The Age of Independence: Interracial Unions, Same-Sex Unions, and the Changing American Family [Hardcover]

Michael J. Rosenfeld (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0674024974 | ISBN-13: 978-0674024977 | Publication Date: March 31, 2007

Michael Rosenfeld offers a new theory of family dynamics to account for the interesting and startling changes in marriage and family composition in the United States in recent years. His argument revolves around the independent life stage that emerged around 1960. This stage is experienced by young adults after they leave their parents' homes but before they settle down to start their own families. During this time, young men and women go away to college, travel abroad, begin careers, and enjoy social independence. This independent life stage has reduced parental control over the dating practices and mate selection of their children and has resulted in a sharp rise in interracial and same-sex unions--unions that were more easily averted by previous generations of parents.

Complementing analysis of newly available census data from the entire twentieth century with in-depth interviews that explore the histories of families and couples, Rosenfeld proposes a conceptual model to explain many social changes that may seem unrelated but that flow from the same underlying logic. He shows, for example, that the more a relationship is transgressive of conventional morality, the more likely it is for the individuals to live away from their family and area of origin.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An original and provocative thesis with impressive evidence in support of it.
--Andrew Cherlin, The Johns Hopkins University (20071201)

A serious and thought-provoking take on the dramatic transformations taking place in early adulthood—and their far-reaching implications for the future of sexuality, race, and family life in America.
--Steven Mintz, Stanford University (20070901)

A significant contribution to the literature on interracial relationships, same-sex relationships, and family dynamics. Perhaps most importantly, this work provides compelling statistical evidence to support what for too long have been anecdotal arguments.
--Renee Romano, Wesleyan University (20080501)

Michael Rosenfeld's The Age of Independence is perhaps the most intellectually provocative study of family change in the United States to be published in the past decade. Weaving together strands of literature from social history, demography, and cultural movements, it proposes an explanation of how and why Americans shifted their marriage practices to embrace greater tolerance for "alternative unions," including cohabitation and interracial and same-sex partnerships...The Age of Independence, slim in pages but not in content, is engaging reading and should be especially attractive to those of us who are always on the lookout for worthy books for graduate seminars on the family...Rosenfeld's book provides a rich lode of ideas for empirical examination. Whether he is right or wrong in all of the particulars, he has written a valuable book.
--Frank F. Furstenberg, Jr. (Population and Development Review )

The book offers an original argument about the sources of family change, and about the past and future of the American family. (Family Forum )

Rosenfeld's book is meticulously researched, carefully argued, and beautifully written, and it deserves a place on the "must-read" list of social demographers as well as other social scientists working in the areas of family, race and sexuality...This book has so much going for it that I believe it is destined to rank as a classic in the fields of family demography and sociology of the family.
--Kathleen E. Hull (International Journal of Sociology of the Family )

About the Author

Michael J. Rosenfeld is Associate Professor of Sociology at Stanford University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (March 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674024974
• ISBN-13: 978-0674024977
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,692,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provocative and Accessible, March 6, 2007

By 

David J. Frank (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Age of Independence: Interracial Unions, Same-Sex Unions, and the Changing American Family (Hardcover)

This work addresses fundamental changes along a core dimension of social life, documenting and theorizing the rise of nontraditional - i.e., interracial and same-sex - unions in the U.S. in the post-1960s era. In engaging and readable prose, the author presents data (mostly from the U.S. Census) showing striking expansions in the prevalence of nontraditional unions, which he postulates arise concomitant with a new "independent life stage," during which time young people live apart from their families and forge unions outside community control. The empirical and theoretical contributions of the book are both substantial.

To my knowledge, no other scholarly work treats the expansions of interracial and same-sex unions as inter-related indicators of a shifting American life course. While there are normative/psychological treatments and social-movement accounts of the central phenomena, the demographic perspective taken here is entirely original. The author's presentation of the trends is outstanding, and his interpretation thereof is important and original. The scholarship is uniformly superior.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rosenfeld hits a home run, May 14, 2007

By 

J. Anderson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Age of Independence: Interracial Unions, Same-Sex Unions, and the Changing American Family (Hardcover)

This is an academic book that is also relevant and accessible to the lay community. Professor Rosenfeld writes in a confident, clear, and engaging manner that makes this book truly a pleasure to read. His study is not only fascinating but timely. I highly recommend this book!

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars State of the Union, March 17, 2007

By 

Reader (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Age of Independence: Interracial Unions, Same-Sex Unions, and the Changing American Family (Hardcover)

This is a terrific book about changing attitudes toward marriage in America. I'm very interested in the topic (mostly because my girlfriend thinks I should be), but I was afraid the writing would be too technical for me. In fact it's an easy read, well-written and to the point. It really opened up the subject for me.

Rosenfeld covers non-traditional unions in America from a variety of angles (historical, cultural, statistical, and legal, among others) and includes compelling narratives from the lives of gay and interracial couples. I came away with a new appreciation for the subtleties of the issues involved, and was convinced by his analysis of the factors influencing progressive change in this country.

Marriage is one of those topics for which "expert" opinions are offered freely. Everyone from my green-grocer to my aunt Gertrude seems to be ready to tell me who should and shouldn't be married. I'd like to buy a dozen copies of this book and hand it out to all of them. If you're at all interested in the institution of marriage, this book is a must-read.