SOCI 016E. Marriage and Family

The family is often considered the most fundamental social institution. It is within the family that early socialization and care-giving usually take place, shaping our ideas about the world. Yet we often find it difficult to see how a social institution as private as the family is shaped by historical and social forces. This course will give students the opportunity to learn about the diverse forms the family has taken over time and the social forces that have shaped them. This knowledge will be useful in examining ongoing debates about social policy and the place of the family in social life. By taking a sociological approach to learning about the family and by gaining knowledge about national family trends and patterns in the U.S., this course will give students the theoretical and empirical tools to understand how family life is linked to social structure; to economic, cultural, and historical events and transitions; and to status characteristics like race, class, and gender.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Spring 2026. Ya Su.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology

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