FAMILY DIVERSITY AND CULTURAL STRATEGIES IN BLACK FAMILIES
Andrea G. Hunter: The major aims of my research are to explore the linkages between the life course, families, and social structure, and to broaden research on African Americans, especially families. I have sought to meet these aims by (a) asking fundamental questions about the family and the interconnected lives of its members, and (b) reframing old questions and expanding interpretations of aspects of black family life, past and present, that have defined the field of black family studies. Specifically, my research focuses on (a) variations in the context, structure, and social organization of families and social networks, and their impact on the roles, behavior, and well-being of family members across the life span; (b) constructions of gender and the ways in which gender affects family roles and life course trajectories; and (c) f amily history, the intersection of the life course and social change, and the social, economic, and cultural transformations affecting African American families over the last century. My approach is interdisciplinary, I draw primarily on life course theory and feminist perspectives, and I use a variety of methodological approaches (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method) in my research.
Marion O'Brien: I am interested in exploring cultural differences in parenting caregiving schemas and parental health beliefs.
Jonathan Tudge : I am interested in Black parents' childrearing values and beliefs, and how they try to translate that into practice with their young children. My research features lengthy observations of 3-year-olds' everyday activities. We observe the children for 20 hours over the course of one week, covering the time from when the child first wakes to last thing at night. We observe wherever the children are situated, in home, child-care center, with grandparents, friends, shopping, etc., focusing on the activities in which they are involved, their social partners, and their roles. We then follow the children for the next few years, through their first years in formal schooling, collecting data on their performance from their teachers and parents. Because I am interested in class and ethnic variation in parents' values, beliefs, and practices, and how these influence children's performance in school, we collect data from both middle class and working class Black families.