Marriage & the Family

General Works

Encyclopedia of Marriage and the Family. 2 vols. R 306.803 ENCYCLO

Excellent summary articles on all aspects; readable but reports on research studies; extensive up-to-date bibliographies.

Encyclopedia of American Social History. 3 vols. R301.0973 ENCYCLO

Vol. 3 Part XI “Family History” has overview articles on topics such as Adolescence, Childhood and Family Structures. Looks at the current situation in terms of history.

The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality. 4 vols. R 306.703 INTERNA

Has comprehensive entries for 32 countries covering topics such as courtship, marriage and family, divorce, prostitution, teenage pregnancy, etc. Also has general entries comparing countries on major topics.

American Men and Women: Demographics of the Sexes. R 305.3097 AMERICA c. 2000

Readable charts and graphs of statistics broken down by sex and age.

Encyclopedia of Social Work. 3 vols. R 361.93 1995

Deals with topics such as Childhood, Marriage Partners, Adoption and Child Foster Care from the point of view of the social services. Bibliographies.

Encyclopedia of Human Behavior. 4 vols. R 150.3 ENCYCLO

Excellent for topics such as Aggression, Child Abuse and Marriage. Defines terms; describes different theories; reports on research. Short bibliographies.

Cross Cultural Works

Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. R 305.8003 WORLDMA

Good overview of country. Check sections on interpersonal relations, family life, social problems. Also has entries for major cultural groups.

Encyclopedia of World Cultures. R 306.097 EN19

See Vol. l, North America for information about American ethnic groups. Excellent anthropological description of culture in each continent. Entries vary in length, but usually have sections on kinship and marriage and the family. See maps in front and Ethnonym Index in back for name of culture.

Marriage, Family and Relationships: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia. R 306.803 BROUDE

Arranged by topic, selects examples from all over the world to compare attitudes and behaviors. Use index to locate information on specific cultures and countries.

Material World: A Global Family Portrait. R 306.85 MENZEL

Photographers cover all parts of the world but not all countries. Photograph of typical family in front of their home with all major family belongings. Describes and photographs the family.

Families of the World: Family Life at the Close of the 20th Century. 2 vols. R 306.85 TREMBL

Photographs of families with a timeline of how family members spend the day. Covers North and South America, Oceania, Asia.

A History of the Family. V. 2: The Impact of Modernity. RESERVE 306.8509 HISTORY

Articles on the family in the 20th century in different parts of the world, e.g. “India: The Family, the State, and Women”.

Women in the Material World. 305.4 DALUISI

Photographers interview and photograph 21 women from 21 countries. Also has topical sections such as Marriage with paragraphs and photos on several countries.

Routledge International Encylopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge. 4 vols. R 305.403 ROUTLED c. 2000

Organized by issue and topic. Covers issue in general then has article on regions of the world, e.g. “Education: Sub-Saharan Africa”. Use index by country to locate information on specific topics.

The Official Guide to Racial and Ethnic Diversity. R 317.3 RUSSELL

Area Handbooks and Encyclopedias

Check the reference area for encyclopedias on your country or region. Look for major articles on topics such as Marriage, Family. Examples:

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World. R 909.9076 OXFORD 4 vols.

Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. R 952.003 JAPAN 2 vols.

Specific Aspects

Encyclopedia of Drugs and Alcohol. 3 vols. R 362.2903 ENCYCLO

Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook. R 362.29 SUBSTAN

Encyclopedia of Violence: Origins, Attitudes, Consequences. R 303.603 DICANIO

Encyclopedia of Homosexuality. 2 vols. R 306.766 EN19

Handbook of Research on the Education of Young Children. R 372.2107 HANDBOO

Encyclopedia of Gerontology. R 612.6703 ENCLYCLO

Books & Videos

Check the SFCC book/media catalog using the name of your country in a subject search and checking relevant sub-headings such as "social life and customs." Watch for series such as Culture and Customs of …, Culture Shock! (more superficial) and the area handbooks on countries which can be located by searching in FORMATTED SEARCH under Country Study as a phrase (or try a title search such as Belgium: A Country Study). The information in these books is also available online. (See INTERNET section below)

An interesting video is In My Country (395 IN MY C) interviews with couples from different countries about dating, marriage, gender roles, etc. Videos are listed by subject in the book catalog.

Internet Sites

Public Agenda Online: the Family
http://www.publicagenda.org/issues/frontdoor.cfm?issue_type=family

Gives overviews of issues and points of view on them and as well as related sites. The heart of the site is statistics on public opinion on specific issues.

The National Marriage Project
http://marriage.rutgers.edu/publicat.htm

Excellent site with full text of studies and articles on a variety of aspects of marriage.

Human Rights: Women
http://library.spokanefalls.edu/Human_Rights.htm.

Has numerous globally oriented sites, as well as a list of books in the SFCC library.

Intercultural Sites
http://library.spokanefalls.edu/InternetResources.stm#CULTURES

Part of the library's Web site, this section offers useful links to different cultures and countries.

Country Watch
http://www.countrywatch.com/

Great for basic information on the country and detailed information on the economy related information such as health, education, environment.

Library of Congress Country Studies
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html

Has the text from the Country Study books. Use the table of contents to locate chapters on societal structure and issues.