Cross-Cultural Family Systems

Summer 2013

In an increasingly multicultural America, practitioners of religion face great challenges in providing care, comfort, and guidance to families from diverse backgrounds. What is universal, if anything, about family, and what role does culture play in contemporary family therapy or ministry? Simply put, how do we minister effectively to those who are different from us? In order to prepare students for academic engagement and religious practice within a cross-cultural milieu, this course introduces anthropological theories of culture and kinship, as well as psychological family systems theory. We study how concepts of dynamic culture, ethnocentrism, and modernity challenge family systems theory, and we will explore and experiment with tools for the future of religious family therapy in cross-cultural settings. We will read ethnographies of family life and cross-cultural therapy case studies, assess our own family systems and cultural backgrounds, and explore cultural differences in family structures and their relationship to faith, practice, and ministry.

Monday, June 10 through Friday, June 14, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Erin Raffety

Adjunct Professor of Arts of Ministry

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Syllabus

Syllabus:

AM-693 Cross-Cultural Family Systems

Summer-Term Hartford Seminary 2013

Class Hours: June 10-14, (M-F) 9-5:30 pm Instructor: Erin L. Raffety, Princeton University

eraffety@princeton.edu

Course Description: In an increasingly multicultural America, practitioners of religion

face great challenges in providing care, comfort, and guidance to families from diverse

backgrounds. What is universal, if anything, about family, and what role does culture play in

contemporary family therapy or ministry? Simply put, how do we minister effectively to those who

are different from us? In order to prepare students for academic engagement and religious practice

within a cross-cultural milieu, this course introduces anthropological theories of culture and

kinship, as well as psychological family systems theory. We study how concepts of dynamic culture,

ethnocentrism, and modernity challenge family systems theory, and we explore and experiment with

tools for the future of religious family therapy in cross-cultural settings. We will read

ethnographies of family life and cross-cultural therapy case studies, assess our own family systems

and cultural backgrounds, and explore cultural differences in family structures and their

relationship to faith, practice, and ministry.

Course Objectives:

1) To familiarize students with theories of culture, kinship, and family systems and

an interdisciplinary approach to the study of these topics.

2) To explore and evaluate the family systems approach to family therapy and

ministry within a cross-cultural context.

3) To enable students to assess their own familial and cultural backgrounds using

tools from the course in order to formulate culturally reflexive and knowledgeable approaches and

practices of family ministry and therapy.

Required Texts (I will assign excerpts from these texts throughout the course. Students are

required to read both texts in their completion prior to writing the final paper):

Edwin H. Friedman, 1985, Generation to Generation, Guilford Press.

This is a classic, practical text that combines family systems theory with specific instruction for

religious leaders and their congregations (note: it is written with Jewish and Christian

communities in mind. I hope those coming from different traditions will think critically and share

how this text may or may not address other religious communities when it comes to family therapy).

Anne Fadiman, 1998, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Farrar, Straus, and

Giroux.

This is a popular work of ethnographic nonfiction that details the clash of cultures between a

Hmong family and the medical community in Los Angeles. Though it

overtly deals with themes of medicine and religion, please read this ethnography

with specific attention to the Hmong culture of family life and its interactions with Western

cultures.

Assessment Expectations:

30% Homework (2):

Each student will submit a genogram of his/her extended family, as well as a three-page reflection

on how culture impacts his/her family unit. This assignment will be further explained on Day 2 of

the course and will be due on Day 3 in class. Please follow HTS’s guidelines for paper writing and

use MLA citation style. This assignment will account

for 10% of the student’s grade.

Each student will submit a five page double-spaced paper due in class on the last day of the course

(June 14, 9 am). This paper should do three things: 1) summarize arguments from two texts (you can

use three but I wouldn’t recommend going above three) that we’ve read in the course; 2) compare and

contrast ideas from the texts regarding concepts of culture, kinship, family or therapy; 3)

evaluate which concepts you find instrumental

to doing cross-cultural ministry and why. I will give further direction regarding this

paper throughout the course. This paper will account for 20% of the student’s grade.

Late papers will result in a lowering of your paper grade by a full letter per day (A to B; A- to

B-; B+ to C+; B, B-, or C+ to C; and C to F).

Note: Please don't be intimidated by the written work in this course: we will have in-class writing

workshops to help you tackle these projects, and they will serve you well in implementing

techniques from the course in your own practice!

20% Class Participation (and Attendance Policy): You are required to attend each class period and

provide significant contribution to class discussion by reading the materials required beforehand,

bringing the printed texts to class, asking questions, offering comments, taking notes, and

participating in all class activities. Students are expected to attend all class sessions. Missing

one day of class will result in an automatic lowering of your final grade by a full letter grade (A

to B; A- to B-; B+ to C+; B, B-, or C+ to C; and C to F). Missing two or more days of class will

result in automatic failure

of the course. Please contact me by email as early as possible if you anticipate a conflict.

50% Final Paper: Please use the tools in this course to write a 10-12 page double- spaced term

paper that responds to a theoretical problem in the literature or a practical problem in your

personal family or ministry and demonstrates your knowledge of culture and family therapy. Your

paper may begin with a theoretical problem, for instance, the ability or inability of family

systems theory to address cross-cultural contexts, and drawing on examples from both the text and

real life, offer a creative solution. Alternatively, you may begin with a question from your

practical ministry life or personal context, for instance, how intergenerational immigrant families

might find healing given the challenges of role reversal, offering practical examples from your

context and support from the texts.

Whatever your approach, please utilize texts from the course (you may include additional research,

although this is not required, and your primary argument should engage with texts from the course),

craft a coherent thesis statement and orderly framework for your paper, include a personal

reflection on your own cultural-familial background, and a bibliography. Again, this paper should

demonstrate personal, academic, and professional applications of the material in the course, as

well as a sound engagement with the key texts and topics covered by the course. I encourage

students to contact me via email to discuss final paper topics.

The final paper will be due July 14th by 5:30 pm.

Office Hours (by appointment, please email eraffety@princeton.edu):

I will be available, by appointment, to meet with students who have concerns or questions

during the course. I encourage you to make an appointment prior to the course or during so I can

get to know you, and we can talk about your goals and expectations for this course as it applies to

academic and professional pursuits! Please contact me by email with other questions or concerns

(eraffety@princeton.edu).

We will follow the syllabus over the five course days; however, I reserve the right, in

consultation with students, to make changes to the syllabus. All readings that are not in the

required texts are available to students via SONSIWEB.

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Cross-Cultural Family Systems

Erin Raffety