This class will run as a seminar, with one or two people assigned to facilitate discussion on each topic, and the rest of us participating about equally. (You may at times find me talking too much, or too little, for your taste--you'll need to push me in your preferred direction in that respect.) Here's my plan. At the end of each day, I will do a mini-lecture on the readings for the next day, giving you my take on what the main points are. At the beginning of each set of readings the person or persons (we need to discuss this) in charge of that topic will introduce the readings with their take on two issues: (1) what are the major contributions of the readings to our understanding of family life from a feminist perspective, and (2) what are the most exciting, surprising, or interesting aspects of the readings. Then, they will facilitate our discussion.

Grades will be based on (1) general level of contribution to the seminar discussions (about 20%), (2) quality of discussion facilitation (about 20%), (3) the quality of a 15 minute presentation on your term paper about half way through the semester, for which I'll ask you to give the class one published paper to read ahead of time (about 20%), and (4) the actual 15-20 page term paper applying a feminist perspective to some aspect of family life, which will be due the day of your presentation (about 40%).

About the paper. Believe it or not, it will be due sometime between October 31 and November 7 (depending on where you fit into our schedule of presentations). As preliminary steps, a one page topic choice and justification is due September 12, and an outline and tentative bibliography is due September 26. That leaves you about a month to finish writing the paper, which must be focused on feminist family sociology (broadly conceived). I will grade the papers as I get them and give you more feedback than you'd like. You may then rewrite the paper, and the rewrite will be due December 12. If you do rewrite the paper, only the grade on the final version will affect your course grade.

August 29

Organization/Orientation/Planning

No readings.

September 5a

Feminist Theories: General Sociology (66pp)

(Only asterisked papers are assigned and are in the packet.)

*Connell, R. W. (1987). "Current frameworks" and the introduction to "Main structures: Labour, power, cathexis." Pp. 41-65, 91-92 in R. W. Connell, Gender and Power: Society, the Person and Sexual Politics. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

*Collins, Patricia Hill. (1990). "The politics of Black feminist thought" and "Defining Black feminist thought." Pp. 3-40 in Collins, Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. New York: Harper Collins.

Wallace, Ruth A. 1989). "Introduction." Pp. 7-19 in Ruth A. Wallace (ed.), Feminism and Sociological Theory. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Smith, Dorothy. (1987). The Everyday World as Problematic: A Feminist Sociology. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

England, Paula (Ed.). Theory on Gender/Feminism on Theory. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

Mann, Susan A. & Kelley, Lori R. (1997). “Standing at the crossroads of modernist thought: Collins, Smith, and the new feminist epistemologies.” Gender & Society, 11, 391-408.

Smith, Dorothy E. (1997). “Response to Susan Mann and Lori Kelley.” Gender & Society, 11, 819-821.

September 5b

Feminist Theories: Family Sociology (47pp)

*Thorne, Barrie. (1992). "Feminism and the family: Two decades of thought." Pp. 3-30 in Barrie Thorne with Marilyn Yalom (eds.), Rethinking the Family: Some Feminist Questions. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

*Thompson, Linda and Alexis J. Walker. (1995). "The place of feminism in family studies." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 847-865.

Thompson, Linda and Alexis J. Walker. (1989). "Gender in families: Women and men in marriage, work, and parenthood." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 845-871.

Osmond, Marie Withers and Barrie Thorne. (1993). "Feminist theories: The social construction of gender in families and society." Pp. 591-622 in Pauline G. Boss, William J. Doherty, Ralph LaRossa, Walter R. Schumm, and Suzanne K. Steinmetz (eds.), Sourcebook of Family Theories and Methods: A Contextual Approach. New York: Plenum.

Fox, Greer Litton and Velma McBride Murry. (2000). “Gender and families: Feminist perspectives and family research.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 1160-1172.

September 12a

Feminist Methodologies: General Sociology (56pp)

*Reinharz, Shulamit. (1992). "Conclusions." Pp. 240-269 in Shulamit Reinharz with the assistance of Lynn Davidman, Feminist Methods in Social Research. New York: Oxford University Press.

*Sprague, Joey and Mary K. Zimmerman. (1993). "Overcoming dualisms: A feminist agenda." Pp. 255-280 in Paula England (ed.), Theory on Gender; Feminism on Theory. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

Lorde, Audre. (1984). "Poetry is not a luxury." Pp. 36-39 in Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. Freedom, CA: Crossing Press.

Smith, Dorothy E. (1989). Sociological theory: Methods of writing patriarchy." Pp. 34-64 in Ruth A. Wallace (ed.), Feminism and Sociological Theory. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

September 12b

Feminist Methodologies: Family Sociology (56pp)

*Risman, Barbara. (c. 1990). "Methodological implications of feminist scholarship for family studies." Revision of paper presented at National Council on Family Relations annual meetings, Seattle, Washington, 1990. 17pp.

*Thompson, Linda. (1992). "Feminist methodologies for family studies." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 54, 3-18.

*Yllo, Kersti. (1988). "Political and methodological debates in wife abuse research." Pp. 28-50 in Kersti Yllo and Michelle Bograd (eds.), Feminist Perspectives on Wife Abuse. Newbury Park: Sage.

Walker, Alexis. (2000). “Refracted knowledge: Viewing families through the prism of social science.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 595-608.

Allen, Katherine. (2000). “A conscious and inclusive family studies.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 4-17.

September 19a

The NCFR Diversity Debate (and Allen and Demo) (53pp)

*Allen, Katherine R. and David H. Demo. (1995). "Families of lesbians and gay men: A new frontier in family research." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 111-127.

*Marks, Stephen R. (1987). Critique of Burr et al., "An epistemological basis for primary explanations in family science". Presented at the Theory and Methods Workshop at the annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations. Atlanta, Georgia. 5pp.^NOTE

*Bahr, Howard M. & Bahr, Kathleen S. (1996). “A paradigm of family transcendence.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 541-555.

*Berscheid, Ellen. (1996). “The ‘Paradigm of family transcendence’: Not a paradigm, questionably transcendent, but valuable, nonetheless.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 556-564.

*Marks, Stephen R. (1996). “The problem and politics of wholeness in family studies.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 565-571.

Beutler, Ivan F., Wesley R. Burr, Kathleen S. Bahr and Donald A. Herrin. (1989). "The family realm: Theoretical contributions for understanding its uniqueness." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 805-815.

Edwards, John N. (1989). "The family realm: A future paradigm or failed nostalgia?" Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 816-818.

Jurich, Joan A. (1989). "The family realm: Expanding its parameters." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 819-821.

Menaghan, Elizabeth G. (1989). "Escaping from the family realm." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 822-825.

Beutler, Ivan F. et al. "A seventh group has visited the elephant." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 826-830.

Marks, Stephen R. (2000). “Teasing out the lessons of the 1960s: Family diversity and family privilege.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 609-622.

Note: (This is a critique of Wesley R. Burr, Donald A. Herrin, Randal D. Day, Ivan F. Beutler & Geoffrey K. Leigh, An epistemological basis for primary explanations in family science, a paper presented in the Theory and Methods Workshop at the annual meetings of the National Council on Family Relations, Atlanta, Georgia, 1987. The Beutler et al. piece below is a revision of this Burr et al. paper, and the Bahr & Bahr article carries on this debate.)

September 19b

B. Anthropological and Close Relationships Points of View (57pp)

*Collier, Jane, Michelle Z. Rosaldo, and Silvia Yanagisako. (1992). "Is there a family? New anthropological views." Pp. 31-48 in Barrie Thorne with Marilyn Yalom (eds.), Rethinking the Family: Some Feminist Questions. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

*Scanzoni, John, Karen Polonko, Jay Teachman, and Linda Thompson. (1989). "Framing the problem" and "A fresh construct." Pp. 12-50 in Scanzoni et al., The Sexual Bond. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Gubrium, Jaber F. & Holstein, James A. (1990). What is Family? Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

September 26a

Marriage as Rights and Responsibilities (46pp)

*Collins, Randall. (1992). "Love and property." Pp. 119-154 in Collins, Sociological Insights: The Sociology of the Non-Obvious. New York: Oxford University Press.

Pateman, Carole. (1988). "Feminism and the marriage contract." Pp. 154-188 in Pateman, The Sexual Contract. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Rubin, Gayle. (1975). "The traffic in women: Notes on the political economy of sex." Pp. 157-210 in Rayna Rapp Reiter (ed.), Toward an Anthropology of Women. New York: Monthly Review Press.

September 26b

Marriage as a Labor Contract (51pp)

*Delphy, Christine and Diana Leonard. (1992). "The family as an economic system: Theoretical outline." Pp.129-162 in Delphy and Leonard, Familiar Exploitation. Cambridge, MA: Polity Press.

*Kandiyotti, Denise. (1988). "Bargaining with patriarchy." Gender & Society, 2, 274-290.

October 3a

Are Families Good for Women?

The General Question (72pp)

*Johnson, Michael P. (1993). Handout in response to student question, "So, what's so bad about the traditional family anyway?" in AAAS/SOC/WMNST 103: Racism and Sexism.

*Pogrebin, Letty Cottin. (1983). "The enduring nest." Pp. 21-37 in Pogrebin, Family Politics: Love and Power on an Intimate Frontier. New York: McGraw Hill.

*Bernard, Jessie. (1982, first published in 1972). "The wife's marriage." Pp. 26-53 in Bernard, The Future of Marriage. New Haven: Yale.

*Waite, Linda J. (1995). “Does marriage matter?” Demography, 32, 483-507.

Stacey, Judith. (1986). "Are feminists afraid to leave home?" Pp. 208-237 in Juliet Mitchell and Ann Oakley (eds.), What is Feminism: A Re-Examination. New York: Pantheon.

October 3b

Are Families Good for Women?

The Family Values Debate (69pp)

*Popenoe, David. (1993). "American family decline, 1960-1990: A review and appraisal." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55, 527-541.

*Glenn, Norval D. (1993). "A plea for objective assessment of the notion of family decline." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55, 542-544.

*Stacey, Judith. (1993). "Good riddance to 'The family': A response to David Popenoe." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55, 545-547.

*Cowan, Philip A. (1993). "The sky is falling, but Popenoe's analysis won't help us do anything about it." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55, 548-553.

*Popenoe, David. (1993). "The national family wars." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55, 553-555.

*Stacey, Judith. (1996). “The neo-family-values campaign.” Pp. 52-82 in Stacey, In the Name of the Family: Rethinking Family Values in the Postmodern Age. Boston: Beacon Press.

Stacey, Judith. (1992). "Backward toward the postmodern family: Reflections on gender, kinship, and class in the Silicon Valley." Pp. 91-118 in Barrie Thorne with Marilyn Yalom (eds.), Rethinking the Family: Some Feminist Questions. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

October 10a

Romance (66pp)

*Firestone, Shulamith. (1970). "The culture of romance." Pp. 146-155 in Firestone, The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution. New York: Bantam.

*Peplau, Letitia Anne. (1994). "Men and women in love." Pp. 19-49 in Donna L. Sollie and Leigh A. Leslie (eds.), Gender, Families and Close Relationships: Feminist Research Journeys. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

*Rose, Suzanna. (1985). "Is romance dysfunctional?" International Journal of Women's Studies, 8, 250-265.

*Johnson, Elizabeth M. & Huston, Ted L. (1998). “The perils of love, or why wives adapt to husbands during the transition to parenthood.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 195-204.

Kirkpatrick, Martha. (1989). "Middle age and the lesbian experience." Women's Studies Quarterly, 17 (Spring/Summer): 87-96.

October 10b

Sexuality (66pp)

*Peplau, L. A. (2001). “Rethinking women's sexual orientation: An interdisciplinary, relationship-focused approach.” Personal Relationships, 8, 1-19.

*MacKinnon, Catharine A. (1989). "Sexuality." Pp. 126-154 in MacKinnon, Toward a Feminist Theory of the State. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

*Ehrenreich, Barbara, Elizabeth Hess and Gloria Jacobs. (1986). "Conclusion." Pp.192-208 in Ehrenreich, Hess and Jacobs, Re-Making Love: The Feminization of Sex. Garden City: Doubleday.

Dworkin, Andrea. (1987). "Possession." Pp. 63-79 in Dworkin, Intercourse. New York: The Free Press.

Baber, Kristine. (1994). "Studying women's sexualities: Feminist transformations." Pp. 50-73 in Donna L. Sollie and Leigh A. Leslie (eds.), Gender, Families and Close Relationships: Feminist Research Journeys. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

October 17a

Power Strategies (70pp)

*Komter, Aafke. (1989). "Hidden power in marriage." Gender & Society, 3, 187-216.

*Walker, Alexis J. (1996). “Couples watching television: Gender, power, and the remote control.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 813-824.

*Knudson-Martin, Carmen and Anne R. Mahoney. (1998). “Language processes in the construction of equality in marriages.” Family Relations, 47, 81-91.

*Kranichfeld, Marion L. (1987). "Rethinking family power." Journal of Family Issues, 8 (#1), 42-56.

DeFrancisco, Victoria Lets. (1991). "The sounds of silence: How men silence women in marital relations." Discourse & Society, 2, 413-423.

Bell, Colin and Howard Newby. (1976). "Husbands and wives: The dynamics of the deferential dialectic." Pp. 152-168 in Diana Leonard Barker and Sheila Allen (eds.), Dependence and Exploitation in Work and Marriage. New York: Longman.

Peplau, Letitia Anne and Susan Miller Campbell. (1989). "The balance of power in dating and marriage." Pp. 121-137 in Jo Freeman (ed.), Women: A Feminist Perspective (Fourth Edition). Palo Alto: Mayfield.

October 17b

Shifting Power Bases (63pp)

*Schwartz, Pepper. (1994). “Eliminating the provider role.” Pp. 111-144 in Schwartz, Peer Marriage. New York: The Free Press.

*Gallagher, S.K. and C. Smith. (1999). “Symbolic traditionalism and pragmatic egalitarianism: Contemporary evangelicals, families, and gender.” Gender & Society, 13, 211-233.

*Risman, Barbara & Danette Johnson-Sumerford. (1998). “Doing it fairly: A study of postgender marriages.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 23-40.

Goode, William J. (1992). "Why men resist." Pp. 287-310 in Barrie Thorne with Marilyn Yalom (eds.), Rethinking the Family: Some Feminist Questions. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

Blaisure, Karen R. and Katherine R. Allen. (1995). "Feminists and the ideology and practice of marital equality." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 5-19.

October 24a

Violence Against Wives (61pp)

*Dobash, R. Emerson and Russell Dobash. (1976). "Violence against wives: A case against the patriarchy" and "The violent marriage." Pp. 1-13, 124-143 in Dobash and Dobash, Violence Against Wives. New York: The Free Press.

*Johnson, Michael P. (1995). "Patriarchal terrorism and common couple violence: Two forms of violence against women." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 283-294.

*Johnson, Michael P., and Kathleen J. Ferraro. (2000). “‘Research on Domestic Violence in the 1990s: Making Distinctions.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 948-63.

Johnson, M. P. (2001). Conflict and control: Symmetry and asymmetry in domestic violence. In Alan Booth, Ann C. Crouter & Mari Clements (Eds.), Couples in Conflict (pp. 95-104). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

October 24b

Violence Against Daughters (58pp)

*Russell, Diana. (1986). "The gender gap among perpetrators of child sexual abuse" (co-authored with David Finkelhor) and "Factors reducing social inhibitions against child sexual abuse." Pp. 215-231, 261-268 in Russell, Sexual Exploitation. New York: Basic Books.

*Gilgun, Jane. (1995). "We shared something special: The moral discourse of incest perpetrators." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 265-281.

*Williams, Lindy & Sobieszczyk, Teresa. (1997). “Attitudes surrounding the continuation of female circumcision in the Sudan: Passing the tradition to the next generation.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 59, 966-981.

October 31-November 7

Paper Presentations

Readings to be assigned by class members

November 14a

Division of Labor

Who Does What? (54pp)

*Ferree, Myra Marx. (1990). "Beyond separate spheres: Feminism and family research." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 866-884.

* Coltrane, Scott. (2000). “Research on household labor: Modeling and measuring the social embeddedness of routine family work.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 1208-1233.

*Zvonkovic, Anisa M., Greaves, Kathleen M., Schmiege, Cynthia J., & Hall, Leslie D. (1996). “The marital construction of gender through work and family decisions: A qualitative analysis.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 91-100.

Robinson, John P. & Godbey, Geoffrey. (1997). Time for Life: The Surprising Ways Americans Use their Time. University Park, PA: Penn State University Press.

Daniels, Arlene Kaplan. (1987). "Invisible work." Social Problems, 34, 403-415.

DeVault, Marjorie. (1991). "Feeding as 'women's work'." Pp. 95-119 in DeVault, Feeding the Family: The Social Organization of Caring as Gendered Work. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

diLeonardo, Micaela. (1992). "The female world of cards and holidays: Women, families and the work of kinship." Pp. 246-261 in Barrie Thorne with Marilyn Yalom (eds.), Rethinking the Family: Some Feminist Questions. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

November 14b

Division of Labor

How Do Women Feel About It and Deal with It? (71pp)

*Thompson, Linda. (1991). "Family work: Women's sense of fairness." Journal of Family Issues, 12, 181-196.

*Hawkins, Alan J., Christina M. Marshall, and Kathryn M. Meiners. (1995). "Exploring wives' sense of fairness about family work: An initial test of the distributive justice framework." Journal of Family Issues, 16, 693-721.

*Ahlander, Nancy R. & Bahr, Kathleen S. (1995). “Beyond drudgery, power, and equity: Toward an expanded discourse on the moral dimensions of housework in families.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 54-68.

*Sanchez, Laura. (1996). “Feminism, family work, and moral discourse: A comment on Ahlander and Bahr’s….” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 514-520.

*Ahlander, Nancy R. & Bahr, Kathleen S. (1996). “Morality, feminism, and family work: A reply to Sanchez’s commentary.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 520-525.

Hochschild, Arlie with Anne Machung. (1989). "Beneath the cover-up: Strategies and strains." Pp. 188-203 in Hochschild with Machung, The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home. New York: Viking.

November 21a (may need to reschedule)

Motherhood (63pp)

*Terry Arendell. (2000). “Conceiving and investigating motherhood: The decade’s scholarship.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 1192-1207.

*Collins, Patricia Hill. (1992). "Black women and motherhood." Pp. 215-245 in Barrie Thorne with Marilyn Yalom (eds.), Rethinking the Family: Some Feminist Questions. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

*Rothman, Barbara Katz. (1989). "Women as fathers: Motherhood and childcare under a modified patriarchy." Gender & Society, 3, 89-104.

McDonald, Katrina B. (1997). “Black activist mothering: A historical intersection of race, gender, and class.” Gender & Society, 11, 773-795.

Chodorow, Nancy and Susan Contratto. (1992). "The fantasy of the perfect mother." Pp. 191-214 in Barrie Thorne with Marilyn Yalom (eds.), Rethinking the Family: Some Feminist Questions. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

November 21b (may need to reschedule)

Fatherhood (55pp)

*Laquer, Thomas W. (1992). "The facts of fatherhood." Pp. 155-175 in Barrie Thorne with Marilyn Yalom (eds.), Rethinking the Family: Some Feminist Questions. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

*LaRossa, Ralph. (1988). "Fatherhood and social change." Family Relations, 37, 451-457.

*Doherty, William J., Kouneski, Edward F., & Erickson, Martha F. (1998). “Responsible fathering: An overview and conceptual framework..” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 277-292.

*Walker, Alexis J. and Lori A. McGraw. (2000). “Who is responsible for responsible fathering?” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 563-569.

*Doherty, William J., Kouneski, Edward F., & Erickson, Martha F. (2000). “We are all responsible for responsible fathering.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 570-574.

Lerman, Robert. (1993). "Unwed fathers: Complex dilemmas for policy makers." The American Enterprise, 4 (Sept./Oct.), 27-31, 36-37.