This is an introductory course to marriage and family, including psychological, physiological, and social aspects of close personal relationships. The class explores the social-historical construction of family and intimate relationships and the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, gender, social class and age that influence the pursuit and experience of romantic and family relationships, including parent-child relationships. Contemporary topics such as dating, courtship, marriage, family life, divorce practices, parenting practices, family economics, intimate partner violence, and sexuality are considered through a contextual lens and the impact of ethnicity, gender and social class on these topics is presented.