Race and Family

Roberta L. Coles received her PhD in sociology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She first taught a course on race and family while a PhD candidate and has continued teaching a similar course at Marquette University, where she is Associate Professor of Sociology in the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences. She teaches courses on family, race and family, race and ethnic relations, gender, social inequality, and urban neighborhoods and serves as an adviser to sociology and family studies majors. Her family-related research has focused on African American single fathers and on Turkish elderly. Her work in these areas has been published in the Journal of Aging Studies, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Families in Society, Journal of African American Men, and the Western Journal of Black Studies.

"The author provided interesting, original examples which I found engaging.... I think the biggest strength is avoiding the 'one ethnicity per chapter' approach found in so many books on family diversity. I like the structural approach." Hilary A. Rose, Concordia University "A very useful book as a companion text for courses on race and ethnicity....The chapters are easy to follow for undergraduate students." Renxin Yang, Northern Michigan University "I think the book is needed because there are limited choices currently available and this book is moving in the right direction....A strength is that it is not an edited book like so many other books on this topic. There is a need for detailed study of ethnic minority families, and I am excited about making this book my required text for my Ethnic Families Course" Cheryl Burgan Evans, Miami University "I find the emphasis on social structure particularly appealing. To date, I have used Taylor's [edited] book, which depends on the instructor to provide all of the integration." Gretchen Cornwell, Pennsylvania State University"

• PrefaceCh. 1. IntroductionOverview of textDiscussion of key conceptsCh. 2. Approaching the Study of Race and FamilyEconomic FactorsDemographic FactorsHistorical-legal factorsCh. 3. A Brief History of the American FamilyAmerican Families through the CenturiesCh. 4. Cross-cultural ComparisonsSocial or Legal MarriageMarriage types and choicesMarriage as a family affairFamily power systemsFamily FunctionsCh. 5. Family StructuresExtended Family HouseholdsNuclear family householdsSingle-parent familiesNonfamily householdsCh. 6. Gender Relations and Sex RatiosGender stereotypes and rolesSex ratiosAfrican American gender issuesLatina/o gender issuesAsian American gender issuesNative American gender issuesDomestic ViolenceCh. 7. Intergenerational Relations: Parent and ChildIndividual and communal orientationsEffects of socioeconomic status on children’s well-beingRacial socializationCultural rituals that contribute to racial socializationCh. 8.Intergenerational Relations in Late Life: The Elderly, Their Adult Children and GrandchildrenIntergenerational interactionIllness and deathCh. 9. African American FamiliesHow did slavery shape Black American families?African American families after slaveryAfrican American families todayCh. 10.Native American FamiliesLooking back in historyThe state of American Indians and their families todayCh. 11.Latino American FamiliesManner and timing of entrySimilarities among Hispanic familiesDivergent trends among Latino ethnic groupsCh. 12.Asian American FamiliesEast Asians in AmericaSoutheast Asians in AmericaAsian American families todayCh. 13.Acculturation and Multiracial Family IssuesAcculturationMultiracial issuesBi- or multi-racial identityTransracial adoptionReferences