War Over The Family - Couverture rigide

Popenoe, David

 
9780765802590: War Over The Family

Synopsis

One of the most surprising and controversial social debates of the past two decades has been about the meaning and importance of marriage and the family in contemporary American life. Referred to by some as a culture "war over the family," the debate has pitted those concerned about the weakening of the traditional married-parent nuclear family, especially in its impact on children, against those arguing that nothing has gone wrong with families - that they are merely "diversifying." David Popenoe has been one of the most influential figures in laying out for a wide audience the importance of "family decline," and what it means for our children, our society, and our future. Two fundamental issues have been brought into national consciousness by this controversy. One is the very survival of marriage as the basic procreative model of a civilized society, including the importance of fatherhood and parental stability. Is the age-old institution of marriage to become a vestigial remnant, relegated to a small minority of traditionalists, rather than the bedrock of society as we have known it since the dawn of history? The second issue is the centrality given by our nation to the interests of children. Have we reached a time in history when the needs and desires of adults increasingly override and conflict with the hard-won battles for optimal child well being? Drawing on his most seminal thinking, this book presents Popenoe's observations and interpretations of the great family debate. The book includes his widely cited, now classic article "American Family Decline, 1960-1990: A Review and Appraisal" as well as his path-breaking "The Evolution of Marriage and the Problem of Stepfamilies" and the influential "Can the Nuclear Family be Revived?" The writings in this book share a broad cultural, historical, and interdisciplinary perspective. They are accessible not only to the family scholar and the family professional but to the general reader who wishes to know more about one of the truly important social issues of our time.

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À propos de l'auteur

David Popenoe is professor of sociology and co-director of the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University, he is the author or editor of ten books and numerous articles, and as co-chair of the Council on Families in America, he was the primary author of its pioneering 1995 report Marriage in America: A Report to the Nation.

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Autres éditions populaires du même titre

9781412808101: War Over the Family

Edition présentée

ISBN 10 :  1412808103 ISBN 13 :  9781412808101
Editeur : Routledge, 2008
Couverture souple