Study of Social Change in Six American Institutions during the Twentieth Century

The six institutions discussed are family, religion, education, government, medicine and economics. This corresponds to the content of sociology courses as taught in universities, and has the merit of reviewing the condition of each of these institutions in light of the 1990 census or of statistics gathered since then. The volume first presents statistics concerning change in such areas as immigration, family size, cost of living, age, ethnic composition, etc., since the beginning of the 20th century and before. The book includes interviews with older Americans who have lived through much of this century, and in each area discussed, interviews were conducted with persons most qualified to speak to each topic. The book also shows the relationship of these institutions to each other, employing functional analysis, and concludes with some predictions for future changes in American life during the remainder of the century. A useful bibliography containing over three hundred items is attached.