Stephanie Coontz

Teacher of history and family studies at Evergreen State College and is Director of Research and Public Education for the Council on Contemporary Families, which she chaired from 2001-2004.

Stephanie Coontz (born 31 August 1944) is an american historian and author. Coontz has also taught at Kobe University in Japan and the University of Hawaii at Hilo. She is a former Woodrow Wilson Fellow.

Coontz has authored and co-edited several books about the history of marriage and in 1989 she was awarded for her book "The Social Origins of Private Life: A History of American Families"

Coontz has appeared on national television and radio programs and her work has been featured in newspapers and magazines, as well as in many academic and professional journals. She has testified about her research before the House Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families in Washington, DC, and addressed audiences across America, Europe, and Japan.

Her work has been translated into French, Spanish, German, and Japanese.

Selected publication:

Books:

  • Coontz, Stephanie. The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap. New York: Basic Books, 1992.
  • Coontz, Stephanie. The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms with America's Changing Families. Basic Books, 1998.
  • Coontz, Stephanie., ed. American Families; A Multicultural Reader. London: Routledge, 1999.
  • Coontz, Stephanie. Marriage, A History: From Obedience to Intimacy, or How Love Conquered Marriage. New York: Viking Press, 2005.

Recent Essays:

  • Too Close for Comfort. New York Times, November 7, 2006.
  • A Pop Quiz on Marriage. New York Times, February 19, 2006.
  • Why Marriage Today Takes More Love and Work - From Both Partners The Christian Science Monitor, une 28, 2005.
  • Our Kids Are Not Doomed Los Angeles Times, May 9, 2005.
  • For Better, For Worse: Marriage Means Something Different Now. The Washington Post, May 1, 2005.

Her personal website can be visited at www.stephaniecoontz.com