Historian Will Debunk Myths About Families

Stephanie Coontz, the historian of family life whose groundbreaking research has placed her at the center of the family-values debate in American politics, will present a talk, "The Changing Social and Family Environments of Childhood," at 7:30 p.m Monday, April 5, in Smith College's Wright Hall auditorium.

The talk is free, open to the public, and wheelchair-accessible.

Coontz will discuss myths and realities about the history of parenting, demonstrate the cross-cultural diversity of childrearing arrangements and challenge stereotypes about the nature of childhood and adolescence. She will also evaluate the dilemmas and opportunities facing parents and children in today's changing demographic, socioeconomic and cultural environments.

Coontz teaches history and family studies at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Family History and Frontiers. She first gained national attention in 1992 with the publication of her book "The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap." She has since written another book, "The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms with America's Changing Families," and testified about her research before the House Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families.

Coontz's work has been the subject of articles in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Newsweek, Harper's, Vogue, Mirabella and other newspapers, magazines and academic journals. She has appeared on Oprah Winfrey, Crossfire, CBS This Morning and many other television programs, and in 1995 received the Dale Richmond Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics for her "outstanding contributions to the field of child development."

The college's Louise B. and Edmund J. Kahn Liberal Arts Institute is presenting the event as part of its year-long "Exploring Ecologies of Childhood" project.