This course has an assignment that is due by 11:55 pm Central Standard Time on Wednesday night of the first week of class. Failure to complete this assignment will result in your removal from the course for non-participation.

Lamanna, M. A. & Riedmann, A. (2021).  Marriages, families, & relationships: Making choices in a Diverse Society (14th ed).  Cengage Learning Publishing. ISBN 13: 9780357368749

A study of interpersonal relations in courtship and marriage across cultures, with an emphasis on the currently changing values in the United States.  There will be a focus on cultural, social, cognitive, and emotional bases of intimacy, commitment, and family roles.

1.   Provide the student with both a macro-level, structural analysis of marriage, families and close relationships, as well as a more micro-level, individualistic perspective.

2.   To familiarize the student with various methods used to collect and analyze data in social science research and discuss some of the research findings related to marriage, families, and interpersonal relationships.

3.   To investigate many of the historical, cultural, and subcultural variations in the meanings and practices of family life.

4.   To examine, from a social context, some of the stressors commonly facing today’s families.