Spring 2014
SOC25403: Sociology of Family
Instructor: Jen-Hao Chen
Class Time: Friday 9am-12pm
Office Hours: Thursday 1:00-3:00 pm or by appointment
Email: jenhao@nccu.edu.tw
This is a graduate-level seminar on family. This class provides a sociological perspective
and critical examination of the significance of families. The family is a key institution in
any society. Family processes intersect and overlap with many other important dynamics
of social life. Hence, people who are interested in many other fields including gender,
culture, social psychology, and social stratification find the study of the family to be
useful to them. The course is a “survey” course in the sense it seeks to provide an
overview of key issues in the field. It also seeks to situate the literature on the family in a
broader context.
Since this class is a seminar, its purpose is to explore together the ideas and themes we
are reading about. As such, I will NOT lecture the course materials (However, I will try
to provide some background of the week’s readings). The focus is critical discussion of
the readings. Each person is an important member of the seminar. For a seminar to work
well, each student MUST complete the reading before class, share his or her thoughts and
ideas with the group, help to keep the discussion on track, and monitors the flow of
conversation to help produce a discussion where everyone has a chance to speak and no
one person dominates the discussion.
The hallmark of a successful graduate student is her or his ability to synthesize
knowledge. This course is designed to give students an opportunity to hone their skills of
analysis and synthesis. Students will demonstrate their abilities to think synthetically in
class discussions and in the writing assignments for the course.
Required Books:
1. Chua, Amy. 2011. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
2. Coontz, Stephanie. 1992. The Way We Never Were: American Families and the
Nostalgia Trap. New York: Basic Books.
3. Garey, Anita I. and Karen V. Hansen. 2011. At the Heart of Work and Family:
Engaging the Ideas of Arlie Hochschild. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University
Press.
4. Hays, Sharon. 1996. The Cultural Contradiction of Motherhood. New Haven, CY:
Yale University Press.
5. Klinenberg, Eric. 2013. Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of
Living Alone. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
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6. Lareau, Annette. 2012. Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life. Berkeley,
California: University of California Press. Second Edition.
7. Rosenfeld, Michael J. 2007. The Age of Independence: Interracial Unions, Same-Sex
Unions, and Changing American Family. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
8. Stacey, Judith. 2011. Unhitched: Love, Marriage, and Family Values from West
Hollywood to Western China. New York: NYU Press.
Course Requirements:
1. Class Participation (10%): I expect all students actively contribute to the
discussion of reading materials. Make sure you come to the class well-prepared.
As a graduate student, you must be an active learner in the classroom. Simply
attending the class is inadequate. Please be aware that you will be called on
randomly to demonstrate your familiarity with the course materials and to share
your insights.
2. Weekly Reaction Paper (70%): Each week (except the first week and last week),
you are required to write a short (2-3 pages, single-spaced, stapled with page
numbers) paper. Your paper should first summarize the key point(s) of the
readings. The rest of the reaction paper should contain your criticism and thoughts,
either theoretically, substantively, or methodologically, of the readings. I accept
Chinese or English reaction paper. However, if you do choose to write in
English, please carefully proofread your paper before you turn it in. Your grade
will be seriously penalized if I cannot read your paper and/or understand your
arguments. Please drop your paper into my mailbox in the Department of
Sociology’s Office before Thursday 4pm. I only accept hardcopy paper. Do not
email your paper to me. Also, I do not accept late paper except in the case of
documented emergency or illness. Late paper will result in zero point.
Throughout the semester, you will write 14 reaction papers. Each paper is worth 5
points.
3. Class Leader (20%): Throughout the semester, each student is responsible for
leading two class sessions. To be a successful class leader, I suggest students to
structure their session in the following format. First, you can start from
summarizing the week’s readings which may include:
a. The research question or phenomenon that the author(s) seek to explain
b. Why the question/phenomenon is critical?
c. What theory and data do the author(s) mobilize to answer the question or
understand the phenomenon?
d. What are the author(s)’ arguments and findings?
e. Does the evidence support the argument(s)?
f. What are the contributions and limitations?
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Second, you will also help to facilitate the discussion by posing your questions to
the group and helping to keep the discussion on track. You can think of your role
here as helping to move along the conversation so that it stays focused on the key
issues, is not derailed, provides a comprehensive discussion of the main issues,
and connects with discussions we have had in previous weeks. You will simply
ask questions for discussion. You might summarize what others say and raise a
tension or conflict that has surfaced in the discussion.
Class Schedules
Week 1: Introduction
Week 2: The Myths of Traditional Family from Historical Perspective
Coontz, Stephanie. 1992. The Way We Never Were: American Families and the
Nostalgia Trap. New York: Basic Books. Chapter 1-6
Week 3: The Myths of Traditional Family from Historical Perspective
Coontz, Stephanie. 1992. The Way We Never Were: American Families and the
Nostalgia Trap. New York: Basic Books. Chapter 7-11, Epilogue
Week 4: Marriage and Union Formation
Rosenfeld, Michael J. 2007. The Age of Independence: Interracial Unions, Same-Sex
Unions, and Changing American Family. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Chapter 1-4
Stevenson, Betsey and Justin Wolfers. 2007. “Marriage and Divorce: Changes and their
Driving Forces.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 21 (Spring): 27-52
Week 5: Marriage and Union Formation
Rosenfeld, Michael J. 2007. The Age of Independence: Interracial Unions, Same-Sex
Unions, and Changing American Family. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Chapter 5-9
Week 6: Work and Family
Garey, Anita I. and Karen V. Hansen. 2011. At the Heart of Work and Family:
Engaging the Ideas of Arlie Hochschild. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University
Press. Introduction & Part I
Week 7: Work and Family
Garey, Anita I. and Karen V. Hansen. 2011. At the Heart of Work and Family:
Engaging the Ideas of Arlie Hochschild. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University
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Spring 2014
Press. Part II & Part III
Week 8: Parenthood
Hays, Sharon. 1996. The Cultural Contradiction of Motherhood. New Haven, CY:
Yale University Press. Chapter 1-5
Week 9: Parenthood
Hays, Sharon. 1996. The Cultural Contradiction of Motherhood. New Haven, CY:
Yale University Press. 6-7, Appendices
Chua, Amy. 2011. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
Week 10: Families and Reproduction of Inequalities
Lareau, Annette. 2012. Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life. Berkeley,
California: University of California Press. Second Edition. Chapter 1-7
Week 11: Families and Reproduction of Inequalities
Lareau, Annette. 2012. Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life. Berkeley,
California: University of California Press. Second Edition. Chapter 8-15, Appendices
Week 12: Family Diversity
Stacey, Judith. 2011. Unhitched: Love, Marriage, and Family Values from West
Hollywood to Western China. New York: NYU Press. Introduction, Chapter 1-3
Week 13: Family Diversity
Stacey, Judith. 2011. Unhitched: Love, Marriage, and Family Values from West
Hollywood to Western China. New York: NYU Press. Chapter 4-5, Conclusion,
Appendix
Week 14: Living Alone
Klinenberg, Eric. 2013. Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of
Living Alone. New York, NY: Penguin Books. Introduction, Chapter 1-4
Week 15: Living Alone
Klinenberg, Eric. 2013. Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of
Living Alone. New York, NY: Penguin Books. Introduction, Chapter 5-7, Conclusion,
Appendix
Week 16: Epilogue
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