In what ways do men think about and express themselves as procreative beings? Under what circumstances do they develop paternal identities? What is their involvement with partners during the pregnancy and delivery process, and how do they feel about it? In Procreative Man, William Marsiglio addresses these and other timely questions with an eye toward the past, present, and future. Drawing upon writings ranging from sociology to biomedicine, Marsiglio develops a novel framework for exploring men's multifaceted and gendered experiences as procreative beings. Addressing such issues as how men feel about their limited role in the abortion decision and process, how important genetic ties are for men who want to be fathers, and men's reactions to infertility, Marsiglio shows how men's roles in creating and fathering human life is embedded within a rapidly changing cultural and sociopolitical environment. The most comprehensive analysis of men and procreation, this theoretically informed work challenges us to expand our vision of fatherhood.
As humans, we embrace our individuality, yet we chase the comfort and sense of purpose that comes from being part of a group. Especially timely given our polarized world, Chasing We-ness examines how social media, AI, new leadership styles, and other modern developments affect our state of we-ness. It illuminates how our contemporary identities find expression in both progressive and conservative social movements that foster a sense of we-ness. Embracing the reality that "we’re all in this together," the book interrogates our efforts to achieve a state of we-ness that rejects hate, social injustice, and autocratic agendas in the twenty-first century. This book explores why, how, and with what effect we build we-ness into our lives in both healthy and destructive ways. William Marsiglio draws on his expertise as a leading sociologist to explore the motivational forces that inspire a sense of group belonging in intimate groups, civic organizations, thought communities, sports and leisure activities, and work. Promoting initiatives that cultivate mindfulness, empathy, altruism, and leadership, Chasing We-ness proposes essential life skills to empower us, reduce social divisions, strengthen the social fabric, and uplift our spirits as global citizens.
Now more than ever, American dads act as hands-on caregivers who are devoted to keeping themselves and their families healthy. Yet, men are also disproportionately likely to neglect their own health care, diets, and exercise routines—bad habits that they risk passing on to their children. In Dads, Kids, and Fitness, William Marsiglio challenges dads to become more health-conscious in how they live and raise their children. His conclusions are drawn not only from his revealing interviews with a diverse sample of dads and pediatric healthcare professionals, but also from his own unique personal experiences—as a teenage father who, thirty-one years later, became a later-life dad to a second son. Marsiglio’s research highlights the value of treating dads as central players in what he calls the social health matrix, which can serve both healthy children and those with special needs. He also outlines how schools, healthcare facilities, religious groups, and other organizations can help dads make a positive imprint on their families’ health, fitness, and well-being. Anchored in compelling life stories of joy, tragedy, and resilience, Dads, Kids, and Fitness extends and deepens public conversation about health at a pivotal historical moment. Its progressive message breathes new life into discussions about fathering, manhood, and health.
In Stepdads: Stories of Love, Hope, and Repair, William Marsiglio addresses provocative and timely questions facing stepfathers, single mothers, and remarried couples today. Drawing on revealing in-depth interviews, Marsiglio explores how stepfathers and their partners with minor children of all ages make sense of their feelings and circumstances while managing the challenges of their unconventional families. He outlines individual, social, and legal strategies to enhance stepfathers,' mothers,' and children's lives.
The first comprehensive study of men who work and volunteer with kids in a variety of public settings, this book brings to life diverse histories and experiences of men who have worked as coaches, teachers, youth ministers, probation officers, Big Brothers, Boys/Girls Club staff, 4-H agents, and the like. Drawing on in-depth interviews with men between the ages of 19 and 65, ethnographic observations, and more than twenty years of research on fathers, sociologist Marsiglio explores men's motives for doing youth work, effective interpersonal strategies, the perception and expression of mentoring, the mutual influences that youth work and fathering have on each other, the youth workers' own personal development, and the impact of social policy and programmatic initiatives. He offers a forward-looking vision for getting men more involved, and involved more productively, in helping kids thrive.--From publisher description.
As speculative fiction informed by social science and biomedical perspectives, The Male Clock propels readers into a futuristic, yet believable world transformed by SGEV – a debilitating virus that drastically compromises men’s ability to procreate. Set mostly in the years 2034-2042, Jordan Giordano, a prominent American journalist, navigates a world steeped in personal misfortune and public controversy. Jordan chronicles his intimate struggle to become a father and family man while doing investigative reporting related to the ever changing social landscape with its radically altered sexual politics, heated public debates, and new technologies. The troubled era is defined by its upswing in baby farming, pharma company transgressions, new S.W.A.T.-based and bioterrorism technologies, sperm retrieval companies, sperm ID cards, devices preventing wet dreams, a surge in lesbian relationships and male prostitution, sperm-donating priests, and more. Because the novel explores the gendered dimensions to family, interpersonal relations, reproductive and public health, and identity issues it can serve as a provocative supplemental text for diverse courses in sociology, psychology, gender studies, sexualities, history, public health, and related fields. The plot should resonate with young people as well as persons thinking about or trying to have children. Ultimately, The Male Clock will compel people to question how individuals and groups cope with unwanted social change that challenges our identities and social conventions. “Edgy and provocative, The Male Clock is a creative blend of sci-fi and social science that takes the reader into a dystopian future where men’s fertility is threatened and societal norms of masculinities and femininities are turned on their head. Ideal for instructors looking to integrate diverse materials into their gender, sexuality, or families courses.” – Dana Berkowitz, Associate Professor, Sociology and Women's and Gender Studies, Louisiana State University “The Male Clock has exciting possibilities for the classroom of the 21st century: joining smart social science with speculative fiction to help students imagine a dystopian future, and hopefully also to forge positive alternative futures.” – Michael A. Messner, Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies, University of Southern California “The Male Clock is an intriguing twist on normative gender tropes about sex and fertility. With thought-provoking insight into a host of social science topics and a fast-paced sci-fi storyline, The Male Clock is sure to be a useful tool for courses related to gender, sexuality, relationships, family, and health.” – Gayle Kaufman, Professor of Sociology and Gender and Sexuality Studies, Davidson College William Marsiglio, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law, University of Florida, and Fellow in the National Council of Family Relations. Kendra Siler-Marsiglio, Ph.D. (Microbiology and Cell Science), writes health columns, podcasts, and scripts and is a former researcher in Animal Science and Neuroscience departments.
When men act as parents they do so in diverse physical and social spaces imbued with symbolic meaning. They father in the military overseas, on the farm, in dilapidated inner cities, immersed in ethnic neighborhoods, navigating idealized places of leisure where families go, as stepfathers in spaces where physical dimensions and family meanings intersect, as nonresident fathers managing less than ideal conditions, rolling across the interstate as long-haul truckers, playing catch alongside the house, managing precious family-time in prison work-release programs, as participants in community fatherhood initiatives, etc. Until now, family scholars had not explicitly theorized and focused on how physical space shapes fathers' lives. A distinct volume of theoretical and empirical research, Situated Fathering addresses this oversight by proposing a new framework for studying how various contingencies of physical space, in conjunction with social/symbolic issues, affect men's identities as fathers and their involvement with children. Consistent with public interest in men's efforts to 'be there' as providers and caregivers, this book explores issues associated with the barriers and supports to involvement that are part of the physical and social environment. Written largely for family scholars and students, it emphasizes a future-oriented perspective by outlining directions for theoretically guided research in specific, often gendered fathering sites.
American fathers are a highly diverse group, but the breadwinning, live-in, biological dad prevails as the fatherhood ideal. Consequently, policymakers continue to emphasize marriage and residency over initiatives that might help foster healthy father-child relationships and creative co-parenting regardless of marital or residential status. In Nurturing Dads, William Marsiglio and Kevin Roy explore the ways new initiatives can address the social, cultural, and economic challenges men face in contemporary families and foster more meaningful engagement between many different kinds of fathers and their children. What makes a good father? The firsthand accounts in Nurturing Dads show that the answer to this question varies widely and in ways that counter the mainstream "provide and reside" model of fatherhood. Marsiglio and Roy document the personal experiences of more than 300 men from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds and diverse settings, including fathers-to-be, young adult fathers, middle-class dads, stepfathers, men with multiple children in separate families, and fathers in correctional facilities. They find that most dads express the desire to have strong, close relationships with their children and to develop the nurturing skills to maintain these bonds. But they also find that disadvantaged fathers, including young dads and those in constrained financial and personal circumstances, confront myriad structural obstacles, such as poverty, inadequate education, and poor job opportunities. Nurturing Dads asserts that society should help fathers become more committed and attentive caregivers and that federal and state agencies, work sites, grassroots advocacy groups, and the media all have roles to play. Recent efforts to introduce state-initiated paternity leave should be coupled with social programs that encourage fathers to develop unconditional commitments to children, to co-parent with mothers, to establish partnerships with their children's other caregivers, and to develop parenting skills and resources before becoming fathers via activities like volunteering and mentoring kids. Ultimately, Marsiglio and Roy argue, such combined strategies would not only change the policy landscape to promote engaged fathering but also change the cultural landscape to view nurturance as a fundamental aspect of good fathering. Care is a human experience—not just a woman's responsibility—and this core idea behind Nurturing Dads holds important implications for how society supports its families and defines manhood. The book promotes the progressive notion that fathers should provide more than financial support and, in the process, bring about a better start in life for their children. A Volume in the American Sociological Association's Rose Series in Sociology
American fathers are a highly diverse group, but the breadwinning, live-in, biological dad prevails as the fatherhood ideal. Consequently, policymakers continue to emphasize marriage and residency over initiatives that might help foster healthy father-child relationships and creative co-parenting regardless of marital or residential status. In Nurturing Dads, William Marsiglio and Kevin Roy explore the ways new initiatives can address the social, cultural, and economic challenges men face in contemporary families and foster more meaningful engagement between many different kinds of fathers and their children. What makes a good father? The firsthand accounts in Nurturing Dads show that the answer to this question varies widely and in ways that counter the mainstream "provide and reside" model of fatherhood. Marsiglio and Roy document the personal experiences of more than 300 men from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds and diverse settings, including fathers-to-be, young adult fathers, middle-class dads, stepfathers, men with multiple children in separate families, and fathers in correctional facilities. They find that most dads express the desire to have strong, close relationships with their children and to develop the nurturing skills to maintain these bonds. But they also find that disadvantaged fathers, including young dads and those in constrained financial and personal circumstances, confront myriad structural obstacles, such as poverty, inadequate education, and poor job opportunities. Nurturing Dads asserts that society should help fathers become more committed and attentive caregivers and that federal and state agencies, work sites, grassroots advocacy groups, and the media all have roles to play. Recent efforts to introduce state-initiated paternity leave should be coupled with social programs that encourage fathers to develop unconditional commitments to children, to co-parent with mothers, to establish partnerships with their children's other caregivers, and to develop parenting skills and resources before becoming fathers via activities like volunteering and mentoring kids. Ultimately, Marsiglio and Roy argue, such combined strategies would not only change the policy landscape to promote engaged fathering but also change the cultural landscape to view nurturance as a fundamental aspect of good fathering. Care is a human experience—not just a woman's responsibility—and this core idea behind Nurturing Dads holds important implications for how society supports its families and defines manhood. The book promotes the progressive notion that fathers should provide more than financial support and, in the process, bring about a better start in life for their children. A Volume in the American Sociological Association's Rose Series in Sociology
An attempt at a new story of our emergence from the violence of the ancient cities. Those cities spun the cocoon in which our civilization matured. The human self is like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. In this study author and religious scholar John William Kuckuk traces the path of human evolution and what it means for the world today. He examines the advantages our ancestors had that helped them survive, considering how the brain developed. From Greek and biblical beginnings the human self grew more self-conscious as Europe developed. Through the Renaissance, the late Middle Ages, the Reformation and the Enlightenment, our culture developed a new appreciation of the human self. He also relates how philosophy, media, and religion steered the course of Western history and how culture continues to evolve. The complex dynamics among species, peoples, and schools of thought have led to violence, misunderstandings, and the repression of the human spirit. As humanity continues to evolve, we can work toward a better future by understanding our past.
Readable and informative, this major text in Reformation history is a detailed exploration of the many facets of the Reformation, especially its relationship to the Renaissance. Estep pays particular attention to key individuals of the period, including Wycliffe, Huss, Erasmus, Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin. Illustrated with maps and pictures.
First Published in 1967, Politics and Government at Home and Abroad presents William A. Robson’s penetrating observations on the basic requirements of democratic politics and government. Divided into two parts the essays cover a wide field. Part I deals with the fundamental questions of political thought such as relation between freedom, equality, and socialism; education and democracy, and the basic issues of practical government like reform of the British government; and the future of public administration. Part II of the book brings travelogue essays with author’s reflections on India, America, and Russia. This book is an essential read for students and researchers of political science and public administration.
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