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For immediate release                   Contact: Judith Ruderman
Aug. 30, 1994                           (919) 684-6259
                                        smrjgr@sysa.adm.duke.edu


DUKE SYMPOSIUM TO LOOK AT FAMILY ISSUES


   DURHAM, N.C. -- Issues about the American family will be the
focus of a three-day symposium starting Sept. 30 sponsored by the
Duke University Office of Continuing Education.
   "Changing Definitions of the American Family: Implications for
Policy and Practice" will address the changing roles of families. 
The schedule includes roundtable discussions and lectures that will
be moderated by public service officials and Duke faculty members,
as well as films and workshops designed to stimulate discussion and
debate.
   The symposium is funded in part by the Mary Duke Biddle
Foundation.
   Judith Ruderman, director of the Office of Continuing Education
and Summer Sessions, said the symposium is being held in
celebration of continuing education's 25th anniversary.  She said
the office chose the topic of family because it is an important and
timely issue in today's society.
   Ruderman said a lot of emphasis has been placed on the family
structure in the past few years for several reasons.  Gender roles
and expectations have changed and social and economic conditions
have placed stresses on the family that public policies have not
been able to ameliorate.  Ruderman also said a public acceptance of
"alternative" lifestyles has changed the notion of what family is.
   "We're confused and perplexed, saddened and angered by the
changes that have occurred in the family," she said.  "That's why
symposiums like this one are important.  They allow various
segments of the community to come together to debate the issues and
to engage in give and take with educators who have studied and
analyzed the issues." 
   The weekend symposium will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30,
in the Gross Chemistry Auditorium, with a keynote address by
Stephanie Coontz of Evergreen State University, who will speak on
"Where Have All the Families Gone?  Perspectives on the Historical
and Social Dimensions of Family Life in the United States."
   Roundtable discussions on  "Social and Educational Implications
of Changing Family Roles" and "Physical and Mental Health
Implications of Changing Family Roles" will be held in the Gross
Chemistry Auditorium Saturday at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. respectively. 
Four workshops will be conducted and a film shown in the Terry
Sanford Institute of Public Policy.  "Making Your Family Strong"
and "Building Male-Female Partnerships" will be held from 2:15 to
3:45 p.m., and "Conflict Resolution at Home and in School" and
"Issues Facing Alternative Families" will be held from 4 to 5:30
p.m.  "We are Family," a documentary about alternative families,
also will be shown and discussed from 2:15 to 3:45 p.m. as a third
option.  Saturday's events will conclude with a film titled, "The
Vanishing Family:  Crisis in Black America," to be held in Gross
Chemistry Auditorium at 7 p.m.
   On Sunday from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. in Gross Chemistry Auditorium,
Kate Bartlett, professor and associate dean of the law school, will
discuss "Legal Implication of Changing Family Roles."  Following
her talk, a roundtable discussion on "Public Policy Implications of
Changing Family Roles" will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in
Gross Chemistry Laboratory.
   All events are free, except the Saturday luncheon from 12:30 to
2 p.m. in the R. David Thomas Center, and are open to the public.
                              -----
   For more information or to register, call 684-6259.
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