Since we are to talk about our papers this week, I will give a little insight on the topic that I am writing about. My topic is 'Can a same-sex family be a "normal" or "traditional" family?' With the recent developments of the gay men that want to keep raising their HIV infect children, I am sure I will be able to numerous sources to help, because more same-sex couples will want to come forward to show their support.

Kinda funny... I went to week 10 first and had started to post a message when it occured to me that the posting site seemed a little bare... then I checked week 9 and here I am... HAHAHA.

My paper will focus on the perception of the 'American Family' through the eyes of those who do not belong to American families. Specifically, what do people from foreign countries think about American families and any associated stereotypes.

If anyone has any ideas of where I can do some research, please let me know... thanks.

Edited by author 05-24-2002 02:45 PM
As I mentioned in class, the essay about the Indian students being brought back east to be 'civilized' was interesting. If you didn't get a chance to read it, I recommend it, as it gives a differnt perspective as pertaining to the Native Indian culture. My final essay relates to immigrant workers in America and their effects on us. As for your research Isaac, I have made friends with students from southeast Asia on the first floor at Alden, and I am sure they could give you some insight on a different view of American Families. For example; I mentioned the Vietnam War, but my Vietnamese friend stated that she doesn't see it as a war between America and Vietnam. She comes from Hanoi,and told me it was a Vietnamese Civil War; so there you go-a different view.

I chose to do my research on The Black Family. I have found a wealth of information because of how much of an issue this is becoming. The black family is the smallest unit of the African American community, a significant concept when understanding the value system. So...you study the black family, ad you study a microcosim of the community as a whole. I think it will be interesting to research values systems within this community and how this has changed over the years as it operated within different contexts.

I am sort of exploring the same thing as Larae, only from a different perspective. I have been learning about the Africanist aesthetic in my dance history class. Terms like the aesthetic of cool, which is used to describe both African and Black American dance will be the focal point of my paper. I want to explore how those same terms apply to the values of the Black Family, and how the use of these movement vocabularies and their meanings carries over into the very essence of how people of the African Diaspora relate to themselves, their friends and family, and to the world around them. Other terms describing the Africanist aesthetic include "embracing the conflict", "high affect juxtaposition", and "polycentrism". I'm really excited to do this, and the paper will include some more interviews with people about their family background.

I'm researching the way one's religious upbringing affects his or her values and morals, specifically through young adulthood, when children are sort of letting go of their parents and becoming more independent. I think it is at this time when people begin meeting new, diverse people and experimenting with different faiths, practices, and lifestyles. I've already found that although the people I interviewed credit their religious upbringing somewhat for their current values and morals, most of them do not consider themselves devoted to whatever religion or faith they were raised.

Wow! After all this time, I almost forgot to do this. Isaac, you are not alone! (ha,ha!) Anyway, my paper is going to be a more thorough look at changing family values and how we all are affected by that. It seems that, like Larae's topic, there is a wealth of information about this topic. That can be a blessing or a curse. So far, it seems that most of the values are what we discussed in class, but there are some new perspectives on how the families are changing and whether the changes are myth or reality. It's proving to be interesting which is a great thing. If you are looking for some good search engines, Dogpile is connected to all other search engines, so if you go there, it will be able to further your searches by being linked to the bigger picture. Happy hunting! Have a wonderful and safe week-end.

Edited by author 05-24-2002 11:44 PM
It’s simply horrible and evil that I have to think after watching Episode 2, but I suppose I can drag myself into a thoughtful enough frame of mind in order to do this. (Just kidding, though I did almost forget that I had to post tonight. The realization came halfway through the movie.)

My paper is going to be a review of Coontz’s book, using other reviews as reference material. Since most of us know how very much I enjoyed the well-balanced writing style (insert sarcastic grin here), I think we can see where this is going. This isn’t to say that she doesn’t bring up valid points, because she does. It is simply my intent to argue that she could do so in a manner which didn’t favor one gender so heavily over the other, because there can never be any valid solution that does not involve both sides of a problem in one manner or another.

Have a great weekend, people. I know I’m going to try to since it’s been about the only one I’ve had all quarter. =)

I'm just like James; I almost completely forgot to post this...I don't know what even made me think of it but, whew! Just in time, only 5 minutes left!! I am quite honestly not looking forward to researching anything for my paper because, for me, that is the hardest part. But if I can get that done and maybe even part of my paper this weekend I will be pleased. I think I'm going to narrow down my topic a little more so it's easier to focus my thoughts on and write about. Gotta go...time's almost up. Let's hope I don't forget next week.

This message is late. I was in Florida at Eglin AirFOrce base. I am looking forwad to the paper

I'm with Natalie, I'm having a sickness in the family and have been in and out of town for the past week and a half. I'm really enjoying the research for my paper, so far everything has been extremely interesting.

Sorry for posting so late. I was just looking through the postings to make sure that I had posted to them all. I thought for sure I had already posted to this week but I guess not. So I don't know if I will get credit for this or not but I thought I would post any way.

My paper is going very well. I am almost finished with it, thank goodness. I had a lot of fun this quarter, but I am really excited to be having a break from it all.