Race And Family: A Structural Approach

"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    

In Race and Family: A Structural Approach, author Roberta L. Coles looks at ethnic minority families in a novel way― through a structural lens. Unlike many texts on race and family, this book offers an approach that illustrates overarching structural factors affecting all families as opposed to examining each ethnicity in isolation from one another. By focusing on various structural factors such as demographic, economic, and historical aspects, this book analyzes various family trends in a cross-cutting manner to exemplify the similarities and distinctions among all racial and ethnic groups.  

Key Features:

• Establishes commonalities and differences across various cultures within American society in an approach that enables students to better compare and contrast different ethnic groups
• Covers multiracial families, in addition to traditional ethnic groups such as African American, Native American, Latino American, and Asian American, to provide the most contemporary examination of American families
• Uses the latest research and Census data to present a relevant assessment of trends in family structure, gender relations, intergenerational relations, family violence, acculturation, interracial marriage, and adoption in an increasingly diverse American context
• Includes an annotated listing of suggested videos, autobiographies, articles, and Web sites students can explore for further information  

Race and Family is a brief core textbook designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying ethnic minority families and family diversity in the departments of Human Development & Family Studies, Family & Consumer Sciences, and Sociology.  

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.