by Megan Haselschwerdt, M.S., doctoral candidate in Human Development and Family Studies
If we don’t study parent-child relationships in affluent communities, we ignore unhealthy patterns that may set these youth up for failure. If we as a society continue pointing out potentially problematic parent-child interactions in low-income communities without acknowledging that these same patterns appear similar in affluent communities, we aren’t doing anyone any service.
by Annette Lareau, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania
The intersection of race and class in American life is an important but often vexing subject for sociologists. The power of social class is often obscured by the visibility of race. I wrote Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life (University of California Press, 2003) in part because I wanted to make class real by showing how it works in everyday life.
Sponsored by Students/New Professionals and open to all Pecha Kucha is an innovative session in which each presenter has 6 minutes and 40 seconds to present (presenters are allowed 20 slides during the presentation). After the presentations there is time for questions and discussion.
Families, Work and Unemployment, Family Stress/Coping and Networks for Help, Poverty/Welfare, Public Policy, Research/Theory/Methodology, Rural Families
Cues and clues as to one's social class are everywhere. In just a few paragraphs, you've learned a lot about me; that I've read Democracy in America. That I've studied Carl Jung. That I'm a fan of the PBS Power of Myth series. What you don't know is that wherever I am now, I arrived here via Turnip Truck. If you're interested in how it feels to come from the rural lower class, bandana-on-stick, and get off the bus at a major university, read on.
Teasing out the issue of Social Class from other family demographics such as race, ethnicity, occupation, and geographic setting isn't easy. Annette Lareau, Stephen Marks and other scholars will get us started- And so "Class" begins now.
"...no argument can stand that supports unequal opportunity or any intrinsic disqualification for sharing in the whole of life," wrote anthropologist Margaret Mead. Articles in this issue of NCFR Report-which complements the annual conference theme-explore inequalities that affect families. Some are external and lead to poverty and lack of civic participation. Others exist within the family itself as a result of divorce or gender roles.
