American Families: A Multicultural Reader

By Stephanie Coontz

Book Overview

Essays on race-ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality in family life by leading names from across the curriculum. The revised and expanded second edition of Stephanie Coontz's American Families remains the best resource available on family diversity.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0415958210
• ISBN13: 9780415958219
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 488 Pages
• Weight: 2.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 7.0" x 10.1"

Customer Reviews

A Reader

This is an excellent book for students of sociology, family history, human development or other fields that explore family life as it exists in our world today. I especially appreciate how the author expands the reader's understanding of family forms from the common view of The Family as a mother/father, white, middle class, with two children "Ozzie and Harriot" stereotype to a more realistic understanding of the complexities of families in this country. I enjoyed reading stories that revealed how the factors of race, class, and gender effect families in our society. I also appreciated the inclusion of family stories that reveal the impact of historical contexts. For example, the stories from immigrants reveal how our society has historically valued labor as a means for profit over labor as a means to support families. I didn't find the text to be overly academic, but rather fascinating, accessible and informative.