The New Family ?

Carol Smart is Professor of Sociology at the University of Leeds. Her publications include: The Ties that Bind: Law, Marriage and the Reproduction of Patriarchal Relations (1984); Feminism and the Power of Law (1989); and Regulating Womanhood: Historical Essays on Marriage, Motherhood and Sexuality (edited, 1992).

`I would recommend the book to anyone with an interest in the family, whether their interest is in constructs of "old" family values and morals, or in the "new" alternatives, and (possibly from a political point of view), threatening family. It provides food for thought for members of all these groups′ - Journal of Reproductive & Infant Psychology`The essays explore the increasing diversity, both for the study of sociology and for the wider political agenda′ - International Journal of Law and the Family`...as an objective account of certain aspects of modern families, the authors succeed in challenging dominant views and reveal the lack of balance between policies based on how families should function as opposed to what they actually do′ - Family Practice

• The `New′ Practices and Politics of Family Life - Elizabeth B Silva and Carol SmartRisk and Family Practices - David MorganAccounting for Change and Fluidity in Family LifeResourcing the Family - Sarah IrwinGendered Claims and Obligations and Issues of ExplanationTransforming Housewifery - Elizabeth B SilvaDispositions, Practices and TechnologiesA Passion for `Sameness′ - Gillian DunneSexuality and Gender AccountabilityEveryday Experiments - Jeffrey Weeks, Catherine Donovan and Brian HeaphyNarratives of Non-Heterosexual RelationshipsThe `New′ Parenthood - Carol SmartFathers and Mothers after DivorceGenerational Ties in the `New′ Family - Joanna Bornat et alChanging Contexts for Traditional ObligationsBrothers and Sisters, Uncles and Aunts - Mary ChamberlainA Lateral Perspective on Caribbean Families Reconsidering Children and Childhood - Julia BrannenSociological and Policy Perspectives