The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Families (Wiley Blackwell Companions to Sociology)

Written by an international team of experts, this comprehensive volume investigates modern-day family relationships, partnering, and parenting set against a backdrop of rapid social, economic, cultural, and technological change. Covers a broad range of topics, including social inequality, parenting practices, children's work, changing patterns of citizenship, multi-cultural families, and changes in welfare state protection for families Includes many European, North American and Asian examples written by a team of experts from across five continents Features coverage of previously neglected groups, including immigrant and transnational families as well as families of gays and lesbians Demonstrates how studying social change in families is fundamental for understanding the transformations in individual and social life across the globe Extensively reworked from the original Companion published over a decade ago: three-quarters of the material is completely new, and the remainder has been comprehensively updated Content: The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Families Copyright Contents Notes of Contributors Preface Part I Global Perspectives on Families 1 Family Systems of the World: Are They Converging? Times of Change and Family Patterns The World's Seven Major Family Systems and Their Twentieth-Century Mutations Current Tendencies: Are the Family Systems Converging? Conclusion: Persistent Diversity, Persistent Importance References 2 Changing European Families Introduction Becoming a Family Transition to Parenthood Family Dissolution Discussion Acknowledgment References. 3 American Families: Demographic Trends and Social ClassAmerican Families: Demographic Trends and Social Class Conclusion References 4 Family Change in East Asia Modernization and Mystiques about East Asian Families Women's Status and Gender Equality in East Asia Marriage Formation and Dissolution Migrant Families Fertility Decline Living Arrangements and Aging Society Challenges and Opportunities Acknowledgments Notes References 5 Changes and Inequalities in Latin American Families Introduction Modernity and Modernization in Latin America. The Main Changes in Latin American FamiliesConclusion Note References Part II Diversity, Inequality, and Immigration 6 Same-Sex Families Queer Youth Gay Parents Gay Elders Discussion References 7 Family Poverty Defining Poverty The State of World Poverty and Consequences for "the Poor" Which Families are Poor and Why? Living in Family Poverty Conclusion Notes References 8 Transnational Families Transnational Families: Introduction and the Mobility Turn Case studies: Transnational Families and the Global Circulation of Care. Transnational Families: Conceptual and Theoretical IssuesTransnational Families: Research and Methodology across Borders Transnational Families: Doing Family across Time and Distance Transnational Families: Policy Implications Conclusion and Future Directions References 9 Ethnic Diversity in the United Kingdom: Family Forms and Conjugality Introduction Toward Modern Individualism for All? Caribbean Kinship: Transnational Links and Support Diversity of the British South Asian Population Pakistani Muslim Marriages: Transnationality, Instability, and Consanguinity Conclusion. Tackling issues relevant to family life today, thisauthoritative Companion shows why studying social change in families is fundamental for understanding the transformations in individual and social life, across the globe. Contains original essays by expert contributors on a wide range of topics relating to the sociology of families. Includes coverage of social inequality, parenting practices, children's work, the changing patterns of citizenship, and multi-cultural families. Gives special attention to European and North American examples. Discusses previously neglected groups, including immigrant families and gays and lesbians. Explores how revolutionary changes in aging, longevity, and sexual behavior have radically affected the experience of different generations, and the relationships between them. Unprecedented social changes are taking place that pose new challenges for families. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Families brings together a collection of original essays that investigate partnering, parenting, and families against the backdrop of rapid social change brought about by globalization, contested cultural values, severe economic shocks, new technologies, and widespread rethinking of welfare state protection for families today "The editors have assembled an impressive set of leading and emerging family scholars to provide cutting edge and original contributions on global family patterns, family diversity and family processes, greatly enhancing our understanding of the sociology of families in the twenty first century." Kathleen Kiernan, University of York Jacqueline Scott is Professor of empirical Sociology in the Faculty of Human, Social and Political Science, and a Fellow of Queens' College, University of Cambridge, UK Judith Treas is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Demographic and Social Analysis at the University of California, Irvine, USA Martin Richards is Emeritus Professor of Family Research, Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, UK. --Book Jacket