Synopses & Reviews
Single-parent families succeed. Within these families children thrive, develop, and grow, just as they do in a variety of family structures. Tragically, they must do so in the face of powerful legal and social stigma that works to undermine them.
As Nancy E. Dowd argues in this bold and original book, the justifications for stigmatizing single-parent families are founded largely on myths, myths used to rationalize harshly punitive social policies. Children, in increasing numbers, bear the brunt of those policies. In this generation, more than two-thirds of all children will spend some time in a single-parent family before reaching age 18. The damage done in the name of justified stigma, therefore, harms a great many children.
Dowd details the primary justifications for stigmatizing single-parent families, marshalling an impressive array of resources about single parents that portray a very different picture of these families. She describes them in all their forms, with particular attention to the differential treatment given never-married and divorced single parents, and to the impact of gender, race, and class. Emphasizing that all families face significant conflicts between work and family responsibilities, Dowd argues many two-parent families, in fact, function as single-parent caregiving households. The success or failure of families, she contends, has little to do with form. Many of the problems faced by single-parent families mirror problems faced by all families.
Illustrating the harmful impact of current laws concerning divorce, welfare, and employment, Dowd makes a powerful case for centering policy around the welfare and equality of all children. A thought-provoking examination of the stereotypes, realities and possibilities of single-parent families, In Defense of Single-Parent Families asks us to consider the true purpose or goal of a family.
Review
“The nation state has been at the institutional heart of the last 200 years as it defined our economic and political lives. It is, however, an insufficient platform from which to face the challenges of the 21st Century. This excellent book provides a very useful schema with which to consider both the limits of our current institutions and the possible shape of their successors. I recommend it to scholars, policy makers, and anyone worried about the next crisis.” “This volume unravels a complex web of connections around the current financial and economic crisis. Among its revelations are: the difficulty of a renewed Keynesian solution because of the gridlock of weak national and transnational institutions with inadequate authority and oversight; the irony that cap-and-trade solutions to environmental issues rely on the same bankers and traders at the core of the financial crisis; and the maneuvers of offshore capitalism in evading state regulation by instant electronic financial transfers under flags of convenience. This work peels back the skin of a rather sinister global beast.”
“A group of distinguished social scientists tackle some of the central governance challenges produced by the recent economic, political, and social crises. The topics they address--such as the environment, religion, nationalism, war, and the prospects for global governance--are essential to understanding the contemporary world.”
Review
"A strong argument in favor of public support for needy families bringing up young children, particularly those where single parents are the sole caretakers. . . . A thoughtful analysis of a serious problem in this country; recommended for professionals, academics, and the public." -Library Journal,
Review
"Dowd does a good job of explaining how discrimination in the workplace and the devaluation of those who provide child care works against the single parent. . . . Should provoke lively classroom discussion." -Choice,
Review
"If there is a less-popular cause in this country than single-parent families, it doesn't come readily to mind. But Dowd presents a very different view of single-parent families as pioneers in the development of nonpatriarchal family structures, arguing that the perceived inferiority of single-parent families has more to do with bias and poverty than the lack of a male figure, and that we need legal change to increase employment, income and community support."-National Law Journal,
Synopsis
Response to financial meltdown is entangled with basic challenges to global governance. Environment, global security and ethnicity and nationalism are all global issues today. Focusing on the political and social dimensions of the crisis, contributors examine changes in relationships between the worlds richer and poorer countries, efforts to strengthen global institutions, and difficulties facing states trying to create stability for their citizens.Contributors include: William Barnes, Rogers Brubaker, Vincent Della Sala, Nils Gilman, David Held, Mary Kaldor, Adrian Pabst, Ravi Sundaram, Vadim Volkov, Michael Watts, and Kevin Young.
The three volumes can purchased individually or as a set.
About the Author
Craig Calhoun is Director of the London School of Economics and Global Distinguished Professor of Sociology at New York University. His most recent book is
The Roots of Radicalism: Tradition, the Public Sphere, and Early Nineteenth-Century Social Movements.
Georgi Derluguian is Associate Professor of International Studies and Sociology at Northwestern University and is the author of Bourdieu's Secret Admirer in the Caucasus: A World-System Biography.
Table of Contents