-rate-decline-linked-torecession-
Summary
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Get on the wiki and set up your blogs and
complete Assignment 1
Families are influenced by larger society –
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the economy
the government
religion
the education system
The media
Families, relationships and the meaning of
these relationships are constantly changing