Society for the Study of Social Problems Spring 2009 Editor: Ebonie L. Cunningham-Stringer, Ph.D. Wilkes University IN THIS ISSUE: FROM THE DESK OF OUR DIVISION CHAIR ……………………………………………….1 2009 GRADUATE STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION….………………………………...2 CALL FOR SUGGESTED 2008 PAPER SESSIONS………………………………2 SHARING OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS: learn What Important Contributions Division Members are Making to their Fields………………………………………………….3 CONFERENCE INFORMATION…… ………………………………………………………….4 FROM THE DESK OF OUR DIVISION CHAIR My Dear Family Division Members, We are already in the middle of a very cold winter semester looking forward anxiously for spring to be here. These are interesting times for family division members. The recession, which we hope is not the precursor to a full depression, has caused so many people to downsize and reevaluate super-sized lifestyles that we can expect big changes in the structure and function of the family. A Black family has moved into the White House. California has legally married thousands of same sex couples and now contemplates divorcing them whether they want to or not, surely changing the meaning of family, marriage, and divorce. Military families must maintain the tensions of pride, altruism, fear and poverty. We can look forward to exciting discussions about all this and more at our meetings in San Francisco this summer. Thanks to all who submitted papers to the Family Division Sessions! This year’s conference the 59th Annual Meeting will take place August 7-9, 2009 at the Stanford Court Hotel, 905 California Street, San Francisco, CA. The conference theme is “Race, Ethnicity, And the Continuing Problem of the Color Line.” Our session chairs and the SSSP Program Committee are busy organizing the program; so look forward to further information about the preliminary and final programs. Remember to register for the meetings (reminder: program participants must pre-register by May 31, 2009). Please consider staying at the SSSP Convention Hotel during the annual meeting. Also, if you have not already done so, please renew your SSSP membership and encourage your colleagues and students to do the same. You can renew via the secure website http://www.sssp1.org/. Remember that the benefits of membership include a subscription to Social Problems, the SSSP newsletter, division newsletters, and information about the annual meeting. We look forward to seeing you at the meetings in San Francisco this year. My service as Family Division Chair ends this August and we need to elect the new Division Chair. Please nominate fellow SSSP members for the position. Please forward the name(s) and contact information of qualified and interested persons to (boudreac@gvsu.edu). In addition to the qualifications listed below, candidates must be current members to accept nominations. Please note that chairpersons are elected for a two year term. The term would start this August at the meetings in San Francisco. I will help the incoming Chair acclimate to the position. We will hold the elections this coming April. Deadline for nominations is March 14th 2009.  Summary of Chair Responsibilities: * Be able and willing to serve, including all three days of the Annual Meeting, and willing to commit themselves to service time during the year.  * Edit three division newsletters distributed electronically by the Executive Office each year.   * Work with division members to develop and organize sessions for the Annual Meeting * Determine and request from SSSP a yearly budget for the division * Appoint a committee to organize and judge the Division’s Graduate Student Paper Competition * For a more detailed description of Chair responsibilities, please visit http://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/m/181 Enjoy the rest of your semester and I’ll see you in San Francisco! Cheryl Boudreaux Family Division Chair   2009 GRADUATE STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION Sponsored by the Family Division of the Society for the Study of Social Problems Deadline: 3/27/09 The Family Division announces its 2009 Graduate Student Paper Competition. Papers should be of professional quality and may relate to any aspect of sociology of the family. Authors should be currently enrolled as graduate students, or individuals who received their Ph.D.’s in May 2008 or later. To be eligible, a paper may not be published, accepted, or under review for publication. Papers that have been presented at a professional meeting or submitted for presentation at a professional conference are eligible. Papers must be student-authored; they can be authored by one or more students, but may not be coauthored with a faculty member or non-student. Papers should be no more than 35 pages in length, including all notes, references, and tables. Papers must be submitted electronically to Dr. Ebonie Cunningham Stringer (ebonie.cunningham@wilkes.edu) in one of the following formats: doc., docx. or pdf. The winner will be announced in mid April 2009. The winner will receive a modest cash stipend, a waiver of conference registration fees, and an opportunity to present her/his paper at the SSSP meetings, held in August 2009 in San Francisco, CA. Call for Judges: If you are interested in serving as a judge for the paper competition, please indicate your interest via email to Dr. Ebonie Cunningham Stringer at ebonie.cunningham@wilkes.edu. Judges should have teaching, research and/or applied experience in the study of the family. SHARING OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS Many of our division members are making important contributions to their fields. Please take the time to review a few of our members’ recent accomplishments. Consider making the included publications a part of your library and/or incorporating them into course syllabi or your applied work. If you would like to share information about your recent publications or other accomplishments with other division members, please contact Ebonie Cunningham Stringer (ebonie.cunningham@wilkes.edu). Mezey, Nancy J. The Privilege of Coming Out: Race, Class, and Lesbians' Mothering Decisions. International Journal of Sociology of the Family, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Autumn) 2008.  Heather Jacobson’s book Culture Keeping: White Mothers, International Adoption, and the Negotiation of Family Difference was published by Vanderbilt University Press in November 2008. In this book, Jacobson examines the intersections of race, ethnicity, parenting practices, and the “American Family” through an analysis of the cultural practices of international adoptive families with children from China and Russia. Margo Kushner’s study titled, Child Custody Planning in A Textually Structured Court System” which was presented in Boston has resulted in 4 publications being accepted since last year’s annual conference. Her intent in writing extensively about “text” was to inform the professionals engaged in the work of expert testimony and child custody planning to be careful when it comes to referencing professional text in child custody and access matters. One of the articles was accepted by the Journal of Child Custody in what has been referred to as a distinguished author’s edition. It has just been released for publication and may be found at Kushner, M., (2008). Courtextual slippage: A detriment to child custody planning. Journal of Child Custody, 5(3/4), pp. 276-298. Included in the publication is an example of “mapping” text. Other articles: Kushner, M. (2008). A dual model for completing parenting plans post separation. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 50(3/4). Kushner, M. (2009). Judges & child custody evaluators beware: Methodological impairments in the research about child development and divorce. Family Law Quarterly, (in press). Kushner, M. (2009) A review of the empirical literature about child development & adjustment post separation. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, (in press). Just an attempt to get the word out about the need to be cautious when planning for children in contested access and custody matters…Even the word custody needs to be re-worded. It implies these children are incarcerated. Could be another publication idea…. Hello to all of my IE friends and colleagues. Dr. Margo Kushner www.margokushnertherapist.com REQUEST Locating research monies for IE studies seems to not happen with ease. I am looking for funding to replicate a study completed in Canada, titled, Child Custody Planning In A Textually Structured Court System. If any of you have some leads or ideas for me, please email me at: makushner@salisbury.edu. Margo Kushner CONFERNCE INFORMATION The Society for the Study of Social Problems 59th Annual Meeting August 7-9, 2009 The Stanford Court Hotel 905 California Street, San Francisco, CA Below is a list of all of the Family Division sponsored, special, and co-sponsored sessions. Please plan to support your fellow division members and attend as many Family Division sessions as possible. Family Policy Sponsor: Family Organizer: Mezey, Nancy Race and Families - THEMATIC Sponsor: Family Organizer: Janning, Michelle Y. Youth, Family and Community Programs Sponsor: Family Organizer: Cunningham-Stringer, Ebonie L. Infertility and Alternative Paths to Parenthood Sponsor: Family, Health, Health Policy, and Health Services Organizer: Wilson, Kristin Families in Poverty Sponsor: Family, Poverty, Class, and Inequality Organizer: Kanieski, Mary Ann Families on the Color-Line – THEMATIC Sponsor: Family Racial and Ethnic Minorities Organizer: Chito Childs, Erica Queer Families Sponsor: Family, Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Organizer: Mezey, Nancy , McCauley, Jaime (co-organizers) Caregiving across the Life Course Family Sponsor: Youth, Aging, and the Life Course Organizer: Dillaway, Heather, E. Paré, Elizabeth R. (co-organizers) 1