SCY3070

Sociology of the family

(ART)

Ulla Svensson

8 points + 2 hours per week + First semester + Clayton + Second semester + Caulfield

Synopsis: How social, political and economic forces structure private domestic life. Topics include the politicisation of the family and family reform movements; a comparison of family forms and family policies in capitalist and socialist societies; family forms and personality construction; the social construction of parenthood and childhood; the family as a site of gender struggles. The aim is to critically assess different theoretical explanations within the Marxist, feminist, functionalist and psychoanalytic perspectives.

Assessment: Essay (2500 words): 45% + Seminar presentation (equivalent to 1000 words): 10% + Seminar paper (2500 words): 45%