Thesis Unveiled
I figured after complaining all the time about my thesis project stress, I should finally tell all of my faithful readers (there are only a few, really) what I'll be writing about.
My main interest right now in family studies is in men in families. There are numerous reasons for this. 1) I think most of the problems facing the institution of the family right now boil down to the fact that men aren't living up to their responsibilities. (talk about a normative statement! woah! If my colleagues could see me now...) 2) If we believe the suggestions of evolutionary psychology, men are not "wired" to be family men. So, why do we find that a lot of men actually are?? (no - this does not contradict with what I just said in point 1). 3) I think men approach fertility and fertility decisions from an entirely different lens then do women and I want to know what that lens is and what factors play into those decisions for men. (For some great work on this topic, see William Marsiglio ). Finally, because I just can't escape my psychology background...4) I truly believe that for children to be reared in a healthy a balanced way, they must have the influence of an involved dad (interestingly enough, the effects on children who don't are much less drastic when their father dies than when he abandons them...but that's for another time).
All of that said, I've been wanting all along to somehow investigate why men have children. The literature suggests that men's primary connection to their children is mediated through their relationship with the biological mother of the children. Basically, children are an outgrowth of a relationship much more so for men...where as for women, I think children tend to be a value in and of themselves. (I just yelled at my students for making unsubstantiated claims in their papers...but I think I have enough authority to say this without citing anything, right???) The problem all along was not the research question, but an appropriate means by which to study it.
ALONG CAME DATA! My advisor has graciously provided me with an amazing data set that has not really been analyzed by anyone! (Can you say, publishing bonus???) The data set contains in depth information about newly married couples. So, my research question is basically, how are these men thinking about children? What factors influence a man's attitudes about children, desire for them, propensity to have them, etc? I'm looking at independent variables like religion, income, family background, expectations for the future of their marriage, etc.
It's all in the nascent stages. But, I think it will end up being an interesting project. I'm going to try to draft some rough research designs this week and get some more directed advice from my advisor. I'm really bad at coming up with statistical models, but if someone else tells me how to run the models, I can most definitely interpret them. The most important thing for me to get done this semester is an extensive lit review. I've already been reading a lot of the stuff in this area, so, it shouldn't be too bad. And the best part??? My advisor also happens to teach the most demanding class I've been taking this semester...and since my thesis topic is related to the family, he gave me permission to turn my thesis in (next semester) for my term paper for his class. *Sigh* One less paper to write before December.
So, there it is, kids. What do you think?? (Be gentle...)
8 comments:
I am totally gonna read your dry, 800pg thesis paper! My interest is most definitely piqued. I know, I can tend to be consumed by the issues women face, but I'm often curious about what men think. Oh, and please autograph my copy when you send it.
Mair, that sounds really, really good, and really, really challenging--so I think you're the sociologist to do it. I agree with you on points 1, 3 and 4; and I don't disagree with 2, I'd just want to clarify a little bit. I wouldn't want to say "Men are NOT wired to be family men," because I don't think that's true; but I don't think the converse is true either. You might want to check out Steven Pinker's "The Blank Slate"; he touches on a lot of the issues you're raising, and his footnotes and bibliography would point you to some relevant literature. Good luck--if you want to interview me you know where to find me. =)
oh yeah - that's an awesome topic, and I'd love to read your thesis too. my wife and I have been dealing with the question of whether to have kids or not recently. A few weeks ago we discovered a drastic difference in our perspectives on the issue. For her, having kids represents the next stage in her life, and so she'd rather get started. She doesn't feel it makes much sense to go back to school or pursue a different career than she has with kids coming sometime in the not-to-distant-future. For me, having kids represents a hard deterrant from pursuing any "next step" in my life, so I'm trying to put it off. I don't feel comfortable enough in my career/life to want to have the responsibility of being the only source of income for 3 people, and prefer the hitherto unexercised option to suddenly change paths for a riskier venture, such as a smaller commercial company or going back to school.
so your topic is right up my alley, and I'd love to know what you think about why I'm going to be a terrible parent. I mean why I hate children. I mean, why I want to have your husband's children.
*AWKWARD*
I'm super excited for this, Mair. I know RedHurt outlined our personal exploration into this issue, but I think fatherhood and men's views on parenting are very interesting in and of themselves. I can't wait to see what you find out!
I think I've seen the gamut in my role as a child advocate, and I'm trying to think if there are any consistent patterns. I know that many of the fathers involved in our cases were not given the opportunity to parent their child because the child's mother never informed them of the pregnancy nor placed their name on the child's birth certificate. So we have lots of situations where men are meeting their kids for the first time after being tracked down to participate in a dependency and neglect action. And, surprisingly, a lot of these men step forward and assume responsibility for their kids. I know this has little to do with your topic because most of these children are unplanned and therefore men don't necessarily think through the repercussions of their actions (i.e. becoming a father). But there's my two cents nonetheless.
Have fun with this project!!
Wow! Lots of comments. :o)
1) EAP - don't worry, dear...my thesis will be nowhere NEAR 800 pages...more like 40 probably.
2) Charles - thanks for the reference. I'll check it out.
3) Red - I'm totally fine with the fact that you want to have my husband's children. Your wife, however, may feel a bit of jealousy over that. Hey, you know, I'd be more than happy to have her children if you just want to trade. What's not funny is that with science, I'm sure we could come up with some combination whereby we could all be involved in the having of each other's children. For instance, J. Morgan's sperm, Mart's egg, my uterus. Perfect! Your sperm, my egg, mart's uterus is another variant. So disturbing...
4) Marty - we should talk.
gosh, that is pretty disturbing. Still, thanks for implying that my genetic material is worth preserving and propogating to the next generation. The four of us would make red haired children with small heads, a hatred for grading, and a penchant for hating on starbucks while they were drinking it!
Wait, do I have a small head?
You guys are all disturbed!!! :))
Anyway, Mair, why don't you create a survey and go sit at a mall with a clip board and ask innocent passersby (passerbys?) You may enlist the assistance of j. morgan as well, or some of your 101 students. Now that would be a great day! Have the survey prepared, have students go with you and at the end of the time slot, treat them to ice cream or Starbucks. Then you will have a random sampling of the C-ville population. You may even ask women the question of what they think men's thoughts are about children then you will have a comparison of female and male thoughts.
Post a Comment