This unique textbook synthesizes the information available on the topic of widowhood, presenting and then debunking a number of myths surrounding widowhood. The book begins with a definition of basic concepts, followed by a comparative and historical perspective on the situation of widows in several countries and selected communities in the United States. It then explores a range of subjects and issues including emotions, identity, roles and external relationships of widows from cross-cultural perspectives.

Circles and Settings: Role Changes of American Women is an original, comprehensive analysis of changing roles of American women at a time of great upheaval and public, as well as social science, commentary. Using a symbolic interactionist framework, with role seen as a set of negotiated relations, Lopata analyses the roles of wife, mother, kin member (daughter, sister, grandmother) homemaker, job holder in different settings, as well as friend, neighbor, volunteer, and activist. This book comprehensively pulls together all the major involvements of American women using both historical and comparative perspectives to show the evolution of these roles over the last century.

Product Description: Polish Americans examines the impact of post-communist changes in Poland and the presence of the third wave of immigrants on Polish communities abroad. It studies this community as a living entity, with internal divisions and conflicts, and explores relations with the home nation and the country of settlement...read more

Product Description: The volume examines two communities in Canada, a Florida retirement community, and communities in Ohio, Nebraska, and California, as well as the relative situations of homeowners, blacks, and poor ethnic populations.

This volume analyzes the support systems and lifestyles of widows in Australia, the Philippines, Korea, Iran, China, India, Turkey, and Israel.