This text presents an ethnographic study of marriage practices in four cultures: !Kung San; Chinese; Iroquois; and Tibetan.

American family law makes two key assumptions: first, that the civil state possesses sole authority over marriage and divorce; and second, that the civil law may contain only one regulatory regime for such matters. These assumptions run counter to the multicultural and religiously plural nature of our society. This book elaborates how those assumptions are descriptively incorrect, and it begins an important conversation about whether more pluralism in family law is normatively desirable. For example, may couples rely upon religious tribunals (Jewish, Muslim, or otherwise) to decide family law disputes? May couples opt into stricter divorce rules, either through premarital contracts or 'covenant marriages'? How should the state respond? Intentionally interdisciplinary and international in scope, this volume contains contributions from fourteen leading scholars. The authors address the provocative question of whether the state must consider sharing its jurisdictional authority with other groups in family law.

The experience of married life in different eras.

As societies world-wide become increasingly multicultural, so the issues of identity, belonging, tolerance and racism become imperative to understand in their various forms. This book adds to the discussion by examining the interface between the lived, personal experiences of people in cross-cultural marriages and wider socio-political issues. One major contribution this book offers is that the marriages discussed are from a very broad range of cultures and classes. Amongst other issues, contributors examine: the legal and social factors influencing cross-cultural marriages; the personality factors and positive or negative stereotypes of otherness that influence spouse choice; notions of identity, gender and personhood, and definitions of difference, and how these are often tied up in emotive stereotypes; how all these factors affect the ongoing process of living together and the ability to cope; and how the children of such marriages come to terms with identity choices. This book should be highly relevant to the growing number of people in cross-cultural marriages, as well as to professionals in the fields of marriage guidance, child welfare and academics interested in ethnicity and kinship.

From their location in the heart of Detroit, Michigan, the Weisfelds’ lab has reached out for thirty years to couples in long-term partnerships around the world. In living rooms of Detroit, London, Moscow, Beijing, and beyond, couples of all types and ages have shared their insights into adult romantic relationships. This book, The Psychology of Marriage, is a distillation of these findings, which have appeared in dozens of book chapters, journal articles, and conference presentations. The book also provides new systematic comparisons that offer insights into the mysteries of marriage and other committed relationships. Scholars, professional counselors, and family therapists will find a helpful framework for thinking about cultural similarities and differences in marital dynamics. Researchers will be introduced to a robust new instrument, the Marriage and Relationship Questionnaire (MARQ), which can be used in heterosexual and same-sex couples in virtually any cultural setting, along with ethical guidelines for conducting this research. Anyone who is interested in why committed relationships work (or do not work) will find the book filled with compelling new insights.

the author's Atlantic Monthly article "Dan Quayle Was Right" ignited a media debate on the effects of divorce that rages still. In this book she expands her argument, making it clear Americans need to strengthen their resolve with regard to divorce prevention, new ways of thinking about marriage, and a new consciousness about the meaning of committment. 240 pp. Author tour. Radio satellite tour. 60,000 print.

An insightful look at the stresses and challenges of intercultural relationships - from one who has been there. Today we live in a world without borders, a global village. Distance no longer defines who we meet, fall in love with or marry. The Internet and e-mail connect people around the world in seconds. Immigration, study abroad, travel and multinational business have created a thriving cross-cultural community. But the experiences shared across cultures and countries do not always bridge the fundamental differences in beliefs and behaviors that span diverse cultures. In Intercultural Marriage, Dugan Romano delivers a "reality check" for anyone already in, or contemplating, an intercultural marriage. This insightful book interweaves lessons learned from others and suggests that the joys of an intercultural marriage often result from turning the challenges of crossing cultures into an opportunity for a fulfilling and lasting relationship. Now in its third edition, Intercultural Marriage examines the impact of cultural differences in marriage and offers practical guidelines on how to deal with the complexities they bring to a partnership. Covering such topics as raising bicultural children, religion, values, male vs. female roles, sex and social class, Romano continues to give voice to hundreds of couples she has interviewed and followed for over a decade.

In Veil and Vow, Aneeka Ayanna Henderson places familiar, often politicized questions about the crisis of African American marriage in conversation with a rich cultural archive that includes fiction by Terry McMillan and Sister Souljah, music by Anita Baker, and films such as The Best Man. Seeking to move beyond simple assessments of marriage as "good" or "bad" for African Americans, Henderson critically examines popular and influential late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century texts alongside legislation such as the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and the Welfare Reform Act, which masked true sources of inequality with crisis-laden myths about African American family formation. Using an interdisciplinary approach to highlight the influence of law, politics, and culture on marriage representations and practices, Henderson reveals how their kinship veils and unveils the fiction in political policy as well as the complicated political stakes of fictional and cultural texts. Providing a new opportunity to grapple with old questions, including who can be a citizen, a "wife," and "marriageable," Veil and Vow makes clear just how deeply marriage still matters in African American culture.

Botany in the romantic era played a role in debates about life, nature, and knowledge, as evidenced in this ambitious, beautifully illustrated study. Winner, 2012 British Society for Literature and Science Book Prize Romanticism was a cultural and intellectual movement characterized by discovery, revolution, and the poetic as well as by the philosophical relationship between people and nature. Botany sits at the intersection where romantic scientific and literary discourses meet. Clandestine Marriage explores the meaning and methods of how plants were represented and reproduced in scientific, literary, artistic, and material cultures of the period. Theresa M. Kelley synthesizes romantic debates about taxonomy and morphology, the contemporary interest in books and magazines devoted to plant study and images, and writings by such authors as Mary Wollstonecraft and Anna Letitia Barbauld. Period botanical paintings of flowers are reproduced in vibrant color, bringing her argument and the romantics' passion for plants to life. In addition to exploring botanic thought and practice in the context of British romanticism, Kelley also looks to the German philosophical traditions of Kant, Hegel, and Goethe and to Charles Darwin’s reflections on orchids and plant pollination. Her interdisciplinary approach allows a deeper understanding of a time when exploration of the natural world was a culture-wide enchantment.

This is a simple saga of the twists and turns in the life of a farm boy. Depicted through his eyes are such world disturbing events as the "great depression" and World War II. It tells of that farm boy's disappointments through the journey of life and reveals how the "Higher Power" overshadowing him turned those disappointments into blessings. Through the author's eyes we get glimpses of how life was lived on a farm in the early part of the twentieth century. It tells of the simple joys experienced by those living the rural way of life. It tells about life in a one-room school with one's mother as the teacher. It tells of the struggles of young people in their effort to get an education. Through the eyes of that farm boy one gets a close view of the horrors encountered on the battlefield. It tells of a marriage that "could not work" but did. It tells of life in the minister's manse and the view of church life from the other side of the pulpit. Also, it tells of the joy of encountering the different cultures experienced through travel in other parts of the world. It speaks of how life at the end of the trail can be the most difficult of all of life's encounters.