Family changes in european perspective

sociology

elementary

enter learning outcome code/codes

Ability to communicate and present content in English

This course will examine the changes and differences in family behaviors and household relationships from a demographic and sociologic perspective. We will discuss the demographic perspective on family change and variation, review the broad trends in family transitions and structures, introduce theoretical perspectives on union formation and family change, and discuss the difficulty of making causal inferences in family research. We will then look in detail at some of the major-specific changes that are occurring in the life course, the process of entering a coupled relationship, decisions concerning marriage, and parent-child relationships. In this course, we will focus on family in Europe (especially in the European Union)

1. The demographic outlook for Europe focused on family changes: population changes, trends of family changes by country

2. Theories of the family in historical roots of key concepts of kinship and family in sociology

3. Family types and structures in Europe: different types of family across the EU, distribution of work in households

4. Individualization, intimacy, and Family life

5. Standards of living in European families: economic strain, household debt, housing insecurity, deprivation

6. Work and work-life balance in families across Europe: work preferences, work-life conflict, access to childcare services, work-life challenges across generations

7. New motherhood and new parenting: child care and new family forms

8. Parenting practices and values

9. Life satisfaction and happiness in European families: income satisfaction, optimism about the future, mental well-being

10. Families and ageing societies:

11. Relation between generations: the population of older people in the European Union, future trends in ageing, participation in society

12. Family policies in EU countries, a comparative analysis

13-15. Students project - presentation

Required readings - Textbook

Deborah-Chambers, A Sociology of Family Life, Polity-Press, Oxford, United Kingdom, 2015

James Fulcher, John Scott, Sociology, 4th Edition, Oxford 2012

Recommended readings

Earl Babbie, Introduction to Social Research, 5th Edition, Wadsworth Cengage Learning, Belmont USA, 2011

Andrew J. Cherlin, The Marriage-Go-Round: The State of Marriage and the Family Today, New York Knopf, 2009

V. Bengtson et al. (eds.), Sourcebook of Family Theory and Research, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005

Ron Lesthaeghe, The second demographic transition in Western countries: An interpretation. In K. Oppenheim Jason, & A.-M. Jensen (Eds.), Gender and family change in industrialized countries (pp. 17-62). Oxford Clarendon Press, 1995

Casper Lynne, Family Demography, in George Ritzer (ed.) Encyclopedia of Sociology, Blackwell, 2007

Active ageing and solidarity between generations, A statistical portrait of the European Union 2012, Eurostat Statistical books 2012

Ageing Europe LOOKING AT THE LIVES OF OLDER PEOPLE IN THE EU 2020 Edition, Statistical Books, Eurostat 2020

B. Janta, Caring for children in Europe, RAND EUROPE, UE 2014

European Demographic Data Sheet 2020 Key findings, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, https://www.oeaw.ac.at/vid/data/demographic-data-sheets/european-demographic-data-sheet-2020

E. Milovidov, PARENTING IN THE DIGITAL AGE Positive parenting strategies for different scenarios, Council of Europe, https://www.coe.int/en/web/children

M. Kawinska, Older People on the Labour Market ― Activation and Deactivation, in K. Śledzińska ed. Responsibility – Participation – Conscious Citizenship The Dilemmas of Global Education, WWS, Warszawa 2018, pp. 133-146

M. Kawinska, Contemporary Parenting in the Face of Social Changes in the Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, in Socialinis ugdymas, 2017, t. 47, Nr. 3, pp. 77- 88.

M. Kawinska, Ageing and the silver economy – challenges and opportunities for social policy in Poland, in NIER National Institute for Economic Research nr. 3/2017, Chisinau 2017, pp. 84-91

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

Benefit from the research literature on family studies;

Recognize, define, and understand theoretical and methodological approaches to studying diverse families changes from a sociological perspective;

Identify problems and frame research questions related to the study of the family changes;

Examine families changes sociologically from a European and cross-cultural perspective;

Apply course concepts to your own life experiences;

Demonstrate recognition and openness regarding diversity in family changes,

Increase ability to work productively as a part of a team group;

The majority of your grade will be based on evidence of your knowledge, comprehension, and analysis of course materials

Class participation is obligatory (no more than 2 absences)

The leadership of discussion 43%

Home tasks 25%

Final project - presentation 32%

Very good grade (5) = 91% and more

Good grade (4) = 81% - 90%

Satisfactory grade (3)= 70% - 80%