Overview
part 1) Sociologists recognize that social contexts affect outcomes, and in that sense divorce is a very social phenomenon. There are a number of powerful macro factors (structural and cultural) that contribute to divorce, such as (1) increased economic independence of women, (2) changing family functions and structure, (3) liberal divorce laws, (4) social acceptance and normalization of divorce in our culture, (5) prenuptial agreements, (6) fewer moral and religious sanctions, (7) geographic mobility and anonymity. For this post, please chose one of these macro factors and explore it in greater depth – how does your chosen factor contribute to divorce? Can you offer any cross-cultural or historical examples for comparison? What does that macro feature reveal about our culture?
part 2) Answer the following questions based on chapter 10
1) Reading 11 Divorce: The “Silent Revolution”, Lawrence Freedman
The author discusses the so called ‘no fault’ divorce. What is it?
2) Reading 12 Divorce in Research vs. Divorce in Media, Virginia E. Rutter
The author poses the question of whether in some cases divorce is a better outcome than remaining married. What is her conclusion? Please explain.
3) According to the author, modern residential stepfamilies resemble modern non-divorced families in size, and have an average of two children per family. True or flase? 4) Reading 13 The Modern American Stepfamily: Problems and Possibilities, Mary Ann Mason
What are the “stranger” and the “dependency” models?