The purpose of this assignment is to reflect on how historical changes and social processes have affected your own experiences with the family. This is an opportunity for you to apply the concepts from this course to your life, and to reflect on how other social institutions or inequalities intersected with the family in ways that had a meaningful impact on you.
ASSIGNMENT
This paper should demonstrate an understanding of key concepts related to the sociological study of the family, and substantively engage with the literature that we have reviewed in class.
Describe your family structure and any transitions in family structure that occurred over time (20 points). In your description:
Include the age at marriage for any married adults
Include the age at birth for any parents
Include the number of children and their birth order
Include the ages of family members during any transitions (divorce, death, cohabitation, remarriage)
Describe adults’ relationships to the paid labor force, any changes over time in their paid and unpaid work, and when those changes occurred (10 points). In your description:
Include the ages of family members at the time of any changes.
Connect paid employment and changes in employment status to transitions in family structure
Using readings and other materials from the course, analyze the reasons for any transitions that occurred or the reasons for stability in 1 and 2 (150 points). In the process of writing this analysis, you should think of your family as your case and:
Engage with topics from at least 3 modules from the course (50 points each). You should, at a minimum, discuss the course readings, although you may include additional references from other weeks or outside readings when relevant.
Consider the forms of social inequality (gender, race, class, or sexual orientation) that played a role in shaping your family and its trajectory over time.
Make clear connections between the course materials (readings, films, and lectures) and events in your family history. These connections should demonstrate an understanding of sociological thinking about, for example, the historical development of the family; the family and the economy; gender and families; marriage, divorce, and remarriage; parenthood; childhood; and/or paid and unpaid work.
Link the concepts, trends, and theories presented by the authors to your own life, identifying how your experiences with the family align with, or diverge from, what the course readings discussed. You may choose to discuss experiences with your nuclear or extended family, or compare your own experiences to that of your parents or grandparents – whatever is of interest to you. Papers may consider questions including, but not limited to:
Did you grow up in, or currently reside in, a dual-earner or single-breadwinner household? What does the literature say about these different family structures, their historical basis, and the divisions of labor within them? How does this compare with your own experiences?
How did economic circumstances and cultural values influence your family relationships and your family’s division of paid and unpaid labor?
What do the authors have to say about the way class shapes behaviors and experiences within the family? Does what they describe align with, or differ from, your own class and family background?
Length and Formatting Requirements
The paper should be 1500 – 2500 words in length, double-spaced (approximately 5-6 pages), and submitted as a Word document or PDF file. Include your name and word count at the top of the document.
You should include in-text citations when referencing the readings or including direct quotations, and all cited work should be listed in a References page at the end of the paper. In-text and full references should be in ASA, APA, or MLA style.
