Professor Battle's Sociology of the Family

Department of Sociology Hunter College

Fall, 1996



Office: 1637HW
Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday 3:00 to 3:45 and by appointment
Office Telephone Number :(212) 772-5641
E-Mail: jbattle@shiva.hunter.cuny.edu
Department Homepage: http://maxweber.hunter.cuny.edu/socio/

* PLEASE NOTE: Due to the number of students I have, I will NOT be able to return students' phone calls. I will, however, respond to e-mail messages.


  1. Required Materials:

    1. Zinn, M. and D. Eitzen. 1996. Diversity in Families (4th Edition). New York: HarperCollins College Publishers.
    2. Hacker, D. 1995. A Writer's Reference (3rd Edition). New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc.
    3. Packet of information supplied by Professor Battle entitled Written Work
    4. A folder with pockets

    * PLEASE NOTE: You will be expected to bring numbers one through three to class with you daily. Additional required reading will be assigned as necessary, and will be available on reserve in the Hunter College Library.

  2. Recommended readings are located at the end of each chapter in the text. Additional recommended readings will be announced during class.
  3. There will be a midterm and a final (for dates, see below). Each exam will count for 200 points toward your final grade. Both exams will be cumulative and based on the text AND lecture notes. I will provide the exams with answer/scan sheets. You must provide a number two pencil to fill in the scan sheets. You may not write on the exam, and must submit the exam with your answer sheet. In order to receive credit for any exam, you MUST turn back in the corresponding exam. To limit students from sharing answers, there will always be more than one version of the exam given. Your answer sheet will be returned with your grade. To see the exam, you must come to my office during my office hours (see above) or make an appointment. NO exams can be made up.
  4. There is a required paper project for this course. The final paper and its related assignments (see below) will count for 225 points toward your final grade.

    Research Proposal 30 points
    15 references 45 points (3 points each)
    2 abstracts 50 points (25 points each)
    Final Paper 100 points

    With every assignment, you must also hand in the previous graded assignment. For example, for the final paper, you will also hand in the previous three assignments. Failure to hand in a previously graded assignment will result in the lowering of your grade. Yes, this can have a cumulative effect. Therefore, I encourage you to make a personal copy of everything you hand in to me. The final paper must be four to five pages (about 1,100 words), word-processed, double-spaced, 12 point font (NO SMALLER), contain about one inch side margins, have an unjustified right margin, and must be free of spelling and grammar errors. PRESENTATION, SPELLING, AND GRAMMAR WILL AFFECT YOUR GRADE ON EVERY WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT YOU PRODUCE FOR THIS CLASS. More details relating to the paper assignment will be given during class. NO paper assignments can be made up.
  5. This course also requires you to produce two biographies. Each biography is worth 25 points. More specific information on the biographies will be supplied during class. NO biographies can be made up.

  6. To ensure (1) attendance, and (2) that students are reading the assigned material, unannounced quizzes will also be given. You will be responsible for providing the paper for the quizzes. NO quizzes can be made up.
  7. From time to time, there will be required reaction papers. Each paper is only one page and worth 20 points. More specific information will be supplied during class. NO reaction papers can be made up.
  8. Your final grade will be a combination of your scores on the term paper assignments, reaction papers, biographies, exams, quizzes, and any other assignments. This method of grading allows you to know your current grade at any given point during the semester. The dates below are deadlines and not guidelines. To that end, NO late assignments will be accepted. Each week you can expect to have about 50 pages of reading and one written assignment due. This takes the average student about two hours on average per week outside of class solely for my assignments. I recognize the requirements for this course are rigorous. If you have any activities which might prevent you from regularly attending class on time and meeting the deadlines, I strongly encourage you to find another class which is more suitable to your schedule.


Course Outline and Reading Assignments:

Because of the limited amount of time, I have had to be selective in deciding which chapters and materials to cover. However, we will pretty much be following the order of the chapters in the text. Please note that even though I may not be able to lecture on all the material in class, you will be responsible for ALL of the material covered in the reading assignments listed below.

Reading assignments listed below refer to the required text. However, as noted above, additional required readings may be assigned during the semester; and will be available on reserve in the Hunter College Library.

There may be some minor changes to the schedule or assigned readings as we go along.

DATE TOPIC AND ASSIGNED READINGS
9/4 Course Overview
Start Images, Ideals, and Myths
9/9 Finish Images, Ideals, and Myths
Read Baca Zinn & Eitzen's Chapter 1
9/11 Pre-Industrial Families and the Emergence of a Modern Family Form
Read Baca Zinn & Eitzen's Chapter 2
9/16 The Historical Making of Family Diversity
Read Baca Zinn & Eitzen's Chapter 3
9/18 Society Upheavals and Family Formation
Read Chapter Baca Zinn & Eitzen's 4
* Proposals Due
9/23 No Class Held
9/25 Library Presentation
Class will meet on the 6th floor of the library (Room #609)
9/30 Library Day
10/2 Class, Race, and Gender
Read Baca Zinn & Eitzen's Chapter 5
* References Due
10/7 Lecture
10/9 Meshing the Worlds of Work and Family
Read Baca Zinn & Eitzen's Chapter 6
10/14 No class held
10/16 Lecture
10/21 Midterm
Baca Zinn & Eitzen's Chapters 1 through 6
10/23 Social Construction of Intimacy
Read Baca Zinn & Eitzen's Chapter 7
10/28 Lecture
10/30 Lecture
11/4 * Biographies Due
Class Presentations
11/6 Lecture
11/11 Contemporary Marriages
Read Baca Zinn & Eitzen's Chapter 8
11/13 Parents and Children
Read Baca Zinn & Eitzen's Chapter 9
11/18 Violence in Families
Read Baca Zinn & Eitzen's Chapter 10
11/20 Lecture
* Abstracts Due
11/25 Divorce and Remarriage Read Baca Zinn &Eitzen's Chapter 11
11/27 Lecture
12/2 Contemporary Lifestyle Variations
Read Baca Zinn & Eitzen's Chapter 12
* Final Paper Due
12/4 Lecture
12/9 Family Policy for the Twenty-First Century
Read Baca Zinn & Eitzen's Chapter 13
12/11 Lecture
TBA Final Exam
Baca Zinn & Eitzen's Chapter 7 through 13