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Sage College DEI - Inclusive Sociology of Families

From the Editor's Desk page

A More Inclusive Sociology of Families Text:
Using Sensitivity Reviews to Tackle Difficult Topics 

By Tiara Beatty, Associate Content Development Editor
February 11, 2022

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A fundamental pillar of our Sage College DEI efforts is to understand and reflect the diverse lived experiences we have in the pages of our books. Textbooks on the sociology of families provide an opportunity for students to encounter a breadth of topics they have experienced or may experience in the workforce and in their personal lives, such as socioeconomic inequality, varying family dynamics, domestic abuse, elder abuse, and child neglect.

At Sage, we want to be informative, inclusive, and sensitive when publishing this type of content.

With a focus on student-first publishing, we consider our end user at every point in the process. What will help students learn best, keep them engaged, and allow them to retain the content?

For a revision of a sociology of families textbook, we conducted several rounds of content reviews that asked specific sensitivity questions of our peer reviewers. Their responses gave us insight into what instructors wanted to see removed, reduced, added, or expanded in the text to best enhance a student’s learning experience. We discovered a need for more coverage of family violence and up-to-date research statistics on different types of families with varying marital, immigration, and socio-economic statuses. In this revision, we added a new chapter on family violence which examines the different kinds of family violence and the cultural and structural norms that create conditions for it. We also improved the photo program with the intent of using visuals to teach students about these topics without incorporating images that would sustain stereotypes or might disrespect victims. 

Here are a few key steps we took to get there:

  • Made a conscious effort to discuss and display diverse families, including multigenerational, LGBTQ+, interracial, and nuclear families.
  • Structured the new chapter about family violence in such a way that students can analyze how structural inequalities related to gender, class, race, and sexuality impact family violence. 
  • Updated content on family diversity and inequality by expanding discussions throughout the chapters and adding new data, figures, and references in each chapter.
  • Expanded the coverage of childhood and parenting into two separate chapters, allowing more space to explore how these are socially constructed, how they have changed over time, and how they are shaped by structural inequalities.
  • Conducted an internal review of the photos to ensure that any stereotypes of marginalized communities were excluded. 
  • Decided not to include photos of bruised and battered people out of respect for students or instructors who are domestic abuse survivors.

This content development process produced a textbook with comprehensive statistics, diverse sociological thinking, and a new chapter on family violence that encourages students to consider the ways contemporary families have changed and how they connect with families of the past through ideological and behavioral patterns.