Sociology 4086          FAMILY AND SOCIETY        Fall 1993


Professor:  Martha E. Gimenez
Office:   Hunter 206
Phone:   303-402-6427 (department)  303-492-7080  (office)
E-mail Address: GIMENEZ@CSF.COLORADO.EDU

VIRTUAL Office Hours:  All students are encouraged to ask
questions using e-mail.  Questions and answers will be posted so
that everyone benefits.

Course Description:   Studies the changing relationship between
the family and the economic structure, historically and
sociologically.  Examines households that differ from the nuclear
family, taking into account the political, social, ideological,
demographic, and economic determinants of family formation.

Course Requirements:  Class attendance and participation are
important and will affect your grade. Your class participation
will be graded according to the extent you contribute to the 
learning process of your fellow students.  You are expected to
keep up with the scheduled readings and come prepared to
participate in class discussions, small group discussions and
structured debates.  Preparation for and participation in the
structured debates is important because debate topics will be
included in the exams.   Lectures will be related to but WILL NOT
necessarily cover every aspect of the assigned readings;  they
are designed to supplement, not replicate the texts.  Lectures
will be focused on theoretical analysis and integration, setting
the background for your participation, questions, and
contributions.   

Grades will be based on the following:

1.  a Midterm Exam consisting of multiple choice and essay
questions ( 35 percent of the grade). EXAM DATE: OCTOBER 11.

2.  a Term Project consisting of a "sociological scrapbook"
(30 percent of the grade).  DATE THE PROJECT IS DUE: NOVEMBER 15.
     Family issues are constantly coming up in the mass media.
Please select a topic (come and discuss it with me during my
office hours) and collect relevant newspaper and magazine
articles (between 10 and 15 - no more). Read them using your
"sociological imagination;"  this means using sociological
theories and research findings to assess the information those
articles provide.  You will receive a guideline for doing this
project early in the semester. 

3.  aFinal Exam consisting of multiple choice and essay questions
(40 percent of the grade).  EXAM DATE:  DECEMBER 16 AT 3:30 PM.


REQUIIRED READINGS:

Marcia E. Bedard, BREAKING WITH TRADITION. Diversity, Conflict,
and Change in Contemporary American Families. Dix Hills, N.Y.,
General Hall, 1992.

Gloria Bird and Michael J. Sporakowski, eds., TAKING SIDES.
Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Family and Personal
Relationships.  Guilford, CT., The Dushkin Publishing Group,
1992.

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY 93/94.  Annual Editions. Guilford, CT., The
Dushkin Publishing Book, 1993.  (M&F)

ARTICLES:

This articles are required reading.  They are placed on reserve
at Norlin.

William J. Goode, "The Theoretical Importance of Love."  American
Sociological Review, 1959, 24.

Sydney M. Greenfield, "Love and Marriage in Modern America:  A
Functional Analysis."  The Sociological Quarterly, 1965, 6.

Margaret Benston, "The Political Economy of Women's Liberation."
Monthly Review, 1969

Dan Quayle was Right - The Atlantic Monthly, 1993.