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This collection of essays explores the way race-ethnicity, class, gender, locale, historical background and sexuality interact in shaping the diversity of modern American family life. The essays are written by many of the most important scholars of our time. There are chapters about African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Filipinas, Vietnamese, Chinese, immigrants, lesbians, motherhood, the poor, teenage mothers, and class consciousness in various times and places. This is an academic book, but there is lots of inspiration for the teacher and excerpts will be usable at the top end of the gymnasium. Editor: Stephanie Coontz. (475 pages)
Level: Library/Depot/2nd and 3rd years of the gymnasium

What do you think? — these American themes books encourage critical thinking and debate by providing case studies, historical contexts, and individual opinions on each issue. Level: 1st year of Gymnasium/C

Have you ever wondered what your IQ was? Do intelligence tests just judge one aspect of your abilities? Do girls find homework easier than boys? Many people think that girls are smarter than boys. They say that all you need to do is look at recent school results and test scores. Girls have even caught up in math and the sciences. But many people do not agree with these opinions. They say that in the real world men succeed in employment and invent more things than women. Surely this shows men are smarter?

Contents: Are Girls Smarter Than Boys? — What Is Intelligence? — Are The Sexes Different? — Children And Adults — Are There Equal Chances To Be Smart? — How Can We Make Things Fairer? — Debate The Facts — Find Out More — Glossary

Three-part BBC documentary series looking at domestic life in 18th-century Britain. It argues that the British preoccupation with the home as a manifestation of status dates back to the Georgian period, and looks at the processes by which households were set up and maintained during that era. Author Amanda Vickery unlocks the secrets of the Georgian home by investigating the lives of the people who lived in them. She unlocks the doors to a lost world: What sex is a teapot? What does your choice of dwelling reveal about your ambitions to marry? What is the moral significance of wallpaper? In what ways does a house resemble a human body? Who has access to your home? Where can you find privacy? Who really runs the roost? She uncovers fascinating stories of the people in a world we thought we were familiar with through costume dramas, but which only now offers up its secrets.

• Director: Phil Cairney
• Running time: 177 minutes
• Subtitle options: none

World events continue to reveal the importance of understanding how women live across continents and cultures:

Using maps, text, and other graphics this eye-opening book employs up-to-the-minute research and data to show what shifts have occurred in the ten years since the first edition was published — the strides made by women and the distance still to be travelled. She explores the current status of women in relation to key issues including: equality; women at works; the culture of beauty; women in the global economy; women's health; feminism; household trends; lesbian rights; domestic violence; women in government; and motherhood. Author: Joni Seager.

Contents: 40 chapters in seven parts: I: Women in the World • II: Families • III: Birthrights • IV: Body Politics • V: Work • VI: To Have and Have Not • VII: Power • World Tables • Sources, Index.

Level: Library/Interdisciplinary projects at all level of the gymnasium

30% Discount until the 1st of September!

Based on Simon Carr's novel:
A sportswriter's life is turned upside down by the sudden death of his wife. Faced with the prospect of being a single father, and devastated by grief, Joe Warr endeavours to do the best by his sons Arty and Harry. Worried about his abilities as a single parent and desperate to help bring happiness and fun back into their lives, Joe instigates a 'just say yes' philosophy. This lack of rules soon has consequences, however.

(Replaces Parenting Issues)

In the past, the most common family structure was the “nuclear family”. Today, family groups are more flexible, and children may be raised in households with step-parents, unmarried, lone or same-sex parents. In addition, parental roles are no longer split according to gender and working patterns have therefore changed. This book looks at the changing shape of the family, at different methods and styles of parenting and at issues for working parents.

Chapters: 1. Family Trends; 2. Working Parents

Key Facts;  Glossary;  Additional Resources;  Index

This book deals with questions that bitterly divide Americans: Should parents or schools educate their teens about sex? Does abstinence-only education violate students' rights? Do abstinence-only programs or sex education prevent teen pregnancies? Is sex education or abstinence-only education best? Click “Flere oplysninger” to view the Contents. Editors: Christina Fisanick. (120 pages)
Level: Mainly Second and Third year Gymnasium

Sample Pages (PDF)

(New Subject)

Is the traditional nuclear family increasingly a thing of the past in England?

• It is no longer unusual for children to grow up in a stepfamily, be raised by a lone parent or same-sex couple, or to be adopted 
• Adult children are remaining longer in the family home 

The issues of these developing family trends are considered, and the impact that these changes have had on parenting and child-rearing.

Level: 8.-10. kl./AVU + HG C-F etc.

Activities; Key Facts;  Glossary; Web Links

This is Roddy Doyle's searing and contorversial four-part TV drama about a working-class Irish family. Each episode explores the life of one of the family members: devious alcoholic Charlo, an abusive husband and petty thief; downtrodden housewife Paula, who longs to escape from the misery of her circumstances; Nicola, their recently grown-up daughter who is beginning to wonder about her father's unsettling stares; and John Paul, the teenage rebel who is gradually becoming more like his dad. The unsettling realism of thïs series produced a heated debate in Ireland, especially about domestic violence, when it was first broadcast in 1994.

• Director: Michael Winterbottom
• Starring: Sean McGinley, Ger Ryan, Neilí Conroy, Barry Ward
• Running time: 240 minutes approx
• Subtitle options: None
• Extras: Interviews with Roddy Doyle, Michael Winterbottom etc.

Do gay families/marriages undermine the family structure and threaten the well-being of American children? This book provides the opposing viewpoints and a basis for informed discussion. Editor: Roman Espejo. (105 pages)
Level: Mainly Second and Third year Gymnasium

Contents: Introduction; Gay Marriage Threatens Families, Children, and Society (Robert Benne and Gerald McDermott); Gay Parenting Places Children at Risk (Real Women of Canada’s REALity Magazine); Gay Parenting Does Not Place Children at Risk (Leslie Cooper, Paul Cates, and Judith Stacey); Gay Adoption Should Be Accepted (Julian Sanchez); Gay Adoption Is Not in the Best Interest of Children (Ed Vitagliano); Parents Should Accept Their Gay and Lesbian Children’s Sexual Orientation (John Pugh); Parents of a Homosexual Child Should Uphold Own View of Homosexuality (Joe Dallas); Gay Marriage in California Establishes Equal Rights (Los Angeles Times Opinion Column); Gay Marriage in California Harms Society (David R. Usher); Supporting Gay “Couples” Restricts Resources Available to Families (National Observer Staff); Greater Acceptance and Support Helps Gay Families (Jane E. Brody); Organizations to Contact; Bibliography; Index.

Sample Pages (PDF)

Are children being prematurely sexualized? Does US culture reward girls for eroticism? Does it make boys aggressive? Should parents, legislators and the media do more to protect children? Click “Flere oplysninger” to view the Contents. Editors: Olivia Ferguson and Hayley Mitchell Haugen. (114 pages)
Level: Mainly Second and Third year Gymnasium

Sample Pages (PDF)

Is marriage in decline? Does it have any benefits over cohabitation? What does marriage mean to couples today? How are children affected by their parents divorcing, separating or remarrying? This title examines the issues surrounding marriage, divorce and the changing structure of the family. Chapters cover marriage trends and divorce and separation.

Key Facts;  Glossary Index;  Additional Resources (websites etc.);  Index.

A documentary portrait of a poor American family struggling for stability and the American Dream while haunted by traumas. A collaboration between filmmaker Michael Palmieri and photographer and family member Donal Mosher, it examines the forces that face  the American working poor and the violence that lurks beneath the surface of American life. The film gives a personal voice to issues such as economic instability, domestic abuse, war trauma, and sexual molestation. The film is a portrait of a family who are unique but also sadly representative of the struggles of America's working class.

• Directors: Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher
• Running time: 85 mins
• Widescreen
• Subtitle options: none

(Replaces Poverty)

In Britain 22% of people live in households with less than 60% of the median income. Children from a disadvantaged background can be up to 2 years behind their classmates educationally by the age of 14. Globally, half the world's population live on less than $2 a day. This book looks at poverty in the UK and overseas:

Chapter One: Poverty in the UK
Poverty: the facts; Britons lose sympathy for the poor; Monitoring poverty and social exclusion 2007; Missing school trips make you poor, say British kids; Britain's forgotten poor; Household income; Wage gap too large, say three out of four Britons; Minimum living standards; Growing inequality; Disabled people and poverty; Paying the price of poverty; Poverty and debt; Living with hardship 24/7; Public attitudes to child poverty; Keeping mum; The cost of education; Social exclusion; 2 skint 4 school; Child poverty: true or false? Disadvantage and achievement; Mind the gap; One in five UK families can't afford heating; What are benefits?; Benefit claims and poverty; Welfare shake-up scraps incapacity benefit.

Key Facts;  Glossary Index;  Additional Resources (websites etc.);  Index.

(Replaces Teen Pregnancy and Lone Parents)

The UK currently has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Western Europe – seven times those of the Netherlands and double those of France or Germany. Why is the rate so high, and how can it best be tackled? This book looks at teen conceptions and their outcomes in the UK, the challenges faced by young parents, and at strategies for preventing high rates of teenage pregnancy in future.

Chapter One: Teenage Pregnancy
Teenagers: sexual behaviour and pregnancy; Conception rate increases among under-18s; Frequently asked questions about pregnancy; Teenage pregnancy; Teenage pregnancy facts; Making a decision; The worst in Europe; It takes two to make a teenage pregnancy; How many teens get pregnant?

Chapter Two: Young Parents
Parenthood?; Young mums; Young mums: the real story; Justin’s story; Supervised homes for young mums; Supporting teenage mums.

Chapter Three: Solutions
Condoms and contraception; Condoms: know the facts; Should the pill be available without prescription? Yes; Should the pill be available without prescription? No; Contraception and teenage pregnancy; More cash for contraception; About the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy; The big question; Girls as young as 12 having abortions every year; Pilot did not reduce teen pregnancies; School sex clinics could reduce teen pregnancy; Education and pregnancy; Sex education: why the British should go Dutch; Everyday conversations, every day; We’re in a state of sexual confusion; Teenage pregnancy: mothers’ tide.

Key Facts; Glossary; Additional Resources (websites etc.); Index

Now with a FREE Danish glossary!

Perhaps Roddy Doyle’s best book. The story of a battered Dublin womanPerhaps Roddy Doyle’s best book. The story of a battered Dublin woman in her late thirties, struggling to reclaim her dignity after marriage to an abusive husband.This book has now been made more accessible with Astrid Skjoldborg Glans’ Danish Glossary with good notes about life in Dublin (222 pages)
Level: B/C