SOC 220:  MARRIAGES AND FAMILIES

 

 

Instructor:  Eva Brown (evabrown@adams.edu)

 

 

Office Hours:   MW 11:00am -12:00noon

                          TTh    9:30am -10:30am

                          Tues.  5:00pm -  6:00pm

 

 

Phone:  587-8129 (personal office); Room 314 ES Building

              587-7771 (main office of Sociology); Room 329 ES Building

 

 

Required Text:

 

Marriages and Families: Diversity and Change (4th ed.). Mary Ann Schwartz and BarBara Marliene Scott, 2003. New Jersey:  Prentice-Hall

 

 


Course Description:

 

This course analyzes the changing patterns of family life and gender roles in contemporary society, the social sources of these changes, and their societal and individual consequences.  The implications of these events on each student’s family are examined.

 

 

 

Course Statement:

 

This major institution is considered from sociological, historical, and global perspectives.  Emphasis is on diversity and change.  Specifically, this course examines the issues of family organization, marriage, intimate relationships, sexuality, and child rearing.

 

Ultimately, the focus is on using critical thinking skills in the analysis of the family in its various forms across the United States and globally.  Particular attention is given to the relationship between larger social forces and family, with emphasis on the link between family and other major social institutions.

 

  

 

Course Objectives:

 

  1. Distinguish a broad range of marriage and family types

  1. Describe the impact of gender and gender inequities on the family
  1. Describe marriage and family through major theoretical perspectives

  1. Explain the current patterns of family formation and dissolution
  1. Compare and contrast traditional and nontraditional and/or alternative family forms and structures

  1. Discuss the ways in which the institution of family is impacted by other social institutions (work, school, government, media, etc.)

  1. Develop the ability to write sociologically about marriage, family, and relationships 


 

Attendance:

 

It is my expectation that you will have regular attendance, be on time, and be prepared for class.  Your attendance is a vital factor in class discussion and provides a fundamental means of integrating and organizing the material presented in text, lecture, and through other sources.

 

 

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have signed the roll for the day.  Do not interrupt class to do so.  Arrange to sign the roll immediately following the class for which you arrived late.

 

 

Information missed may have direct consequences on your grade.  It is your responsibility to obtain any information missed as the result of an absence.  It is impossible for me to give you a personal lecture on the material missed.  Find a colleague who can help you in this area.

 

 

Regardless of where I am in lecture, you should proceed in your reading according to the course calendar unless notified otherwise by me.  Thus, missing a class may cause you to miss reading assignment changes and other modifications in course requirements.

 

 

If you require course adaptations or accommodations because of a documented disability, if you have emergency information to share with me, or if you need particular arrangements in the case of the building being evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible.  My office location and hours are listed on the first page of this syllabus.

 

 

Cell phones, beepers going off, and text messaging in class are rude and inconsiderate, so make certain that all such items are cut off before class begins.

 

  

You must have an Adams State e-mail account and check it regularly.  Throughout the semester I will be contacting the class about various issues such as exam content, course readings, class discussions, syllabus changes, homework assignments, and possibly an extra credit assignment.  It is your responsibility to check your e-mail in order for you to receive necessary information.  As with class lecture, you are responsible for this information.

 

 

 

Examinations:

 

There are three (3) exams graded on a 100 point scale.  The format for the exams is multiple choice and short answer essays.  Material on the exams includes information from lecture, class discussion, texts, handouts, and any other sources brought to the class.  See the grading scale below for the number of points that constitute an A, B, C, etc.

 

 

ALL MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN ON THE LAST DAY OF CLASSES!!!

Unless otherwise stated during the semester.

 

(See course calendar for the exact date of the make-up exams.)

 

 

 

Research Paper:

 

You are required to write a research paper on an issue related to marriage and family.  This will be a 4 page paper on a topic that must be approved by me.  I suggest you begin perusing the text now in order to find a topic of interest to you.  You will receive a handout on the format, content, and procedural requirements for the paper.  This assignment is worth 100 points.

 

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:

 

If you plagiarize someone’s work (i.e., turn in the same paper that someone else turned in, if you quote sentences from another source without using quotations and citing the source, or if you turn in a paper that is not your individual, independent work for this specific class), you will receive an automatic ZERO for that portion of the grade.  If you do it again, you will receive an F for the course.  In addition, any assignment completed for this course should be independent and a unique paper just for this class.  You cannot turn in work that is or has been completed for another class or that is part of another class’s assignment.

 

 


Extra Credit:

 

In the event the class as a whole does poorly on an exam, I will offer the opportunity for a written extra credit assignment.  There is no guarantee that extra credit will be assigned, it depends on the class performance on exams.  Any extra credit offered will be assigned on the day that I return the graded exam.  You will have until the start of lecture on the day of the next class period to complete the extra credit.  Thus, if you miss an exam, you miss that extra credit opportunity.  And if you miss the day in which I hand back the graded exams, you will miss the extra credit that I assign.

 

As mentioned above in the section on attendance, you are responsible for material missed.  It is your responsibility to find out if there is extra credit and to obtain the requirements for the extra credit.  And be certain to consult a colleague who has accurate information, whether for class notes or the extra credit assignment.

 

An extra credit assignment is late if it is turned in after I have begun lecturing in the class on the day it is due.  I will not accept late extra credit assignments.

NO EXCEPTIONS!!!

 

 

If extra credit is offered, the format for the assignment(s) will be as follows:

 

-         typed

-         double-spaced

-         1 inch margins

-         12 point font

-         Times New Roman font (as in this syllabus!)

-         no cover page

-         no binders or folders, just staple in the top left corner

-         NO NAMES; student number or SSN should in the top right corner of the first page

 

Any other specific requirements of the extra credit will be discussed in class on the day it is assigned.

Grading Scale:

 

A = 360 – 400                                     Exam #1 = 100 points

B = 320 – 359                                     Exam #2 = 100 points

C = 280 – 319                                     Exam #3 = 100 points

D = 240 – 279                                     Paper      = 100 points

F = Below 240                                     Total       = 400 points

 

Anything below a C on any exam or assignment, you should come see me!!!

 

 

 

Course Calendar:

 

Jan.  10  Introduction to the course

              Chapter 1: Marriages and Families Over Time

 

Jan.  12  Chapter 1 (cont.)

              Defining marriage and family

              Is marriage and family declining or in transition?

 

Jan.  17  Chapter 2: Ways of Studying and Explaining Marriages and Families

 

Jan.  19  Chapter 2 (cont.)

 

Jan.  24  Chapter 3: Understanding Gender – Its Influence in Intimate Relationships

 

Jan.  26  Chapter 3 (cont.)

 

Jan.  31  Chapter 4: The Many Faces of Love

 

Feb.   2  Chapter 4 (cont.)

              How is love culturally defined and constructed?

 

Feb.   7  Chapter 5: Dating, Courtship, and Mate Selection

 

Feb.   9  Chapter 5 (cont.)

              Theories on dating and mate selection

 

Feb.  14  EXAM #1

 

Feb.  16  SNOW DAY – NO CLASS!!!

 

Feb.  21  Chapter 6: Sexuality and Intimate Relationships

 

 

Feb.  23  Chapter 6 (cont.)

               Role of sexuality in intimate relationships

 

Feb.  28  Chapter 7: Nonmarital Lifestyles

               An examination of nonmarital lifestyles

 

Mar.   2  LIBRARY SESSION!!!  Meet me there at 8:00 sharp!

 

Mar.   7  Chapter 8: The Marriage Experience

 

Mar.   9  Chapter 8 (cont.)

               Analyzing the marriage experiences and marital arrangements

 

Mar.  14

                SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS!!!

Mar.  16

 

Mar.  21  Chapter 9: Reproduction and Parenting

 

Mar.  23  Chapter 9 (cont.)

 

Mar.  28  Chapter 10: Evolving Work and Family Structures

 

Mar.  30  EXAM #2

 

Apr.    4  Chapter 11: Violence and Abuse

 

Apr.    6  RESEARCH PAPER DUE!!!  Must be turned in by the time I begin lecture

               or it is late and you are automatically considered to be turning it in one

               day late.

               Chapter 12: The Process of Uncoupling – Divorce in the United States

 

Apr.  11  Chapter 12 (cont.)

               Examining divorce in families

 

Apr.  13  Chapter 13: Remarriage and Remarried Families

 

Apr.  18  Chapter 13 (cont.)

               Describing remarriage and reconstituted families

 

Apr.  20  Chapter 14: Marriages and Families in Later Life

 

Apr.  25  Chapter 14 (cont.)

  

Apr.  27  Chapter 15: Marriages and Families in the 21st Century

               Make-up Exams!

 

May    3  EXAM #3 (Final Exam) 10:00am-11:50am

 

 

Note:  This syllabus is “tentative” and “subject to change” in order to meet the needs of specific situations that might arise in the course of the semester.