The State of the Changing Contemporary Family
Claremont, Calif. (February 16, 2006) – Pitzer College is hosting a two-day, interdisciplinary conference on family that brings together national scholars to discuss the state of contemporary families and issues related to family. The intent of this conference is to draw in a much broader community in this most important dialogue, which has lacked a reasoned conversation about families from the scholars, practitioners, and advocates who study them directly.
In the United States, the percentage of households consisting of a nuclear family declined from 78.2% in 1950 to less than 25% in 2000, as reported in the U.S. Census. Political pundits have claimed that the last presidential election was won and lost based on a portion of the American electorates’ opposition to gay marriage. Conservative religious leaders continue to speak out against shelters for female victims of domestic violence, arguing that such institutions threaten the “integrity” of the family. Clearly, the contemporary family is an institution in much flux. “The days of two-parent, Ozzie & Harriet families, full-time stay-at-home mothers, and benevolent-dictator fathers, no longer represent reality for most American families,” Professor of Psychology Mita Banerjee said.
The conference events include sessions with professors from The Claremont Colleges and other national scholars on interracial adoptions, the family in cross-cultural context, same-sex marriage and legal issues in gay marriage/adoption, and a screening and discussion of the film “Dear Gabe.” Lunch will be provided to those who reply in advance.
For more information, please call (909) 607-3450 or email family_conference @pitzer.edu.
Thursday, February 23 from 7:00-9:00 P.M.
and Friday, February 24 from 9:00 A.M.–6:00 P.M.
Broad Center Performance Space at Pitzer College
