This book considers the ways that family relationships (parental, marital, sibling or other) mimic, and stand in for, political ones in the Early Modern period, and vice versa. Bringing together leading international scholars in literary-historical fields to produce scholarship informed by the perspective of contemporary politics, the volume examines the ways in which the family defines itself in transformative moments of potential crisis - birth and death, maturation, marriage - moments when the family is negotiating its position within and through broader cultural frameworks, and when, as a result, family 'politics' become most apparent.

The rising visibility of interracial couples calls for increased attention to the overlapping of culture and race, in safe spaces centered on small-group dynamics, or in public spaces where peoples of African descent are under the public gaze. This comparative study seeks to de-center the U.S-centered viewpoint common to much of the literature on black/white relations. Based on nine years of fieldwork in the American South and in France, Coquet shows many unexpected parallels between the two societies. Gendered perceptions of cultural authenticity and sexual ethics are a guiding thread, being inseparable from the historical and political contingencies (re-)defining acceptable forms of dating, marrying, and parenting among cis-heterosexual couples in both societies. Her account emphasizes resilience and agency as couples seek to protect themselves and their children, while their extended or symbolic kinship networks help white partners acknowledge the existence of racial privilege.

First published in 1969, Studies in British Society contains excerpts from seven major studies of modern British society - studies that demonstrate the special techniques used by sociologists in researching various aspects of social behaviour. The selections reflect the full spectrum of life in modern Britain. Included are the studies of the impact of new industry on the structure of an old English town; management-labour relations in the coal industry; the nature of a minor religious sect; democratic participation in a retail cooperative society; life in an English prison; class factors in education; and child-rearing practices in an urban community. This book will introduce the reader to some of the major work of modern British sociologists, and also help him to gain greater insights into the nature of life in Britain.

First published in 1972, Motherless Families shows how, with the slow disappearance of the extended family and the support that it could offer in such situations, society has found itself responsible for lone-parent families. The authors cover the situation of about six hundred families in the East Midlands where the father was caring for his children on his own. They examine the father's feelings about his new circumstances, the problems he faces and how he copes with them. They look at the ways in which the social services, the modified extended family and the immediate community react to the father's position. They also consider the children's adaptation to the motherless situation and their new relationships with the father or a mother substitute. In the final chapter the authors examine the ways in which social class and social values affect the definitions of social problems and the formulation of social policy. Both administrators and practitioners in the social services, as well as students of related subjects, will welcome the research contained in this book, and will find the authors' conclusions of particular help in their approach to the problems of all types of one-parent families.

This book takes a life course perspective, analysing and comparing the biographies of mothers and fathers in seven European countries in context. Based on an innovative, cross-national EU study, it examines the ways in which working parents negotiate the transition to parenthood and attempt to find a 'work-life balance'. Using in-depth qualitative biographical data, the book offers a deep understanding of working parents' real lives by locating them within diverse national, workplace and family contexts. It provides rich insights into how policies and practices at the institutional level play out in individual and family lives, how they shape the decisions during both transition phases and in parents' daily experiences of juggling work and family life. It highlights some difficult and complex issues about the sustainability of contemporary working practices for bringing up children that are highly relevant in times of economic retrenchment. 'Transitions to parenthood in Europe' will be of interest to an academic readership at all levels of the social sciences, as well as employers, managers, trade unions and policy makers.

Originally published in 1953, this study examines the effect of social change on African domestic organization and marriage. Changes to African social organization due to increased contact with the West are analyzed and accounts given as to how these changes were handled by various administrations and missionaries. The volume is contributed to by lawyers, missionaries, anthropologists and sociologists from Africa, Europe and the USA.

The volumes in this series illustrate how social organization and private, emotional experience are different phases of the social process. They show the steps by which emotional experience is shaped by social structural, macro-level processes and how these processes are changed by experience.

Originally published in 1958, this book discusses how marriage and Fulbe family life, the economy and the whole organization of society is centred on cattle; how the welfare of the herd and its increase, the balance betweent he size of the herd and the size of the family are major preoccupations in the life of a Fulani herd-owner.

In the 1950s heated views were sometimes expressed about the alleged social results of married women going out to work. Originally published in 1962 Married Women Working attempts to examine the question objectively. It is based on two studies undertaken over a period of nearly five years in a solidly working-class London district – one, a detailed study in the factory of a well-known firm of biscuit makers (Peek Freans) relying mainly on married women workers; the other, a more general one, in the surrounding borough as a whole. How effective was the married woman as an employee? How did the firm cope with their new type of labour and with what results? What was the effect on the woman herself, and on her family, of her attempt to fill the dual role of home-maker and paid worker? These are some of the questions examined in this book, which also gives a very fascinating picture of how people lived at the time, against the background of earlier generations.

Originally published in 1971, Homes in High Flats was written at a time when multi-storey flats were a popular solution to the world-wide need for mass housing because they could be produced with speed. However, the social implications of domestic housing in high flats were causing local authorities in Western Europe to reconsider their efficiency. Original research into this question forms the basis of this book which concentrates on Glasgow but gives attention to other examples both in Britain and abroad. The text attempts to encompass all the social and practical aspects of life in high flats by studying tenants’ views on the physical character of the flats and estates, and by examining the success of tenants’ associations and extra-mural classes designed to develop community life. Practical problems are dealt with in chapters on facilities and services, families, children, the elderly and the case for investment in staff. The authors also compare multi-storey flats with other types of household and discuss the reasons for tenants’ movement out of the estate. Perhaps the most eloquent social comment on the shortcomings of high flat life is expressed in the lyrics of the Jeely Piece Song which is included in the Appendix.

This interdisciplinary book provides a sociological view of the contemporary experiences of children in Southern Europe. Focusing on regions deeply affected by the 2008 economic crisis, it offers a detailed investigation into the impact of economic downturn and austerity on the lives of children. Established childhood studies and sociology researchers unpack recent changes in the quality of children's lives and our understanding of children's rights in the modern world. Focusing first on contemporary changes to children's forms of living, the book then turns to the prevalence of poverty in Southern Europe, before scrutinising the experiences of migrant and highly mobile children. Illustrating these experiences with key case studies from across Southern Europe, this book presents a powerful critique of the promises and pitfalls of structural changes to children-centred public policy. This informative book is essential reading for academics and higher-level students of childhood studies. Policy makers and practitioners in education, law, health, social services and children's rights organizations in need of strong, empirical research into childhood experiences will appreciate the thorough case studies analysed in the book. Contributors include: G. Argento, R. Barn, E. Brey, R.T. Di Rosa, M. Dominguez-Serrano, N. Fernandes, L. Gaitan, A. Kiliari, F. Kougioumoutzaki, S. Mateus, L. del Moral-Espin, A. Nunes de Almeida, S. Pantazidis, Y. Pechtelidis, V. Ramos, M. Sanchez-Dominguez, M.J. Sarmento, C. Satta, T. Seabra, A.G. Stamou, M.T. Tagliaventi, C. Tomas, G. de Pina Trevisan

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. The relationship between men and the domestic in eighteenth-century Britain has been obscured by two well-established historiographical narratives. The first charts changes in domestic patriarchy, founded on political patriarchalism in the early modern period and transformed during the eighteenth century by new types of family relationship rooted in contract theory. The second describes the emergence of a new kind of domestic interior during the long eighteenth century, a 'home' infused with a new culture of 'domesticity' primarily associated with women and femininity. The Little Republic shifts the terms of these debates, rescuing the engagement of men with the house from obscurity, and better equipping historians to understand masculinity, the domestic environment, and domestic patriarchy. Karen Harvey explores how men represented and legitimized their domestic activities. She considers the relationship between discourses of masculinity and domesticity, and whether there was a particularly manly attitude to the domestic. In doing so, Harvey suggests that 'home' is too narrow a concept for an understanding of eighteenth-century domestic experience. Instead, focusing on the 'house' foregrounds a different domestic culture, one in which men and masculinity were central. Reconstructing men's experiences of the domestic as shaped by their own and others' beliefs, assumptions and expectations, Harvey argues for the continuation of a model of domestic patriarchy and also that effective domestic patriarchs remained important to late-eighteenth-century political theory. It was a discourse of 'oeconomy' - the practice of managing the economic and moral resources of the household for the maintenance of good order - that shaped men's attitudes towards and experiences in the house. Oeconomy combined day-to-day and global management of people and resources; it was a meaningful way of defining masculinity and established the house a key component of a manly identity that operated across the divide of 'inside' and 'outside' the house. Significantly for histories of the home which so often narrate a process of privatization and feminization, oeconomy brought together the home and the world, primarily through men's domestic management.

Family rhythms is the first textbook of its kind with an explicit focus on Ireland and Irish families. Uniquely, the book draws on original in-depth interviews with people of different ages to introduce contemporary scholarship on the family and to illustrate how Irish families have adapted and changed over time. With chapters on childhood, adolescence, parenting and grandparenthood, the book shows the resilience of families in different social and historical contexts. Each chapter includes a discussion of the challenges that face families and how social research can inform policy makers' responses. Family rhythms is a comprehensive, user-friendly textbook that offers a variety of strategies for engaging readers, including direct encounters with qualitative data through the use of classroom oriented discussion panels. Synopses of landmark Irish studies are included throughout, bringing the insights from these key studies together in a single textbook for the first time. -- .

From the bestselling author of Set Boundaries, Find Peace, a road map for understanding and moving past family struggles - and living your life, your way. Every family has a story. For some of us, our family of origin is a solid foundation that feeds our confidence and helps us navigate life's challenges. For others, it's a source of pain, hurt, and conflict that can feel like a lifelong burden. In this empowering guide, licensed therapist and bestselling relationship expert Nedra Glover Tawwab offers clear advice for identifying dysfunctional family patterns and choosing the best path to breaking the cycle and moving forward. Covering topics ranging from the trauma of emotional neglect, to the legacy of addicted or absent parents, to mental health struggles in siblings and other relatives, and more, this clear and compassionate guide will help you take control of your own life - and honour the person you truly are.

This book takes a global perspective to address the concept of belonging in youth studies, interrogating its emergence as a reoccurring theme in the literature and elucidating its benefits and shortcomings. While belonging offers new alignments across previously divergent approaches to youth studies, its pervasiveness in the field has led to criticism that it means both everything and nothing and thus requires deeper analysis to be of enduring value. The authors do this work to provide an accessible, scholarly account of how youth studies uses belonging by focusing on transitions, participation, citizenship and mobility to address its theoretical and historical underpinnings and its prevalence in youth policy and research.

This book draws together analysis of class, gender, ethnicity and processes of migration in the context of family-school relationships. It provides an original analysis of the role of class as gendered and ethnicised in the explanation of the reproduction of educational inequalities. This book's analysis of class is developed through insights into how class, gender, ethnicity and religion are interrelated and connected to patterns of advantages and disadvantages in transnational flows. It explores parental involvement in children's education in the migratory context as a key site for the analysis of social class positioning and repositioning, focusing on a group of migrant Muslim mothers living in Australia. This book sheds lights on the interconnection of class, gender, ethnicity and religion embedded in migrant mothers' lives and the roles of these facets in regard to the education of their children. Delving into Muslim migrant mothers' practices and beliefs concerning their involvement provides new understanding of how support of children's education is shaped by the process of migration along with the neoliberal reforms of education systems and in particular repositioning of social class.

In her research with transnational Mexicans, Deborah A. Boehm has often asked individuals: if there were no barriers to your movement between Mexico and the United States, where would you choose to live? Almost always, they desire the freedom to "come and go." Yet the barriers preventing such movement are many. Because of the United States' rigid immigration policies, Mexican immigrants often find themselves living long distances from family members and unable to easily cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Transnational Mexicans experience what Boehm calls "intimate migrations," flows that both shape and are structured by gendered and familial actions and interactions, but are always defined by the presence of the U.S. state. Intimate Migrations is based on over a decade of ethnographic research, focusing on Mexican immigrants with ties to a small, rural community in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi and several states in the U.S. West. By showing how intimate relations direct migration, and by looking at kin and gender relationships through the lens of illegality, Boehm sheds new light on the study of gender and kinship, as well as understandings of the state and transnational migration.

An interdisciplinary collection of critical, feminist reflections on interpersonal gender violence Despite the growing interest in the subject of gender violence, surprisingly little has been written in recent years about the methodology behind this emerging field of research. This interdisciplinary collection seeks to fill this gap by empowering scholars to conduct gender violence research in ways that deconstruct rather than reinforce existing power structures and hierarchies. The book argues for new approaches to research and activism on gender-based violence grounded in the intersectional realities of individuals and communities. Each chapter discusses the role of reflective methodologies to recognize institutional and intersectional inequalities, challenging the reader to contemplate ethical considerations of an embodied feminist methodology when researching gender-based violence. By centering these issues for applied scholars, practitioners, and academic activists, the book offers insights about where sociocultural notions of criminality and innocence might align across geographies of gender-based violence. The volume encourages further thinking about embodied methodological creativity in and for the future of interpersonal gender-based violence research. A powerful tool for conducting productive scholarship, Researching Gender-Based Violence provides recommendations for interrogating, practicing, and collaborating across fields, disciplines, and lived realities.

A detailed account of how gender is learned and unlearned in the home From the selection of toys, clothes, and activities to styles of play and emotional expression, the family is ground zero for where children learn about gender. Despite recent awareness that girls are not too fragile to play sports and that boys can benefit from learning to cook, we still find ourselves surrounded by limited gender expectations and persistent gender inequalities. Through the lively and engaging stories of parents from a wide range of backgrounds, The Gender Trap provides a detailed account of how today's parents understand, enforce, and resist the gendering of their children. Emily Kane shows how most parents make efforts to loosen gendered constraints for their children, while also engaging in a variety of behaviors that reproduce traditionally gendered childhoods, ultimately arguing that conventional gender expectations are deeply entrenched and that there is great tension in attempting to undo them while letting 'boys be boys' and 'girls be girls.'

This book examines the impact sisters and brothers had on eighteenth-century English families and society. Using evidence from letters, diaries, probate disputes, court transcripts, prescriptive literature and portraiture, it argues that although parents' wills often recommended their children 'share and share alike', siblings had to constantly negotiate between prescribed equality and practiced inequalities. Siblinghood and social relations in Georgian England, which will be the first monograph-length analysis of early modern siblings in England, is primed to be at the forefront of sibling studies. The book is intended for a broad audience of scholars - particularly those interested in families, women, children and eighteenth-century social and cultural history. -- .

This book examines the impact of the Protestant Reformation on both the ideal and practice of marriage in sixteenth-century Germany. Combining extensive archival work with a broad synthesis of scholarly research in legal, theological, and social history, it provides the most comprehensive evaluation to date of the Reformation's impact on marriage. The author compares Protestant reforming goals and achievements to those of contemporary Catholics. All sixteenth-century campaigns to restore 'traditional family values', he argues, must be viewed in the context of more gradual social transformations in private morality, public authority, and familial relations. The apparent innovations of the reformers - including the abolition of clerical celibacy and introduction of divorce - fade in comparison to their much greater adherence to the theological, legal and social traditions shared with their Catholic ancestors and contemporaries.

The Roman father has traditionally provided the pattern of patriarchy in European thought. This book shows how the social realities and cultural representations diverged from this paradigm. Demographic analysis and computer simulation demonstrate that before adulthood most Romans lost their fathers by death. Close reading of Latin texts reveals Roman fathers as devoted and loving, and not harsh, exploitative masters of slaves. The demographic and cultural contexts deepen our understanding of how the patrimony was transmitted.

First published in 1981, Victorian Values is an investigation into the social causes behind the decline of the birth rate and the size of families in Britain in the second half of the nineteenth century. The author looks at the interplay of the rising standard of living, the emancipation of women, the attitude to children and education and the effects of the meritocratic ideal, and their interaction with religious ideas of sexual morality. He considers the pioneers of birth control, but other factors are considered which might contribute to the retreat from the very large families of an earlier period. The book is a brilliant example of how the sociologist can illuminate the problems of the social and economic historian, and at the same time contribute to developing ideas about future social policy.

This volume offers both theoretical and research-based accounts from mothers in academia who must balance their own intricate knowledge of school systems, curriculum and pedagogy with their children's education and school lives. It explores the contextual advantages and disadvantages of "knowing too much" and how this impacts children's actions, scholastics and developing consciousness along various lines. Additionally, it allows teachers, administrators and researchers to critically examine their own discourses and those of their students to better navigate their professional and domestic roles. Gathering narratives from academic women in traditional and nontraditional maternal roles, this volume presents both contemporary and retrospective experiences of what it's like to raise children amidst educational and sociocultural change.