As part of the professional world, you will need to keep current on both recent and what might be called “seminal” works in the field of family studies. A “seminal” work, changed the field, bringing a new concept to the forefront, or changing our professional vision on an issue. The list of books included are both new and seminal works in the field. Select one that would be interesting to you: for example, if you are very interested in gender differences in household labor, The Second Shift changed how the entire field of family studies addressed this issue. Once you select your book, here is what expected in a critique.
a. This is not a “book report”. You are not summarizing the book. I have read it and so have you, that is not the purpose of this assignment.
b. A critique presents your critical analysis of the author’s message. This includes:
1. what did the author do an especially good job presenting? Were their sources reliable? 2. What was unclear? Not well done? Which parts left you with more questions than answers.
c. What questions do you have about this area based on your reading of the book? In other words, what did it make you think about? What do you think needs to be done next?
d. How would you use this information as a professional?
A critique should be about 6-8 pages, typed, double spaced. A good paper always includes some headings to help the reader, and a summary