Understanding the Family: (Published in Association with The Open University)

`Provide[s] a good overview of current family theory and research.... well written and worth having′ - British Journal of Medical Psychology `Altogether an excellent collection for students of social policy, social care or social work, covering as it does both subjective and objective features of family life and the logics of inequality within which they are embedded′ - Child and Family Social Work This revised and updated introductory text presents an accessible, interdisciplinary account of how ′the family′ is constituted in the ′public′ and ′private′ spheres. Drawing in a wide range of theoretical perspectives from sociology, social policy, psychology and psychoanalysis, this book critically examines assumptions about ′the family′ that are embedded in social policy, law and political discourse. The text outlines the tensions that exist between such assumptions and the lived realities and everyday experiences of family life. Understanding the Family shows how dominant understanding of the family have failed to recognize a marked diversity of family forms in contemporary society, and also ignore the complex and myriad ways in which family life comes to be experienced.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Public Definitions and Private Lives PART ONE: POLITICS, POLICY AND THE LAW Issues in the Study of `The Family′ - John Muncie and Roger Sapsford Family Policy and Political Discourse - John Muncie and Margaret Wetherell Families and the Law - Hilary Land Patterns of Diversity and Lived Realities - Rudi Dallos and Roger Sapsford PART TWO: INTERACTIONS AND IDENTITIES Constructing Family Life - Rudi Dallos Family Belief Systems Social Structure, Ideology and Family Dynamics - Margaret Wetherell The Case of Parenting The Psychoanalytic Approach to Family Life - Margaret Wetherell A Feminist Looks at the Family - Lynne Segal Endnote - Roger Sapsford Public and Private

About the Author :
John Muncie is Emeritus Professor of Criminology at the Open University, UK. He is the author of Youth and Crime (5th edition, Sage, 2021), and he has published widely on issues in comparative youth justice and children’s rights, including the co-edited companion volumes Youth Crime and Justice and Comparative Youth Justice (Sage, 2006). He has produced numerous Open University texts and readers, including Crime: Local and Global (Willan, 2010), Criminal Justice: Local and Global (Willan, 2010), The Problem of Crime (2nd edition, Sage, 2001), Crime Prevention and Community Safety (Sage, 2001) and Imprisonment: European Perspectives (Harvester, 1991). He has also contributed nine volumes to the The Sage Library of Criminology (Sage, 2007–2009). He is co-editor of the Sage journal Youth Justice: An International Journal. Margaret Wetherell is Professor of Social Psychology at the Open University, UK and Director of the Economic and Social Research Council Programme on Identities and Social Action.

Review :
REVIEWS OF THE FIRST EDITION `Provide[s] a good overview of current family theory and research.... well written and worth having′ - British Journal of Medical Psychology `Altogether an excellent collection for students of social policy, social care or social work, covering as it does both subjective and objective features of family life and the logics of inequality within which they are embedded′ - Child and Family Social Work `The book provides an overview of major belief systems about the family, which are intelligently summarized, often with the use of thoughtfully selected excerpts from major source material. The final endnote, by Roger Sapsford, is particularly insightful as he identifies the problems that arise from trying to confine the family within the private sphere and neatly separating the private from the public aspects of family. Overall, this book is a constructive and comprehensive guide to understanding the family′ - Population and Development Review