University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

SYLLABUS:ANTHROPOLOGY 304

FAMILY, KIN & COMMUNITY

Fall 2009

Instructor: Dr. Lynn Walter	Schedule: 9:30 MWF
Office: MAC Hall B308	Room: Wood Hall 317
Phone: 465-2474 (-2355 message)	Office Hours: 10:30-12 and 1-3 MW
Email: walterl@uwgb.edu	Course page: www.uwgb.edu/walterl/kinship

Class e-mail: c9025@uwgb.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course focuses on family and kinship in comparative and historical perspective. We will look at families in their social and cultural context and ask what relationships exist between family forms, practices, and values and the economic system, political organization, religions and cultures of the larger community. We will also ask what the sources of love and support, as well as conflict and tension, are within families and among kin; and we will question why family forms and ideal family types change over time. Finally, we will examine the role of government in supporting the welfare of families cross-culturally and historically.

REQUIRED READING:

· Stone, Linda 2006. Kinship and Gender, An Introduction, 3rd ed. and Chapter 8 of 4th ed.

· Hamabata, Matthew 1990. Crested Kimono, Power and Love in the Japanese Business Family

· Coontz, Stephanie 2005. Marriage, A History, Chapters 11 and 14

ON RESERVE:

· Cahill, Sean, 2007. Policy Issues Affecting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Families

· Cole, Roberta L. 2006. Race & Family: A Structural Approach

· Franklin, Donna, 1997. Ensuring Inequality, The Structural Transformation of the African-American Family

· Hoover, Stewart M. et al., 2004. Media, Home, and Family

· Mintz, Steven, 1988. Domestic Revolution: A Social History of American Family, Life

· Pederson, Jane Marie, 1992. Between Memory and Reality, Family and Community in Rural Wisconsin 1870-1970

· Rotskoff, Lori, 2002. Love on the Rocks: Men, Women, and Alcohol in Post-World War II America

· Sussman, Marvin B., 1997. Stepfamilies: History, Research, and Policy

· Thistle, Susan, 2006. From Marriage to the Market: The Transformation of Women’s Lives and Work.

· Zaretsky, Natasha, 2007. No Direction Home: The American Family and the Fear of National Decline

REQUIREMENTS:

· Mid-term Exam    30%

· Final Exam           30%

· Term paper          30%

· Discussion            10%

SCHEDULE:

Week 1: Sept. 4-11

Defining “Family”

Reading: Stone, Chapter 7 (omit pp. 237-244 on dowry)

Week 2: Sept. 14-18

Historical Perspectives on Families

Reading: Coontz, Chapters 11 & 14

Week 3: Sept. 21-25

Continued

Sept. 21 Family History Paper Topic Due in class or in dropbox

Sept. 23 class will meet in CL 705

Sept. 25 class will meet in IS 1129A

Weeks 4-6: Sept. 28-Oct. 16

Marriage, Descent Systems & Kinship Terminology

Reading: Stone, Chapters 1 & 6

Week 7: Oct. 19-23

Foragers and Family Forms

Reading: Stone, Chapter 2

Film: The Baka

*****MID-TERM EXAM, Friday, Oct. 23 (The MID-TERM EXAM DATE IS APPROXIMATE. THE ACTUAL DATE WILL DEPEND UPON THE PROGRESS WE HAVE MADE)

Week 8: Oct. 26-30

Matrilineal Families

Film: Seasons of the Navajo

Reading:  Stone, Chapter 4

Week 9: Nov. 2-6

Patrilineal Kinship and Gender

Reading: Stone, Chapter 3

Film: Dadi's Family

Week 10: Nov. 9-13

Class and Families: Japan

Reading: Hamabata, Preface, Chapters 1-3.

Week 11: Nov. 16-20

Class, Race and Families

Reading: Hamabata, Chapters 4-7.

Week 12: Nov. 23-25

Welfare, the State and Families: U.S. and Denmark

Thanksgiving break Nov. 26-29

******TERM PAPER DUE, Wednesday Nov. 25

Week 13: Nov. 30-Dec. 4

Continued

Reading: Stone, Chapters 8 from 3rd edition and Chapter 8 from 4th edition (There are two different chapters numbered chapter 8, one on New Reproductive Technologies from the 3rd edition and the other on Gender and Contemporary Social Problems from the 4th edition)

Week 14: Dec. 7-14

Term Paper Presentations

******FINAL EXAM 8:00-10:00 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18

Consistent with the federal law and the policies of the University of Wisconsin, it is the policy of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to provide appropriate and necessary accommodations to students with documented physical and learning disabilities. If you anticipate requiring any auxiliary aids or services, you should contact me or the Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities at 465-2671 as soon as possible to discuss your needs and arrange for the provision of services.