Sociology 130a
FAMILIES, KINSHIP, AND SEXUALITY
Fall 2015
Brandeis University
Professor Karen V. Hansen
M & W, 5:00 – 6:20
Pearlman 209
781-736-2651
Office Hours: Wed. 3:30-5:00,
khansen@brandeis.edu
Thur. 11-12 & by appointment
http://www.brandeis.edu/departments/sociology/people/faculty/hansen.html
Course Description
Kinship systems organize the tensions between Eros, reproduction, and domesticity. How do we
map those connections and contradictions over time? What economic and social conditions make
possible particular family forms? This course explores how the historical transformation in the
meanings of kinship, sexual practices, law, and demographics have shaped contemporary family
possibilities. It grapples with complex structural forces that shape kinship and sexuality, the
multitude of ways families are organized, and how they come to be socially and legally
recognized. It pays particular attention to the different experiences of men and women in their
relationships with each other in courtship, the division of household labor (including
childrearing), intimate relations, and the economy. How do those experiences vary by class,
race/ethnicity, migration status, sexual orientation, and generation?
This course is designated as an Experiential Learning course. This means that you will be
engaged in active learning—through thoughtful interrogation of the course readings and
collaboratively facilitating discussion on weekly topics. Students will also attend a public lecture
or performance (on or off campus) about families, kinship, or sexuality and reflect on its
connection to the class. The primary semester project will involve conducting original research
(through interviews with live subjects) or mastering a literature review on a contemporary topic.
Students will formally present their main findings to the class, soliciting feedback from fellow
students in an effort to improve their papers.
Required Readings
D’Emilio, John and Estelle Freedman, Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America, third
edition (University of Chicago, 2012)
Hochschild, Arlie with Anne Machung, The Second Shift (Penguin, 2012)
Lareau, Annette, Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, Second Edition with an
Update a Decade Later (University of California Press, 2011)
Schalet, Amy, Not Under my Roof: Parents, Teens, and the Culture of Sex (University of Chicago
Press, 2011)
Recommended:
Dreby, Joanna, Divided by Borders: Mexican Migrants and Their Children (University of
California Press, 2010)
Edin, Kathryn and Timothy Nelson, Doing the Best I Can: Fatherhood in the Inner City
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Fall 2015
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(University of California Press, 2013)
Garey, Anita Ilta and Karen V. Hansen (eds.), At the Heart of Work and Family: Engaging
the Ideas of Arlie Hochschild (Rutgers University Press, 2011)
Turabian, Kate, Manual for Writers (University of Chicago Press)
This course has a LATTE page: http://latte.brandeis.edu. Articles listed below with an asterisk
(*) can be found there.
Course Requirements
Students are expected to do the reading for the week before class, attend lectures, and thoughtfully
participate in class discussions. The course grades are based on:
Class participation
10-12 page research paper
In-class midterm
2 Reflection papers
Take-home final exam
10%
35%
20%
10%
25%
Participation grades are determined by class attendance, thoughtful contributions to discussion,
active engagement in small group sections, and a presentation on work-in-progress.
The research paper can be on one of two topics: 1) an oral history of your family that includes an
analytic dimension and locates the family in its historical context; or 2) a contemporary issue (for
example, the political struggle for domestic partnership laws, parental rights in international
adoption, the division of labor in same sex households, and the like). More detailed instructions
will be distributed later in the semester. Feedback on the topic and the research itself is built into
the process of writing the paper. The initial prospectus for the project is due Wed. September 30.
An extended outline and short bibliography is due Wed. November 4. Students will make
presentations on their work in progress, and the final paper is due in class, Mon. November 23.
Students will take an in-class, essay midterm on Monday, October 19. Study questions will be
distributed one week in advance and will challenge students to synthesize the readings and lectures
to date. Students will be allowed to bring one page of notes to the exam.
Students will be expected to submit two reflection papers. Each will consist of 1 ½ to 2 pages
reflecting on the different ways that families are portrayed in the broader culture. A good reflection
paper will briefly summarize the article/event, analyze underlying assumptions about families and
kinship, link the topic to the class, and assess the persuasiveness and veracity of the article or
presentation. The two papers include:
1) A summary and reflection on an article published in a major newspaper (e.g., New York
Times, the Washington Post, or the Boston Globe) about families. The article should appear
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Fall 2015
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any time after August 29, and the student should attach a copy of it to the reflection paper.
Due Mon. September 21; and,
2) A summary and reflection of a LIVE (as opposed to on-line or streamed) lecture or
performance related to the topic of families, caregiving, or kinship. Multiple opportunities
abound throughout the semester on campus and in the Boston area. Due Mon. November
16.
The take-home final exam, consisting of two essays, will be distributed one week before it is due:
Monday, December 14 at 5:00.
A reminder that each 4-credit class is expected to carry a minimum of 9 hours of workload
outside of class. All work is expected on time, the day it is due, in hard copy. Late papers and
assignments will be graded down one-third of a grade per day. Please see me in advance if you are
having trouble meeting the deadlines.
Learning Goals for the Course:
1. Critically read texts and distinguish between the author’s point of view, the
theoretical and political debates in which he or she is engaging, and the evidence
presented;
2. Read BOOKS as large research projects motivated by specific questions rooted
within a theoretical framework, executed via a particular methodology that yields
certain kinds of data that are analyzed and organized conceptually;
3. Identify and analyze basic assumptions underlying contemporary debates about
families;
4. Communicate (orally and through writing) the central argument and point of view of
each author;
5. Identify and evaluate the theoretical claims, sources of evidence, and methodology
used by an author;
6. Use analytic skills to identify and assess demographic and qualitative data about
families;
7. Conduct bibliographic research using social science resources in the library and
online, and write a cogent paper based on the research; and
8. Synthesize ideas and data concerning the social structural forces shaping the contours,
dynamics, and challenges of families.
Accommodations for Disabilities:
If you are a student who needs academic accommodations because of a documented
disability you should contact me, and present your letter of accommodation, as soon as
possible. If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic
accommodations you should contact Beth Rodgers-Kay at Undergraduate Academic
Affairs (x63470, brodgers@brandeis.edu) or the appropriate person in the Graduate
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School office. Letters of accommodations should be presented at the start of the semester
to ensure provision of accommodations. Accommodations cannot be granted
retroactively.
A Note on Academic Integrity:
Academic integrity is central to the mission of educational excellence at Brandeis University.
Each student is expected to turn in work completed independently, except when assignments
specifically authorize collaborative effort. It is not acceptable to use the words or ideas of another
person – be it a world-class philosopher or your lab partner – without proper acknowledgement of
that source. This means that you must use footnotes and quotation marks to indicate the source of
any phrases, sentences, paragraphs or ideas found in published volumes, on the internet, or created
by another student. See Kate Turabian, Manual for Writers, for questions about proper citation.
You are expected to be familiar with and to follow the University’s policies on academic integrity
(see http://www.brandeis.edu/st-udentlife/sdc/ai ). Faculty may refer any suspected instances of
alleged dishonesty to the Office of Student Development and Conduct. Instances of academic
dishonesty may result in sanctions including but not limited to, failing grades being issued,
educational programs, and other consequences. If you are in doubt about the instructions for any
assignment in this course, you must ask for clarification.
Course Outline
Week 1: Introduction
Mon. August 31– Course Overview
*Garey, Anita and Karen V. Hansen, “Introduction: Analyzing Families with a Feminist
Sociological Imagination,” Families in the U.S. (Philadelphia: Temple University
Press, 1998), xv-xxiv
Wed. September 2 —Defining Families and Kinship
*Collier, Jane, Michelle Rosaldo, and Sylvia Yanagisako, “Is There a Family?
New Anthropological Views,” in Rethinking the Family: Some Feminist
Questions, edited by Barrie Thorne with Marilyn Yalom. (Boston:
Northeastern University Press, 1992), pp. 31-48
D’Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters. Xi-xx, 3-38
Week 2: “Functional” Families --Who Counts?
Mon. September 7—NO CLASS
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Wed. September 9—Family as a Practice
*Nelson, Margaret, “Single Mothers ‘Do’ Family” Journal of Marriage and Family, 68
(November 2006): 781–795.
D’Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 39-52
Thur. September 10—BRANDEIS MONDAY—Debating “Functional Families”
*Stacey, Judith, “Toward Equal Regard for Marriages and Other Imperfect Intimate
Affiliations,” Hofstra Law Review 32 (Fall 2003).
*Nelson, Margaret, “Between Family and Friendship: The Right to Care for Anna” Journal
of Family Theory and Review 3 (December 2011): 241-255.
D’Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 55-84
Recommended:
Bernstein, Mary and Verta Taylor, The Marrying Kind? Debating Same Sex Marriage
within the Lesbian and Gay Movement (University of Minnesota Press, 2013)
I. KINSHIP AND EXCHANGE
Week 3: Commodification and Kinship
Mon. September 14—NO CLASS
Wed. September 16—The Commodity Frontier
*Hochschild, Arlie, “The Commodity Frontier,” in The Commercialization of Intimate
Life (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003), pp. 30-44.
*Hochschild, Arlie, “Rent-a-Mom” So How’s the Family? chapter 9.
*Hochschild, Arlie, “The Surrogate’s Womb,” So How’s the Family? chapter 12.
Guest speaker: Gina Bastone, Reference Librarian (invited)
Week 4: Sexuality and Exchange
Mon. September 21—Sexuality, Exchange, and the Market
*Hoang, Kimberly, “Transnational Gender Vertigo” Contexts 12, no. 2 (2013): 23-26.
*Armstrong, Elizabeth, Hamilton, Laura and Paula England. "Is Hooking Up Good for
Young Women?" Contexts 9, no.3 (2010): 22-27.
*Nelson, Margaret K., “Love and Gratitude: Single Mothers Talk about Men’s
Contributions to the Second Shift,” At the Heart of Work and Family, Ch. 7.
D’Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 109-138
***Reflection Paper #1 due
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Wed. September 23—NO CLASS
Week 5: Slavery and Racial Hierarchies
Mon. September 28—NO CLASS
Tue. September 29 – Brandeis MONDAY—Black Families under Slavery
*Jones, Jacqueline, "My Mother was Much of a Woman: Slavery," Families, 677-708
D’Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 85-108, plus images following
Wed. September 30—Slavery and African American Kinship
*Sudharkasa, Niara, “Interpreting the African Heritage in Afro-American Family
Organization,” Families, 91-104
***Research Prospectus due
Week 6: Framing Race and Ethnicity
Mon. October 5—NO CLASS
Wed. October 7—Framing Race-Ethnicity in Family Studies
*Baca Zinn, Maxine, “Family, Feminism, and Race in America,” Families, 33-40
*Dill, Bonnie Thornton, "Fictive Kin, Paper Sons, Compadrazgo: Women of Color and
the Struggle for Family Survival," Families, 431-445
*Guest speaker: Professor Maxine Baca Zinn, Michigan State, emerita
II. STRUCTURES OF INEQUALITY
Week 7: The Division of Household Labor
Mon. October 12—Capitalism, the Family Wage and “Modern” families
D’Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 139-221
Hochschild, Arlie, The Second Shift, Preface, Introduction, & Chapters 1-6
Wed. October 14— Gender Strategies & the Economy of Gratitude
Hochschild, Arlie, The Second Shift, Chapters 8, 10, 12-15
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Week 8: Midterm and Marriage-Divorce
Mon. October 19—MIDTERM
***In-Class Midterm
Wed. October 21— Greedy Marriages and Divorce Culture
*Gerstel, Naomi and Natalia Sarkisian, “Marriage: The Good, The Bad, and the Greedy,
Contexts 5 (Fall 2006):16-21.
*Hackstaff, Karla, “Wives Marital Work in a Culture of Divorce,” Families, 459-473
*Stevenson, Betsey and Justin Wolfers, “Marriage and Divorce: Changes and their Driving
Forces,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 21 (Spring 2007): 27-52.
D’Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 239-274, plus images following
*Discussion of Human Subjects Review
Week 9: Mothers, Fathers & the Package Deal
Mon. October 26—Motherhood
*Garey, Anita Ilta, “Constructing Motherhood on the Night Shift: ‘Working Mothers’ as
‘Stay-at-Home-Moms,’” Qualitative Sociology, 18 (1995): 415-437.
Wed. October 28—Fathering and Fatherhood
*Hernandez, Donald, “Children’s Changing Access to Resources: A Historical
Perspective” Families in the U.S., 201-215
*Townsend, Nicholas, “Fathers and Sons: Men’s Experience and the Reproduction of
Fatherhood,” Families in the U.S., edited by Karen V. Hansen and Anita Garey
(Temple University Press, 1998), pp. 363-376
*Edin, Kathryn and Timothy Nelson, “Daddy, Baby; Momma, Maybe: Low-Income
Urban Fathers and the ‘Package Deal’ of Family Life”
Week 10: Inter-Generational Transmission of Class and Culture
Mon. November 2 –Conducing Research with Live Subjects-- Interviewing and Ethnography
Lareau, Annette, Unequal Childhoods, Chapters 1–2, Appendix A: “Methodology:
Enduring Dilemmas in Fieldwork,”
Wed. November 4 – Reproducing Class
*Film: “From 7 to 28 Up”
*Student presentations on work-in-progress
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***Research Paper Outline and Bibliography due
Week 11: Reproducing Inequality
Mon. November 9—Parenting and Class
*Rank, Mark, “As American As Apple Pie: Poverty and Welfare,” Contexts (Summer
2003): 41-49.
Lareau, Unequal Childhoods, Chapters 3-7
*Student presentations on work-in-progress
Wed. November 11—Unequal Childhoods
Lareau, Unequal Childhoods, Chapters 11, & 14: “Reflections on Longitudinal
Ethnography and the Families’ Reactions to Unequal Childhoods”; Appendix B:
“Theory: Understanding the Work of Pierre Bourdieu”
*Student presentations on work-in-progress
Week 12: Family Secrets
Mon. November 16--Family Violence and Working with Men Who Batter
*Ptacek, James, Why do Men Batter their Wives? Families, 619-633
*Straus, Murray, “Ten Myths that Perpetuate Corporal Punishment,” Families, 641-650
http://www.emergedv.com/
*Film: “The Slap”
*Guest Speaker: Ted German, EMERGE (invited)
***Reflection Paper #2 due
Wed. November 18—Teen Sexualities—Netherlands and the U.S.
Schalet, Amy, Not Under my Roof: Parents, Teens, and the Culture of Sex, 1-76 &
Methodological Appendix
D’Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 275-325
*Student presentations on work-in-progress
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III. REIMAGINING KINSHIP AND CAREGIVING
Week 13: Comparative Sexualities
Mon. November 23
Schalet, Amy, Not Under my Roof, 77-180, 203-212
***Research Papers due in class
Wed. November 25—NO CLASS -- Thanksgiving
Week 14: Reciprocity and Transnational Families
Mon. November 30—Reciprocity
*Hansen, Karen V. “The Asking Rules of Reciprocity in Networks of Care,” Qualitative
Sociology 27 no.4 (2004):421-437.
*Dreby, Joanna, Divided by Borders, Preface & Ch. 1-3
Wed. December 2-- Revisiting Transnational Caregiving, Division of Labor, and the Market
*Kibria, Nazli, “The Globalization-Family Nexus: Families as Mediating Structures of
Globalization,” At the Heart of Work and Family, Ch. 19
*Hochschild, Arlie, “Two-Way Global Traffic in Care,” &
“Children Left Behind,” So How’s the Family? Chapters 10 & 11
Week 15: Transnational Caregiving and Families of the Future
Mon. December 7— Networks, Migration, and Global Care Chains
*Lan, Pei-Chia, “Remaking Family through Subcontracting Care: Elder Care in
Taiwanese and Hong Kong Immigrant Families,” in At the Heart of Work and
Family, Ch. 15.
*Hand out final exam essay questions
Wed. December 9—Twenty-Somethings Going Forward
*Biblarz, Timothy and Judy Stacey, “Ideal Families and Social Science Ideals” Journal of
Marriage and Family, 72, no. 1 (Feb 2010): 41-44.
*Gerson, Kathleen, “Changing Lives, Resistant Institutions: A New Generation
Negotiates Gender, Work, and Family Change,” Sociological Forum 24 (2009):
735-753.
***Take Home FINAL EXAM DUE Mon. December 14 by 5:00***