Assumptions about the family of the past pervade the expectations we bring to our personal interactions and shape the way we think about and study the family as a social institution. Most often, undergraduate courses in family sociology have a ?marriage and family? focus, which emphasizes the dynamics of interpersonal relations and contemporary fam

Assumptions about the family of the past pervade the expectations we bring to our personal interactions and shape the way we think about and study the family as a social institution. Most often, undergraduate courses in family sociology have a "marriage and family" focus, which emphasizes the dynamics of interpersonal relations and contemporary family roles. Similarly, sociological concerns focus on the present and the future of family life, with little attention to the past except as it provides a contrast with current experience.The research conducted by family historians over the past three decades challenges, modifies, and ultimately enriches sociological understandings about American family life today. By looking closely at the historical record, the author is able to debunk certain myths, such as the belief that the "ideal" family (male breadwinner and female domestic manager) has been historically prevalent; that the "traditional" family has been disintegrating in recent years; that the presumed breakdown of the family has left children more vulnerable than in the past. Drawing on and integrating this literature, then, allows students to develop new perspectives on contemporary social issues and reorients the kinds of questions sociologists bring to the study of family structures and processes.

"A magnificent and timely account of how cultural institutions grapple with engaging their audience. Brimming with ideas and data and beautifully written, this book is perfect for students, practitioners, and researchers."-David Halle, professor of sociology, University of California, Los Angeles "Diane Grams and Betty Farrell present an impressive set of essays that candidly explore the successes and pitfalls commonly experienced by nonprofit arts organizations interested in building participant diversity."-Richard A. Peterson, emeritus, professor of sociology, Vanderbilt University Arts organizations once sought patrons primarily from among the wealthy and well educated, but for many decades now they have revised their goals as they seek to broaden their audiences. Today, museums, orchestras, dance companies, theaters, and community cultural centers try to involve a variety of people in the arts. They strive to attract a more racially and ethnically diverse group of people, those from a broader range of economic backgrounds, new immigrants, families, and youth. The chapters in this book draw on interviews with leaders, staff, volunteers, and audience members from eighty-five nonprofit cultural organizations to explore how they are trying to increase participation and the extent to which they have been successful. The organizations discussed include large, medium, and small nonprofits located in urban, suburban, and rural areas-from large institutions such as the Smithsonian, the Walker Art Center, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and the San Francisco Symphony to many cultural organizations that are smaller, but often known nationally for their innovative work, such as AS220, The Loft Literary Center, Armory Center for the Arts, Appalshop, the Wing Luke Asian Museum, and the Western Folklife Center. Diane Grams is an assistant professor of sociology at Tulane University in New Orleans. Betty Farrell, associate director of the M.A. Program in Social Sciences and senior lecturer at The University of Chicago, works on the sociology of culture. A volume in the Rutgers Series on the Public Life of the Arts, edited by Ruth Ann Stewart, Margaret J. Wyszomirski, and Joni M. Cherbo