Whither Famology? Department Name Trends Across Four Decades

Inconsistent naming of academic departments has been a cause and symptom of an identity issue that has persisted in the family field for decades. Department name trends were examined across nearly four decades to consider whether the family field is beginning to converge on a common label. Results i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Family relations 2014-07, Vol.63 (3), p.323-332
Main Author: Hans, Jason D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Departments
Association (Psychology)
Autobiographies
Child development specialists
Child nutrition
Child psychology
Clocks & watches
College Faculty
Departments
disciplinary identity
Family Programs
Family Relations
Family Research
family science
Family studies
Family therapy
famology
FUTURE OF THE DISCIPLINE OF FAMILY SCIENCE
Graduate Study
Humans
Identity
Interdisciplinary relations
Language development
Lay People
Marriage counseling
Names
Naming
Nouns
Professional Identity
Program Content
Program Guides
Resistance (Psychology)
School counseling
Sociology
Studies
Surveys
Symptoms
Trends
Undergraduate Study
Units of Study
Variance
Womens rights movements
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Summary:Inconsistent naming of academic departments has been a cause and symptom of an identity issue that has persisted in the family field for decades. Department name trends were examined across nearly four decades to consider whether the family field is beginning to converge on a common label. Results indicate that the problem persists – 103 different names existed among 217 academic units examined – but that convergence seems to be on two terms: family studies and family science. A survey of 752 faculty members in those academic units found that 78% believed the variation in department names within the family field was somewhat or very problematic. Discussion and implications center on key issues for understanding and addressing the problem.
ISSN:0197-6664
1741-3729
0197-6664
DOI:10.1111/fare.12075