Katie Hasson
Email: khasson@usc.edu
Office Location: HSH 318
Office Hours: Tuesdays 4-6 (and by appt)
Megan Carroll
Email: megan.carroll@usc.edu
Office Location: HSH 220
Office Hours: Thursdays 2-4pm
Reinventing the Family: Beyond the New Normal
T/Th 11:00AM -12:30 PM
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This class will provide students with an in-depth understanding of the variety and lived
realities of contemporary families, with an emphasis on LGBT family experiences. Students
will critically examine normative notions of family across axes of gender, race, class,
marital status, kinship ties, and age, paying particular attention to how LGBT families
challenge these norms. Throughout the course, we will address the challenges of
conducting empirical research on contemporary families as we examine recent
controversies surrounding family research. Students will put this knowledge into practice
as they design and implement their own small research projects in conversation with
recent literature. By the end of this course, students will be able to: understand the
historical background and contemporary context of changing family forms and norms;
assess the strengths and weaknesses of empirical research on families; design and conduct
original research on families; and analyze how empirical research influences dominant
family norms through the media and politics.
READINGS
The readings for this course will be made available online through the course blackboard
page. It is your responsibility to download and read the assigned readings each week.
Unless otherwise noted, the readings are due every Tuesday before coming to lecture.
Instructors reserve the right to adjust the reading assignments with at least 1 week
advanced notice. Pop quizzes from the readings may be given at any time.
POLICIES
Respect. To maintain an environment where everyone feels comfortable participating, it’s
extremely important to maintain respect for each other at all times. Offensive, derogatory,
or simply inconsiderate behavior will NOT be tolerated. Remember: learning to disagree
with others respectfully is one of the most important skills you can learn throughout your
college experience! In order to ensure respectful discussions, we will establish discussion
ground rules during the first class.
Electronics. You may use a laptop or iPad to take notes during lectures. We strongly
recommend disconnecting your internet access during lectures to limit distractions for
yourself and those sitting behind you. As always, please turn off your cell phone before
coming to class.
Plagiarism. Any material suspected of plagiarism will be reported to the Office of Student
Judicial Affairs and Community Standards. The standard consequence for plagiarism is an
automatic “F” in the course (assuming first offense). USC has provided a very helpful guide
to recognizing and avoiding plagiarism. Please familiarize yourself with this guide and ask
us if you have any questions. The guide can be found here: http://www.usc.edu/studentaffairs/SJACS/forms/tig.pdf
Disabilities. Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is
required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of
verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the
letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and
is open 8:30-5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. The phone for DSP is (213) 740-0776.
Extensions. Extensions for papers or tests will be given only in extreme circumstances. Only
students who can provide documentation from a licensed health professional will be
granted extensions or allowed to reschedule examinations. Other emergencies will be
considered only if accompanied by a letter of support from campus student services. If you
need to reschedule an exam for religious reasons, this must be discussed with the
instructor in advance.
EMAIL AND FACEBOOK
We will use email to send important announcements, so please ensure that your USC inbox
is not full and to check your email multiple times a day. You are responsible for any
information sent out via email! You may also send your instructors questions over email,
but please keep in mind that we need up to 24 hours to respond. Note: Your instructors will
not respond to emails that can be answered by reading the syllabus.
There is an optional Facebook group associated with this class: “SOCI 499: Reinventing the
Family Beyond the New Normal.” It is there for you to post articles, media, or comments
relevant to the course material. You can also use it anytime to ask your classmates a
question or keep a discussion going. Your instructors may also use the group to post
additional, recommended material. Please adhere to the same classroom guidelines of
respect and consideration when using the facebook group.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
Participation and Attendance - Lecture and Section (15%)
This is your course; you will get out of it as much as you put into it. Steady, thoughtful
participation is absolutely necessary, not only for your own grade, but for the experiences
of yourself and your classmates. Good participation requires that you attend class, do the
readings before coming to class, and control your use of electronics during class. You will
be given 2 free absences, and your participation grade will drop by a letter grade for each
additional absence.
Essay (20%) and Final Empirical Paper (25%)
As you broaden your knowledge of LGBT Families, you will also be expected to apply your
methodological skills to this challenging field. This series of assignments is designed to give
you practice engaging in empirical work and creating a dialogue between theory, data, and
media relevant to LGBT Families.

Essay: Film Analysis
o Mini-Essay Due THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19th (5%).
o Full Essay Due THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17 (15%)
● This assignment will challenge your ability to interpret academic
literature, construct a thematic argument, and connect media to
theoretical frameworks from class.
● The full assignment will be preceded by a mini-essay, which will draw
from a short (30 min) film and connect to 1 reading from class.
● For the full assignment, you will choose 1 feature-length film or
documentary from a provided list and construct a thematic dialogue
between the film and 3-5 readings from class.
● Full instructions will be distributed later in the semester.
●
Final Empirical Paper: Interview and Literature Review
○ Interview Questions Due TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 AND 12 (5%)
○ Full Essay Due TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17TH (20%)
● This assignment will allow you to practice qualitative empirical
methods and create a dialogue between your original data and
readings from the class.
● Your interview questions will be submitted in advance and
workshopped with your peers and/or instructors.
● For the full assignment, you will interview 1 to 3 people about their
experiences and/or attitudes related to LGBT families. You will then
integrate data from your interview(s) into a review of 3-5 readings
from the course.
● Full instructions will be distributed later in the semester.
Exams (20% each)
Exams will be held in class on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3rd and THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21st.
Each exam will include vocabulary terms, short answer, and essay questions, drawing from
the readings and lecture. An “A” exam will demonstrate exceptional critical thinking skills
and mastery of the course concepts.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week 1 (August 27th and August 29th): Introductions. What is Sociology?
Readings:
None.
**Take SURVEY online by AUGUST 29th**
Week 2 (September 3rd and September 5th): Understanding Gender and Sexual
Orientation
Readings:
Fausto-Sterling, Anne. 2000. “Dueling Dualisms.” Pp. 1-29 in Sexing the Body: Gender
Politics and the Construction of Sexuality. New York: Basic Books.
Teich, Nicholas M. 2012. “Sexual Orientation Versus Gender: What’s the Difference?” Pp.
14-28 in Transgender 101: A Simple Guide to a Complex Issue. New York:
Columbia University Press.
Mallon, Gerald P. 2004. “Gender Politics and Gay Male Parenthood” Pp. 131-147 in Gay
Men Choosing Parenthood. New York: Columbia University Press.
Week 3: (September 10th and September 12th): Gender Socialization and LGBT Families
Readings:
Thorne, Barrie. 1993. “Children and Gender.” Pp. 1-7 in Gender Play: Girls and Boys in
School. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Kane, Emily W. 2006. “’No Way My Boys Are Going to be like That!’ Parents’ Responses
to Children’s Gender Nonconformity.” Gender and Society 20(2): 149-176.
Stacey, Judith and Timothy J. Biblarz. 2001. “(How) Does the Sexual Orientation of
Parents Matter?” American Sociological Review 66: 159-183.
Week 4 (September 17th and September 19th): “The Family” and Social Change
Readings:
Stacey, Judith. 1993. “Good Riddance to ‘The Family’: A Response to David Popenoe.”
Journal of Marriage and Family 55(3): 545-547.
Powell, Brian, Bozendahl, Catherine, Geist, Claudia, and Lala Carr Steelman. 2010. “Who
Counts as a Family?” Pp. 16-36 in Counted Out: Same-Sex Relations and
Americans’ Definitions of Family. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Pfeffer, Carla. 2012. “Normative Resistance and Inventive Pragmatism: Negotiating
Structure and Agency in Transgender Families.” Gender & Society,26(4), 574-602.
**Mini Essay DUE Thursday September 19th**
Week 5 (September 24th and September 26th): Rethinking Marriage
Readings:
Avishai, Orit, Heath, Melanie, and Jennifer Randles. 2012. “Marriage Goes to School.”
Contexts 11(3): 34-39.
Edin, Kathryn. 2000. “Few Good Men: Why Poor Mothers Don’t Marry or Remarry.” The
American Prospect: 26-31.
Chauncey, George. 2004. “How Marriage Changed.” Pp. 59-86 in Why Marriage? The
History Shaping Today’s Debate Over Gay Equality. New York: Basic Books.
Polikoff, Nancy. 2008. “Valuing All Families.” Pp. 123-145 in Beyond (Straight and Gay)
Marriage: Valuing All Families Under the Law. Beacon Press.
Week 6 (October 1st and October 3rd): Review and Midterm
**EXAM 1: Thursday October 3rd (in class)**
Week 7 (October 8th and October 10th): Creative Kinship
Readings:
Weston, Kath. 1997. “Exiles from Kinship.” Pp. 21-41 in Families We Choose: Lesbians,
Gays, Kinship. New York: Columbia University Press.
Briggs, Laura. 2012. “Gay and Lesbian Adoption in the United States.” Pp. 241-268 in
Somebody’s Children: The Politics of Transnational and Transracial Adoption.
Duke University Press.
Wald, Deborah H. 2007. “The Parentage Puzzle: The Interplay between Genetics,
Procreative Intent, and Parental Conduct in Determining Legal Parentage.”
Journal of Gender, Social Policy, & Law 15(3): 379-411.
Week 8 (October 15th and October 17th): Kinship and Family Formation
Readings:
Mamo, Laura. 2007. “From Whence It Came.” Pp. 23-57 in Queering Reproduction:
Achieving Pregnancy in the Age of Technoscience. Duke University Press.
Goldberg, Abbie. 2012. “Decisions, Decisions: Gay Men Turn Toward Parenthood.” Pp.
25-61 in Gay Dads: Transitions to Adoptive Fatherhood. New York University
Press.
Boggis, Terry. 2001. “Affording Our Families: Class Issues in Family Formation.” Pp.
175-181 in Queer Families, Queer Politics: Challenging Culture and the State by
Mary Bernstein and Renate Reimann (Eds.). New York: Columbia University
Press.
**Essay #1 DUE Thursday October 17th**
Week 9 (October 22nd and October 24th): Class and Race in LGBT Families
Readings:
Smith, Dorothy. 1993. “The Standard North American Family: SNAF as an Ideological
Code.” Journal of Family Issues 14:1: 50-65.
Moore, M. 2011. “Two Sides of the Same Coin: Revising Analyses of Lesbian Sexuality
and Family Formation through the Study of Black Women.” Pp. 1-20 in Invisible
Families: Gay Identities, Relationships, and Motherhood Among Black Women.
University of California Press.
Gates, G. J. 2011. “Family Formation and Raising Children Among Same-sex Couples.”
NCFR Report: Family Focus FF51: F1–F4.
Week 10 (October 29th and October 31st): Empirical Challenges in LGBT Family Studies
Readings:
Moore, M. 2011. “A Roadmap for the Study of Marginalized and Invisible Populations.”
Pp. 223-238 in Invisible Families: Gay Identities, Relationships, and Motherhood
Among Black Women. University of California Press.
Meadow, Tey. 2013. “Queer Numbers: Social Science as Cultural Heterosexism.” Social
(In)Queery [Blog]: http://socialinqueery.com/2013/08/14/queer-numberssocial-science-as-cultural-heterosexism.
Williams Institute. 2009. “Best Practices for Asking Questions about Sexual Orientation
on Surveys.” (http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wpcontent/uploads/SMART-FINAL-Nov-2009.pdf)
Week 11 (November 5th and November 7th): Interview Question Workshops (Tuesday)
and Sexual Fluidity (Thursday)
Readings:
Diamond, Lisa. 2008. “Implications of Female Sexual Fluidity.” Pp. 235-259 in Sexual
Fluidity: Understanding Women’s Love and Desire. Harvard University Press.
Gamson, Joshua. 1995. “Must Identity Movements Self-Destruct? A Queer Dilemma.”
Social Problems 42(3): 390-407.
**Draft Interview Questions DUE Tuesday November 5th**
**REVISED Interview Questions DUE Tuesday November 12th**
Week 12 (November 12th and November 14th): Youth, Elders, and The Life Course
Readings:
Savin-Williams, R C. 2001. “A critique of research on sexual-minority youths.” Journal of
Adolescence 24(1):5-13.
Fields, Jessica. 2001. “Normal Queers: Straight Parents Respond to Their Children’s
‘Coming Out’.” Symbolic Interaction 24(2):165–187
Goltz, Dustin. 2009. “Investigating Queer Future Meanings: Destructive Perceptions of
‘The Harder Path’”. Qualitative Inquiry 15: 561-586.
Rosenfeld, Dana. 1999. “Identity Work Among Lesbian and Gay Elderly.” Journal of
Aging Studies 13(2): 121-144.
Week 13 (November 19th and November 21st): Review and Midterm #2
Readings:
None.
**EXAM 2: Thursday November 21st (in class)**
Week 14 (November 26th and November 28th): Holiday Week
Readings:
None.
**Thanksgiving - November 28th - No Class**
Week 15 (December 6th): Spill Over. Conclusion. Peer Review.
Readings:
None.
**FINAL PAPER DUE: Tuesday December 17th, 10:00AM**