SCFF 5005 Interdisciplinary Study of the Family
Fall 1999, Tuesdays 7:20-9:00
Many different fields have contributed significant to
the study
of family processes. Conversely, any one interested in what
happens within
families will find himself threading on the grounds of many
disciplines.
The course is an introduction to the kinds of research that is
now being found to be most helpful for an understanding of family
processes. Techniques
and approaches developed in different disciplines must be
evaluated and brought together to move forward the field.
In this course, I do not summarize the contribution of the
various fields.
Rather, I present a developing theory that makes use of selected
aspects of these contributions. Particularly emphasized are
naturalistic approaches to knowledge about families, system and
communicational theories dealing with interpersonal relationships
within families, and cross-cultural and
historical studies that clarify the contextual forces with which
families must struggle. Above all, I am interested in practical,
productive action
within systems of constraints (economic, symbolic, etc.).
The course has four main parts:
-
"The Problem of Family" that focuses on the theoretical
discussions centering on the definition of the family;
-
"Constraints on possibility: Structure in culture" with
discussions of the
ways in which external conditions (economic, political,
symbolic) frame what families can do;
-
"Possibilities in constraint: Culture in structure" where I highlight the
many ways in which families transform what they find around them as they
organize their own behavior.
-
"The family and the state: issues for the polis" where we
will directly address
policy issues that are never far behind the more descriptive
and theoretical matters that are the focus of the course
There are no prerequisites to this course except for an enduring
commitment
to some practical or theoretical concern.
August 30, 1999
1- 9/7