Family Study in Canada during Sociology's Shifts from RC to PC to DC*

Abstract

l'étude sociologigue de la famille a fait ses débuts au Québec il y a plus de 100 ans. Or, à la fin des années 1960, les cours de sociologie de la famille se sont rapidement répandus dans les universités anglo‐canadiennes. Cet article vise à examiner la sociologie familiale et son développement autant sur le plan académique qu'en ce qui a trait à la société canadienne entre 1964 et 1989. L'auteure tente également d'ex‐pliquer la hausse et le déclin dans l'étude de la famille par les socio‐logues canadiens depuis la fin du XIXe siecle. Le but de cet article est d'apporter un complément à lTiistoire de la sociologie canadienne, qui est en train de se développer et qui dispose de peu de références à ce jour dans ce sous‐domaine. Enfin, on considère l'avenir de la sociologie familiale au Canada. The sociological study of families began over 100 years ago in Quebec, and during the late 1960s courses in family sociology spread rapidly throughout Anglo‐Canadian universities. In this paper the field of family sociology is examined as it developed in the context of the Canadian academy and sociology between 1964 and 1989, and explanations are offered for the rise and fall of interest in the study of family by Canadian sociologists over the years since the late 19th century. The aim is to complement the history of Canadian sociology that is being developed by chroniclers who so far have seldom mentioned the sub‐field. Finally, the future of family sociology in Canada is considered.

Another View of Sociology of the Family in Canada: A Comment on Nett(1996)*

“…

IN A RECENT PAPER in this journal, Emily Nett (1996) identified an important problem in sociology. The difficulty is that issues identified as family matters-topics involving intimate relations and personal, private life-are marginalized in the discipline, as they are in the larger society.

…”

Response to Bonnie Fox's Comment “Another View of Sociology of the Family in Canada”

“…Far from it: my expressed opinion was that Canadian feminist critics had not included in their attacks on the field the textbooks published for general use in Canada (Nett, 1996: 36-37). Fox also misconstrues the paper's actual conclusions.…”