Module SOC3108 for 2018/9
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
SOC3108: Sociology of Family and Gender
This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.
Module Aims
The aim of this module is to provide you with a better understanding of the interplay between family patterns, welfare policy and gender norms and to enable you to address related policy questions, e.g.: Why do women in some countries are more likely to drop out of the labour market after having children than in others? How come that European countries with higher female employment rates also demonstrate higher fertility levels? Do more egalitarian couples have higher union stability?
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of current issues and debates in the sociology of gender and family. 2. Critically assess empirical studies in the field. 3. Evaluating of the role of welfare policy in accounting for cross-country variations in family and work practices. |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. Demonstrate in-depth understanding of key concepts pertaining to the sociology of the family. 5. Demonstrate a critical understanding of theories and arguments in the field; 6. Understanding of relevant research methods employed in family and gender studies. |
| Personal and Key Skills | 7. Engage in group work to prepare presentations for class discussion; 8. Critically analyze existing literature in the field; 9. demonstrate written analytical skills by producing an essay on deadline; and 10. work independently, within a limited time frame, and without access to external sources, to complete a specified task. |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Basic reading:
Esping-Andersen, G. (2009). The Incomplete Revolution: Adapting to Women’s New Roles. Cambridge: Polity.
Esping-Andersen, G. and Billari, F. C. (2015). Re-theorizing family demographics. Population and Development Review, 41(1): 1-31.
McDonald, P. (2013). Societal foundations for explaining low fertility: Gender equity. Demographic Research, 28(34): 981-994.
Hochschild, A. R. (1989). The Second Shift: Working Parents and the Revolution at Home. London: Piatkus.
Hochschild, A. R. (2000). Global Care Chains and Emotional Surplus Value, in Giddens, T. and Hutton, W. (Eds.). On the Edge: Globalization and the New Millennium, London: Sage Publishers, pp. 130-146.
Gornick, J. C. and Meyers, M. K. (Eds.) (2009). Gender Equality, Transforming Family Division of Labour. London: Verso.
Ellingsaeter, A L. (2010). Feminist politics and feminist conflicts: Daddy’s care or mother’s milk? In Scott, J., Crompton, R. and Lyonette, C. (Eds.) Gender Inequalities in the 21st Century: New Barriers and Continuing Constraints. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
De Laat, J. and Sevilla-Sanz, A. (2011). The fertility and women's labor force participation puzzle in OECD countries: The role of men's home production. Feminist Economics, 17(2): 87-119.
Hobson, B. and Olah, L. S. (2006). Birthstrikes? Agency and capabilities in the reconciliation of employment and family. Marriage & Family Review, 39: 197-227.
Kravdal, O. and Rindfuss, R. R. (2008). Changing relationships between education and fertility: A study of women and men born 1940 to 1964. American Sociological Review, 73: 854-873.
Torr, B. M. and Short, S. E. (2004). Second births and the second shift: A research note on gender equity and fertility. Population and Development Review, 30(1): 109-130.
Oppenheimer, V. K. (2003). Cohabiting and marriage during young men’s career-development process. Demography, 40(1): 127-149.
Kalmijn, M. (2011). The influence of men’s income and employment on marriage and cohabitation: Testing Oppenheimer’s theory in Europe. European Journal of Population, 27: 269-293.
Lewis, J., Knijn, T., Martin, C. and Ostner, I. (2008). Patterns of development in work/family reconciliation
policies for parents in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK in the 2000s. Social Politics, 15(3): 261-286.
Blossfeld, H. –P. Müller, R. (2002). Union disruption in comparative perspective: the role of assortative partner choice and careers of couples. International Journal of Sociology, 32(4): 3-35.
Härkönen, J. and Dronkers, J. (2006). Stability and change in the educational gradient of divorce: A comparison of seventeen countries. European Sociological Review, 22(5): 501–517.
