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Price: $92.95

Format:
Paperback 368 pp.
16 figures and 22 tables, 7" x 9"

ISBN-10:
0195431235

ISBN-13:
9780195431230

Copyright Year:
2010

Imprint: OUP Canada

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Canadian Families Today

New Perspectives, Second Edition

Edited by David Cheal

This contributed collection of original essays by Canadian scholars examines the issues and trends affecting families in Canada today. The text introduces the sociology of family life by illustrating the changing and diverse definition of families and exploring various life stages and events such as relationship formation and marriage, child-raising, and the life experiences of the elderly. With a wealth of pedagogical features, this new second edition offers students an in-depth and up-to-date introduction to the sociological study of families.

Readership : Students at universities and colleges enrolled in courses on sociology of the family, which is usually offered at the second- and third-year level.

Reviews

  • "The authors have managed to cover a great deal of often disparate information in a very readable and well-organized way. The authors clearly recognize that they are writing not to colleagues but to undergraduate students while also clearly recognizing students as intelligent, capable, and invested in learning."

    --Wendy Wilson, St Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan
  • "Extensive, comprehensive, and relevant to recent phenomena of the Canadian family."

    --Don Swenson, Mount Royal University

Contributors
Preface
Part I: Conceptualizing Families
1. Patrizia Albanese: 'Introduction to Canada's Families: Historical and Recent Variations; Definitions and Theories'
Part II: The Life Course
2. Rachel Ariss: 'Intimacy, Commitment, and Family Formation'
3. Gillian Ranson: '"Bringing Up" and "Growing Up": Parents, Children, and Family Life'
4. Craig McKie: 'Separation and Divorce: Fragmentation and Renewal of Families'
5. Karen M. Kobayashi: '"Mid-Life Crises": Understanding the Changing Nature of Relationships in Middle-Age Canadian Families'
6. Lori D. Campbell and Michael Carroll: 'Aging in Canadian Families Today'
Part III: Family Issues
7. Deborah K. van den Hoonaard: 'Marriage and Death Rituals' (NEW)
8. Andrea Doucet: 'Families and Work: Connecting Households, Workplaces, State Policies, and Communities
9. Don Kerr and Joseph H. Michalski: 'Family Poverty in Canada: Correlates, Coping Strategies, and Consequences'
10. Doreen M. Fumia: '"I Do" Belong in Canada: Same-Sex Relationships and Marriage'
11. James S. Frideres: 'Building Bridges: Immigrant, Visible Minority, and Aboriginal Families in the Twenty-First Century'
12. Michelle Owen: 'Lack of Support: Canadian Families and Disabilities'
13. Claudia Malacrida: 'Parents with Disabilities' (NEW)
Part IV: Problems, Policies, and Predictions
14. Aysan Sev'er: 'All in the Family: Violence against Women, Children, and the Aged'
15. Catherine Krull: 'Investing in Families and Children: Family Policies in Canada'
16. Margrit Eichler: 'The Past of the Future and the Future of the Family'
Glossary
References
Index

For Instructors:
Image Bank: figures and tables from the text
Test Bank
For Students:
Student Study Guide: Learning Objectives, Study Questions, List of Websites, Further Readings, Key Terms, Glossary

David Cheal is a professor in the Department of Sociology, University of Winnipeg. In addition to editing Canadian Families Today, he has written on the subjects of aging and families for both Routledge and University of Toronto Press.

Family Patterns, Gender Relations - Edited by Bonnie J. Fox
Exploring Family Theories - Edited by Suzanne R. Smith, Raeann R. Hamon, The late Bron B. Ingoldsby and J. Elizabeth Miller
Choices and Constraints in Family Life - Maureen Baker

Special Features

  • Expert contributors. The text's eighteen contributing authors, all experts in their fields, represent a range of perspectives, challenging students to look at Canadian families from multiple points of view.
  • Current. All chapters have been updated with new data and the latest research, giving students the most relevant and current information available.
  • Focuses on diversity. Explores a wide range of family configurations, including blended families; lone-parent households; same-sex relationships and marriage; and families that are childless by choice.
  • Comprehensive. Examines a wide range of topics such as the life experiences of Canada's elderly, the gendered nature of paid and unpaid work in the family economy, the impact of disability on families, the marginalization of individuals who differ from the heterosexual norm, as well as broader social issues including violence, shifts in public policy, and the future of the family, providing students with an extensive look at the issues affecting Canadian families today.
  • Engaging pedagogy. The discussions in the text are supported by a wealth of pedagogical features including chapter learning objectives, study questions, suggestions for further reading, lists of relevant websites, and a glossary to aid in student comprehension of the material.
New to this Edition
  • NEW! New chapter on family rituals (Chapter 7) surrounding events such as marriage and death will engage students with current research on Canadian families.
  • NEW! New chapter on parents with disabilities (Chapter 13), both physical and mental, as well as abuse issues such as drugs-prescription and non-prescription-and alcohol, ensures students are exposed to these important issues.
  • NEW! Online resources for instructors. Includes a companion website and a shared test bank for users of either Cheal, Canadian Families Today, 2/e or Baker, Choices and Constraints in Family Life, 2e, making course planning simple and effective
  • NEW! Online resources for students. Includes pedagogical tools such as learning objectives, study questions, suggestions for further reading, lists of relevant websites, and a glossary to help students grasp key concepts.
  • NEW! Current research and statistics, such as updated Census data, a new table of divorce rates with historical information, new material on common law marriage, and a new table on the historical evolution of Canadian families illustrating changes and trends to the family structure, provide students with the most up-to-date information on Canadian families.