Reclaiming family for the study of Jewish lives

Session Submission Type: Panel Session

Abstract

This session is prompted by the imminent publication of Pomson and Schnoor’s ten year study of Jewish families – Home work: Jewish lives and identity as seen through the family life-course. The session brings together studies that look at adults and children at different stages in family lives, and makes a case for re-engaging with sociology of the Jewish family as a site of the study of Jewish lives.
Oriented in relation to Stephen Warner’s (1993) characterization of paradigms in the sociology of religion, between what Warner calls the tribal, on the one hand – the larger social groups to which people belong – and the individual, on the other, we argue that sociologists over the last few decades have overlooked the potential in the family as a unit of analysis. Located between the two horizons of the tribe (or community) and the “sovereign self,” family, we suggest, can serve as a valuable unit of analysis for the study of Jewish lives.
Following an introductory framing of the session, panel participants will present data from three discrete studies, each of which explores family units at different moments in the life course: when couples first form and contemplate the Jewish character of their home; when children enter early childhood programs and parents weigh whether to enroll them in Jewish settings; and during their children’s teenage years when the Jewish content of family life often assumes new forms. In each case, the presenters will address the methodological issues involved in studying families at these moments in time. In substantive terms, through their juxtaposition, these studies provide an opportunity to reflect on the formation and reformation of adult Jewish identity where family provides both content and context for Jewish life.

Sub Unit

• Social Science

Chair

• Alex Pomson, Rosov Consulting

Individual Presentations

• Jews Who Choose For Twos – Some Clues: Understanding Parents’ Decisions Regarding Jewish Early Childhood Programs - Mark I Rosen, Brandeis University

• Negotiation & Design: Young Couples and Jewish Life - Pearl Mattenson, Rosov Consulting

• “I’m my generation” Talking with Jewish teens at home - Randal F. Schnoor, York University