POL 524, Public Policy and the Family

Professor Patricia Boling, Fall 2015

Th, 6:30-9:20, BRNG B206

Professor’s contact information:

Pat BolingOffice: BRNG Hall 2256, Phone: 494-3711, Email:

Office Hours: T 8:30-10:30, W 8:00-9:15,and by appointment

*Let’s try to talk about ideas, interpretations and readings in person, not by email (which is fine for conveying information, but not so good for thinking together.)

Course Description

The American approach to social welfare tends to leave much of the work of raising the young and tending the old to the private sphere of the family or market; we often hear that expensive, hyper-regulatory welfare states like Sweden run counter to our core values. But whether we want a hands-off state or a generous one that mitigates work-family conflicts, nurtures all children, and cares for the frail elderly, we do have a variety of family-related laws and policies in the United States, crafted in the context of fundamental historical, political and institutional forces. Our aim in this course is to understand family policies and the forces that shaped them better.

A theme that weaves through the course is change and incomplete revolutions. Gerson’s book uses this metaphor in its title, and many others discuss the impact of rapid social changes that have not yet fully transformed gender relations inside the family or out (e.g., Esping-Andersen, The Incomplete Revolution, 2009). We will talk about some of the forces that have fundamentally challengedand changed family forms: the gay rights movement, the mass movement of women into the workforce, the increase in divorce rates, the difficulty men have finding and keeping male breadwinner jobs in the post-industrial world, and changing gender norms. We will expand our purview beyond the U.S. as we consider other countries’ approaches to family policy.

If change and revolution is one motif, another is historical continuity and forces that pull us in recurrent, familiar directions. Several readings provide historically grounded approaches to understanding why some have been forced to provide care, why housewives and others have been cast as dependent, and institutional repertoires and competencies are so important for shaping policy development.

At the end of the course, my goals are

for you to understand macroscopic social changes—demographic, political, and policy changes—that are changing the landscape of families in the U.S. and around the world.
To encourage you to think critically about the role that citizens, governments and employers can and should play in recognizing and easing work-family conflicts and issues, drawing on comparisons between the US and other countries.
For you to learn a lot about what family policies are and to understand various explanations for why countries take different approaches to issues that affect families.
to foster wide-ranging thought, debate and discussion of issues that are (sometimes) personal, visceral and contested. Diverse opinions are bound to exist among a citizenry with varying experiences, political opinions, and notions of moral propriety, and my aim is to encourage wide-ranging, lively, and respectful discussion of a wide range of values, ideas and perspectives.

We cannot cover everything interesting about families and family policies in 15 weeks, so I would like you to research and write a term paper that explores questions or approaches that we do not necessarily foreground in the course readings. We’ll talk in class about appropriate topics, and I’ll ask you to give me an early version of your topic for this paper by September 17th. There are lots of great issues and topics to be explored, and one of your first assignments will be to browse databases to look for articles and books that address issues or problems you think are important. I love talking with students about their research interests, so come and talk early and often.

Grads vs. undergrads: 500 level courses are a little bit of both, and this raises the issue of whether the course should be dual track or a consolidated course where all students are expected to produce the same work. I use elements of both approaches: everyone has to meet the same basic requirements, but grad students will be expected to write more sophisticated, better conceptualized reader reports, exams and papers. In addition, I will askthe grad studentsto initiate discussion of class readings at least once during the semester (this will entail providing a brief summary and introducing several themes, questions or exercises to guide class discussion). (There will be a sign up sheet for discussion leadingat the beginning of class on September 3rd).

Grad or undergrad, the expectations of this course are significant with respect to both reading and writing, and the class meetings will be a mixture of lecture and discussion. Good discussions are a collective good, so if you cannot devote the time needed to do the readings and be engaged in discussions, don’t take the class.

Books (ordered at Follett’s and University bookstores, or you can buy them on line, or borrow them from course reserves at HSSE). Other items on the course schedule will be available on Blackboard.

Boling, Patricia. (2015). The Politics of Work-Family Policies: Comparing Japan, France, Germany and the United States. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Gerson, Kathleen. 2010.The Unfinished Revolution: Coming of Age in a New Era of Gender, Work, and Family.New York: Oxford University Press [available as an online resource] (Stone, Opting Out; Crittenden, The Price of Motherhood)

Glenn, Evelyn Nakano. 2010. Forced to Care: Coercion and Caregiving in America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press

Shdaimah, Corey and Elizabeth Palley. 2014. In Our Hands: The Struggle for U.S. Child Care Policy (Families, Law, and Society). NYU Press.[I didn’t order this book from university bookstores, it’s a new addition. You should have time to order it from Amazon.]

Course Requirements:

Class participation (25%): First, the quality of seminars is dependent on the preparedness and creativity of the group. Much of the quality of this seminar will depend on our engagement with the texts, as a group, and bringing our own thinking and research to group discussions, so I expect you all to attend regularly and come prepared to discuss the assigned readings. (No one’s perfect, and missing one or two classes will not cause a problem. Butas the saying goes, half of life is showing up, so do you best to up, and bear in mind that you might get sick and have to miss a class or two. Please let me know if you encounter serious problems with illness, work, etc.). Second, demonstrate active engagementin class discussions. Complete the assigned readings and reflect on them before you get to class, so you have a couple of ideas to rub together as we discuss topics and readings in class. I will keep track of your preparedness and ability and willingness to venture interesting ideas.

Reader reviews (10%): With an eye toward helping you be prepared for class, please use the purposeful reading report template provided on Blackboard to evaluate 10 readings that we read in the first 2 months of the semester, and hand paper copies of those reports in at the end of the class for which the reading was assigned. These must be completed by October 29th.

Midterm essays (25%): There will be a take-home exam due on October 22.

Research Paper (40%): I want you to write a well-conceived and well researched paper on a topic of your choosing, drawing on appropriate data and research. Two or three rough-and-ready topics must be turned in by September 17, just to get your thinking. I strongly urge you tocome talk with me about your topic in office hours byOctober 30thso that I can advise you about your topic and appropriate sources for researching it. An annotated bibliography and introduction to your paper are due on November 5th, and final drafts of your papers are due byDecember 15th (turning it in earlier is better, and you are free to plan your deadlines any way you like so long as I have your paper by midnight on the 15th). You will give oral presentations of your findings in class on December 3 andDecember 10, so you will be giving your presentations while you are still working on your papers (a chance to see if your basic argument is sound or not). The papers should be substantial efforts, 12-15 pages for undergrads and 20-25 for grads (1” margins, double spaced, 12 point font).

Paper topics, 9/17:5 %
Introduction and annotated bib, 11/5:5
Final draft of paper, 12/15:25
In class presentation of research: 5
Total percentage of final grade:40%

Grading:

Regular attendance and active, informed participation 25%

10 response papers, dueby Oct 2910%

Midterm essays, due October 22 25%

Final paper (see breakdown and due dates above): 40%

My grading breakdowns follow standard cutoffs for A, A-, B+, B, B- etc:

98-100A+

94-97A

90-93A-

87-89B+

84-86B

80-83B- and so on

Class Schedule: unless otherwise indicated, readings are eitherfrom the required texts, readily available on the internet or through a link,or they are PDF files available on Blackboard. We will do our best to stick with this schedule for class meetings, but unforeseen events can sometimes disrupt the best-laid plans. If an emergency of some kind occurs, we will revise assignments, due dates, and so on to meet the exigency.

27-Aug / Introduction to the course and to one another. Discuss: What are the defining features of families? How expansive or flexible can we be, and still be talking about families? What kinds of issues are families today dealing with? Lecture: historical background, context for understanding why families are the way they are, some policy-related concepts.
An overview of some issues
3-Sep / What kinds of problems do American families face? A few possible answers include high divorce rates, poverty, kids in troubled families dealing with divorce and custody disputes, abuse, and issues facing working families (finding good child care, having time to spend with children, kids vs. career choices). Other phenomena (not problems) of interest might include families that diverge from standard norms (white, middle class, intact marriage between heterosexual partners), children born through surrogacy, adoption, foster children. Tonight’s class will focus on a broad range of problems and issues. I want you to spend an hour or two exploring one or more decent databases and to find an article you think sounds interesting, read it, and do a purposeful reader report on it. In addition, please read the following three articles (which you can do reader reports on as well, if you like). They areavailable on BB.
1)Coleman-Jensen, Alisha, Christian Gregory, and Anita Singh. "Household food security in the United States in 2013." USDA-ERS Economic Research Report 173 (2014);
2)Kennedy, Sheela, and Steven Ruggles. "Breaking up is hard to count: The rise of divorce in the United States, 1980–2010." Demography 51.2 (2014): 587-598; and
3)Bianchi, Suzanne M. "Family change and time allocation in American families."The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 638.1 (2011): 21-44. In addition to reading these 3 articles,
Same-sex marriage: issue evolution and the SCOTUS
10-Sep / Same sex marriage: read Bowers v. Georgia, Lawrence v. Texas, US v. Windsor, and Obergefell v. Hodges--they will be posted on BB by September 2nd.
Women's work, paid and unpaid
17-Sep / Read selected materials on "Understanding the Gender Gap: Readings and Cases," available at Please read the Introduction, CH 3, The Devaluation of Women’s Work, and CH 4. Opting Out or Being Pushed? paper topics are due today: give me one or two possible topics, each set out in a medium length paragraph that explains what you find interesting or problematic
Why women's work is devalued and what we can do about it
24-Sep / Read selected materials on "Understanding the Gender Gap: Readings and Cases," available at Please read CH 6, Divorce Law Reform: The Trouble with Properly Valuing Women’s Contribution to the Marital Unit, CH 7, Bucking the Tide, and CH 8, Policy Change.
The Incomplete Gender Revolution
1-Oct / Where are American families today? Read Gerson, The Unfinished Revolution, chapters 1-4
8-Oct / Read Gerson, The Unfinished Revolution, chapters 5-9.
The devaluation of carework
15-Oct / Caregivers for hire in the US: revisit CH 3 from the Gender Gap book, and read Glenn, Forced to Care, chapters 1-3 Midterm questions will be handed out in class today
22-Oct / Please read the following: Glenn, Forced to Care, chapters 4-7; OWL Annotated Bibliographies Handout:
Midterm essays due today
Work-Family Policies, at home and abroad
29-Oct / ShdaimahPalley, In Our Hands, read the Acknowledgements and chapters 1-4
5-Nov / ShdaimahPalley, In Our Hands, chapters 5-9 Introduction and annotated bibliography due today.
12-Nov / How do different countries approach work-family policies? Read Boling, The Politics of Work-Family Policies, chapters 1-4 (discuss agenda setting, demographic crisis, scholarship on work-family issues)
19-Nov / Boling, The Politics of Work-Family Policies, chapters 5-8
26-Nov / Thanksgiving - no class
Research presentations (don't miss these class sessions)
3-Dec / Student presentations 1
10-Dec / Student presentations 2

NOTE on academic dishonesty: do not borrow sources without citing them properly, whether from books, articles, websites, or anywhere else. Put quotations in quotation marks. If you are discovered plagiarizing, you will receive an “F” for the assignment and I will turn you in to the head of the department or the Dean of Students. When in doubt, ask me about sources!

Readings of interest. This list reflects my interests, not everything under the sun related to families. Come by to talk about your research papers with me sometime in the first few weeks of the course—once you’ve got an idea what you want to work on, but before the introduction and annotated bibliography are due on November 5th. I can almost certainly help you figure out some useful sources to read or draw on.

Abramovitz, Mimi and Sandra Morgen with the National Council for Research on Women (2006). Taxes Are a Woman’s Issue: Reframing the Debate. New York: The Feminist Press at CUNY.

Adsera, Alicia (2004). “Changing fertility rates in developed countries. The impact of labor market institutions,” Population Economics 17(1): 17-43.

Bernstein, Anya (2001). The Moderation Dilemma: Legislative Coalitions and the Politics of Family and Medical Leave. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.

Bettio, Francesca and JannekePlantenga (2004). “Comparing Care Regimes in Europe,” Feminist Economics 10(1): 85-113.

Brewster, Karin L. and Ronald R. Rindfuss (2000). “Fertility and Women’s Employment in Industrialized Nations,” Annual Review of Sociology 26(1): 271-96.

Brinton, Mary (2010). Lost in Translation: Youth, Work, and Instability in Postindustrial Japan. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Caldwell, John C. and Thomas Schindlmayr (2003). “Explanations of fertility crisis in modern societies: A search for commonalities,” Population Studies 57(3): 241-63.

Castles, Francis (2003). “The world turned upside down: below replacement fertility, changing preferences and family-friendly public policy in 21 OECD countries,” Journal of European Social Policy 13(3): 209-27.

CLASP (Center for Law and Social Policy) (2011) “Child Care Assistance Profile.” Retrieved June 13, 2013 from

Crittenden, Ann (2001). The Price of Motherhood: Why the Most Important Job in the World is Still the Least Valued. New York: Metropolitan Books.

Deutsch, Francine (1999). Halving it All: How Equally Shared Parenting Works. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Ehrenreich, Barbara and Arlie R. Hochschild, eds. (2003). Global woman: Nannies, maids, and sex workers in the new economy. New York: Metropolitan

Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (1990). The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (1997). “Hybrid or Unique? The Japanese Welfare State Between Europe and America,” Journal of European Social Policy 7(3): 179-89.

Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (1999). Social foundations of postindustrial economies. New York: Oxford University Press.

Estevez-Abe, Margarita (2005). “Gender Bias in Skills and Social Policies: The Varieties of Capitalism Perspectives on Sex Segregation,” Social Politics 12(2): 180-215.

Estevez-Abe, Margarita (2007). “Gender the Varieties of Capitalism: Gender Bias in Skills and Social Policies,” in Frances McCall Rosenbluth (ed.), The Political Economy of Japan’s Low Fertility. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 63-86.

Fass, Sarah. (2009). “Paid Leave in the States: A Critical Support for Low-wage Workers and Their Families.” National Center for Children in Poverty, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, NY, NY. (March 2009.)

Folbre, Nancy (2001). The Invisible Heart. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Fraser, Nancy and Linda Gordon. (1997). “A Genealogy of Dependency: Tracing A Keyword of the U.S. Welfare State, in Barbara Laslett et al., eds. History and Theory: Feminist Research, Debates, Contestations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 276-303.

Gilens, Martin (1999). Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Glass, Jennifer. (2009). “Work-Life Policies: Future Directions for Research,” chapter 13 of Ann C. Crouter and Alan Booth, eds., Work-Life Policies, Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute Press

Goldin, Claudia (2006). “The Quiet Revolution that Transformed Women’s Employment, Education, and Family,” American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings 96: 1-21.

Gornick, Janet C. and Marcia K. Meyers (2003). Families that Work: policies for reconciling parenthood and employment. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Gornick, Janet C. and Marcia K. Meyers (2009). “Institutions that Support Gender Equality in Parenthood and Employment Transforming Family Divisions of Labor,” in Erik Olin Wright (ed.), The Real Utopias Project. London: Verso. 3-64

Hacker, Jacob S. (2002). The Divided Welfare State: The Battle over Public and Private Social Benefits in the United States. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Hacker, Jacob S. (2005). “Policy Drift: The Hidden Politics of the US Welfare State Retrenchment,” in Wolfgang Streeck and Kathleen Ann Thelen (eds.), Beyond continuity: institutional change in advanced political economies. New York: Oxford University Press, 40-82.