Sociology of the Family April 7, 2015
Theories of Urban Poverty Contrast Carol Stack’s work with: – Economic Decline as Sole Explanation – Culture of Poverty – Broken Windows Theory
Kinship Networks Kinship network vs. nuclear family “Jural” Parenthood “Casting a net”
Kinship and Status Roles Social recognition of parenting roles Motherhood as a prized status Fatherhood beyond biological ties
“Controlling images” of Black Women
Discussion Questions Should social institutions promote a certain family form? What makes the “nuclear family” more ideal in the American imagination than an extended kinship network? Do the images of African-American women as “mammies, matriarchs, and Jezebels” still hold up in American popular culture? Why or why not? How?