Family, Self, and Society Toward A New Agenda for Family Research [Paperback]

Any agenda for family research in the 1990s must take seriously a contextual approach to the study of family relationships. The editors and contributors to this volume believe that the richness in family studies over the next decade will come from considering the diversity of family forms -- different ethnic groups and cultures, different stages of family life, as well as different historical cohorts. Their goal is to make more explicit how we think about families in order to study them and understand them. To illustrate the need for diversity in family studies, examples are presented from new and old families, majority and minority families, American and Japanese families, and intact and divorcing families. This variety is intended to push the limits of current thinking, not only for researchers but also for all who are struggling to live with and work with families in a time when family life is valued but fragmented and relatively unsupported by society's institutions. Students and researchers interested in family development from the viewpoint of any of the social sciences will find this book of value.
Contents: Part I:Rethinking Our Conceptual Models.E. Aerts,Bringing the Institution Back In. A. Skolnick,Changes of Heart: Family Dynamics in Historical Perspective. D.A. Hansen,The Child in Family and School: Agency and the Workings of Time. L.M. Burton, C.B. Stack,Conscripting Kin: Reflections on Family, Generation, and Culture. G.A. De Vos,A Cross-Cultural Perspective: The Japanese Family as a Unit in Moral Socialization. P.S. Fass,Perspectives on Family Theory: Families in History and Beyond. A. Lawson,Perspectives on Family Theory: New Myths From Old. Part II:Rethinking Research on Nuclear Families.P.A. Cowan, C.P. Cowan, P.K. Kerig,Mothers, Fathers, Sons, and Daughters: Gender Differences in Family Fl#u