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Interview with Stephanie Coontz

Recent Teaching History
Growing Up in the 21st Century; Fall - Winter 2000-2001
Family & Community in America; 1998-99
Gender Roles & Sexuality in American Culture; Spring 1998
America 2000; Fall 1997/Winter 1998
Society, Art & Ideology; Fall 1996/Winter 1997
20th Century Urban Life; 1995

Recent and Current Areas of Interest

Most of my work has been on family history and the contemporary debate over family values. I've done a lot of work on the impact of divorce; and the comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of different kinds of family forms. I am interested in extending my research on the changing roles of adolescence and on parenting issues & the role of fathers and mothers in families. My books include The Way We Never Were: American Families & The Nostalgia Trap (1992) and The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms With America's Changing Families (1997). I am currently at work on a multicultural reader on American families due to be published in 1998, The Multicultural Family.

Are there particular authors/artists/thinkers whose work you interested and which you often ask students to examine?

I assign a variety of works, some of which I agree with and some of which I don't, depending on the specific issue.

Are there specific areas of interest or issues you want to work with students on in the current year?

I am extremely reluctant to accept individual contracts unless I know the student's work habits and academic capacities, and unless the student can demonstrate basic prior preparation in the field.

Specific Skills, Competence, Techniques:

American and European social history; expository writing; family studies; gender studies; issues of race, class and gender, critical reading and writing.

What are key qualities you look for in student work? What techniques you use to assess their work? How do you help students assess their work?

I look for clear understanding of the material & that is, the ability to separate your own opinion from the author's and to state in terms the author would accept the main thesis and argument. Second, and after the ability to do that, I look for the ability to critically evaluate the thesis and argument and mobilize compelling evidence to support, modify or impeach the argument. Working with outlines and substantive rewrites is the best way I have found to teach those things. I also want people, however, to learn to think on their feet. I emphasize seminar participation and will often give exams. I try to make sure the exams are learning tools, not just evaluative tools. So we might, for example, work in small groups to figure out the best strategy to answer a question before taking the actual test.

Teaching Style:How would you characterize yourself as a teacher?

I'm extremely committed to helping students master a subject. I work them very hard but if they are truly interested in learning the material, I'll work equally hard to make sure they do.

What types of students tend to do well with you?

Anyone who wants to work, can separate the issues of what you feel and what you think about an issue. I work well with someone who is simultaneously an independent thinker but is also willing to accept the idea that an intellectual coach, just like a physical coach, sometimes makes you do things that you don't immediately see the point of. I do best with students who don't demand instant gratification.

What types of students have a hard time with you?

I don't do well with students who demand instant gratification or students who don't care about what they learn. I'm better with students who use linear logical skills than ones who work impressionistically or intuitively.

What do your student evaluations say about the way you come across to students?

I get my share of evaluations saying that I'm demanding and tough. But most say I'm also accessible and encouraging once you accept that my form of encouragement is to tell you how you could do something better.

Expectations about Contracts, Internships, and Evaluations
What information do you want to see when a person comes to look for a contract?

I'm looking to be convinced that this student has done the kind of introductory work that makes this contract the next logical step in their schooling. Convince me of that and I'll happily negotiate the contract. I do not like to be telephoned about contracts & put it in writing first. I do not give blind appointments on individual contracts.

Interviewer: Nancy Parkes Turner

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Last Updated: March 15, 2007