Mar 28, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate Academic Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Undergraduate Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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SS 474 - The Family

3 lecture hours 0 lab hours 3 credits
Course Description
This course is designed to provide the student with insight into the American family system and give the student the tools with which to make informed decisions about his/her future with respect to family and intimate relationships. Issues addressed in this course include gender, love, courtship, sexuality, diverse family forms, communication, parenting, work, family violence, uncoupling, and remarriage. Attention is also given to families of diverse cultures and nations. (prereq: none) 
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  • Demonstrate basic knowledge of, and an ability to, apply major theories informing contemporary scholarship of marriage and family
  • Display comprehension of current and historical trends affecting marriage and family (mainly among North American families)
  • Provide evidence of a greater understanding of, appreciation of, and respect for human diversity
  • Exhibit insight into the ways in which larger social, political, and economic forces as well as biological and psychological forces impact relationships within the family
  • Show an increasing objectivity and openness toward the needs of society as a whole, including an improved grasp of the determinants of social behavior; and an enhanced capacity to make decisions consistent with his/her changing roles in society

Prerequisites by Topic
  • None 

Course Topics
  • What is family? A historical perspective of the family
  • Black Sheep and Kissing Cousins by Stone-family legacies
  • Theories about the family
  • Families in modern society
  • The explosive 1960s; The 1970s: Scarcity, and “The Me Decade”
  • The family as a haven in a heartless society
  • Class, race, and culture in the American family
  • Sex and gender
  • The ultimate human connection: The love relationship
  • Divorce and remarriage
  • Single mothers-child care
  • Parenthood

Coordinator
Dr. Lauren Beverung



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