Mar 29, 2024  
2018-2019 Catalog 
    
2018-2019 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

SOC 388 - Marriage in the Age of Trump


Instructor
Kaufman

On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States. After much momentum that culminated in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage throughout the country, many feared that marriage equality would not last under a Trump presidency. In this course, we will focus on the impact of Trump’s election on marriage and family, particularly for LGBTQ families. We start by considering the historical battles and shifts that led to marriage equality, including disagreement on the importance of marriage within the LGBTQ community; efforts for domestic partnerships; the defense of marriage at the federal and state levels; court cases, legislation, and ballot initiatives at the state level; and the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. We then examine meanings of marriage for same-sex couples, including marriage as material right, marriage as protest, and marriage as validation. Next we consider the impact of same-sex marriage on the institution of marriage and LGBTQ people by focusing on societies where same-sex marriage has been legal for years. This course is organized as a research seminar so students will engage in their own research projects over the course of the semester.

Satisfies a requirement in the Sociology major.
Satisfies a requirement in the Gender & Sexuality Studies major and minor.
Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement.