I estimate that your total response to all questions
combined will be somewhere around 800-900 words, with some answers being longer
than others. Please note that I am not grading you based on length; this is
just a very rough estimate.
Please notice that Lareau has divided the chapters into three
categories, each of which focuses on a particular aspect of family life. Please
pay attention to these categories as you read; for example, when you read
Chapter 4, pay particular attention to how daily life is organized in this
family. But also keep in mind that she touches on all three categories in every
chapter.
Chapters 3-5: organization of daily life
Chapters 6-7: use of language
Chapters 8-11: interaction with institutions, especially
schools and extended families
There are five questions; don’t miss the one on the next
page!
1. Based on what you have read so far, how would you
summarize the overall argument of the book? (You can answer this one in just a
sentence or two, but longer is fine.)
2. What is most significant about your third chapter (the
one that is not 4 or 6)? What essential points would you identify for someone
who had not read it, but who was familiar with the book’s overall argument? How
does it illustrate the three main themes that Lareau identifies (listed above)?
3. Please compare / contrast chapter 3 to Chapters 4 and 6.
What similarities and/or differences do you see? How does the evidence in all
three chapters support her overall argument?
4. One of the strengths of Lareau’s ethnographic approach is
the use of anecdotes to illustrate her arguments. Please identify and describe
at least two anecdotes and discuss how they help the reader understand the two
parenting styles. These anecdotes should be from two (or more) different
chapters. An anecdote is a very short story or a description of something that
happened.
5. As we have discussed, Lareau expresses the concern that
her findings might be used to reinforce “deficit theories” of class and
parenting. In your opinion, how well does she succeed (or not) in avoiding that
problem and why?
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