Understanding the Family

John Muncie is Emeritus Professor of Criminology at the Open University, UK. He is the author of Youth and Crime (5th edition, Sage, 2021), and he has published widely on issues in comparative youth justice and children’s rights, including the co-edited companion volumes Youth Crime and Justice and Comparative Youth Justice (Sage, 2006). He has produced numerous Open University texts and readers, including Crime: Local and Global (Willan, 2010), Criminal Justice: Local and Global (Willan, 2010), The Problem of Crime (2nd edition, Sage, 2001), Crime Prevention and Community Safety (Sage, 2001) and Imprisonment: European Perspectives (Harvester, 1991). He has also contributed nine volumes to the The Sage Library of Criminology (Sage, 2007–2009). He is co-editor of the Sage journal Youth Justice: An International Journal. Margaret Wetherell is Professor of Social Psychology at the Open University, UK and Director of the Economic and Social Research Council Programme on Identities and Social Action.

REVIEWS OF THE FIRST EDITION`Provide[s] a good overview of current family theory and research.... well written and worth having′ - British Journal of Medical Psychology`Altogether an excellent collection for students of social policy, social care or social work, covering as it does both subjective and objective features of family life and the logics of inequality within which they are embedded′ - Child and Family Social Work`The book provides an overview of major belief systems about the family, which are intelligently summarized, often with the use of thoughtfully selected excerpts from major source material. The final endnote, by Roger Sapsford, is particularly insightful as he identifies the problems that arise from trying to confine the family within the private sphere and neatly separating the private from the public aspects of family. Overall, this book is a constructive and comprehensive guide to understanding the family′ - Population and Development Review

• IntroductionPublic Definitions and Private LivesPART ONE: POLITICS, POLICY AND THE LAWIssues in the Study of `The Family′ - John Muncie and Roger SapsfordFamily Policy and Political Discourse - John Muncie and Margaret WetherellFamilies and the Law - Hilary LandPatterns of Diversity and Lived Realities - Rudi Dallos and Roger SapsfordPART TWO: INTERACTIONS AND IDENTITIESConstructing Family Life - Rudi DallosFamily Belief SystemsSocial Structure, Ideology and Family Dynamics - Margaret WetherellThe Case of ParentingThe Psychoanalytic Approach to Family Life - Margaret WetherellA Feminist Looks at the Family - Lynne SegalEndnote - Roger SapsfordPublic and Private