SRES 545 Marriage, Family, and Social Order

Offered in Fall & Spring semesters. This is a survey course in social research with a focus on marriage, family, childbearing and related social trends in America today. Topics to be addressed include: marriage and well-being; family and family formation; cohabitation and emerging adulthood; non-marital childbearing; divorce and well-being; reproductive technologies; demographic trends; and the economic and cultural divisions that correlate with trends in marriage and family. Throughout the course, students will be challenged to understand the theory and methods, benefits and limitations of social research, with an emphasis on questions of statistical inference, causality, selection, and the use of survey data. Attention will also be given to the relationship between social science findings and ethical considerations, especially those situated within the Catholic intellectual tradition. Readings are drawn from highly engaging primary sources, including best-selling monographs, and leading articles and reports in economics, sociology, social psychology, and demographics.

Credits

3.00

Cross Listed Courses

SRES 345 & SRES 545