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Williams, Lindy
Cornell Faculty Member
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Affiliations
member of graduate field
other Cornell affiliations
member of
- David R. Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future (ACSF) Faculty Fellow
Research
research overview
- My academic interests fit under the general headings of family sociology, development sociology, and demography, and my work is typically focused geographically in the United States and Southeast Asia. My most recent published research examines (1) issues surrounding family formation (for example, changing attitudes toward marriage in the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam), (2) issues surrounding fertility attitudes, intentions, and behavior (most recently among couples in the Philippines, and previously regarding both women`s and men`s experiences with unplanned pregnancy in the United States), and (3) theory and methods in the study of the educational attainment of children (most recently in Thailand and the Philippines). My current focus is on overseas labor migration from the Philippines, particularly the effects of that migration on children who stay behind when their parents take positions, often on extended year contracts, abroad. I am also working with graduate students on understanding the practice of transnational marriage in East and Southeast Asia.
keywords
- Demography
- Development Sociology
- Family Sociology
- Southeast Asia
geographic focus
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country
Publications
individual publications
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academic article
- The Impact of Parents’ Overseas Employment on Educational Outcomes of Filipino Children. International Migration Review. 44:300-319. 2010
- Attitudes toward Marriage in Northern Vietnam: What Qualitative Data Reveal about Variations across Gender, Generation, and Geography . Journal of Population Research. 26:285-304. 2009
- Cohabitation in the Philippines: Attitudes and Behaviors among Young Women and Men. Journal of Marriage and Family. 69:1244-1256. 2007
- Early 40s and Still Unmarried: A Continuing Trend in Thailand. International Journal of Comparative Sociology. 47:83-116. 2006
- The Effects of Family Size on Child Schooling: A Rexamination. Demography. 43:25-52. 2006
- Attitudes toward Marriage among the Urban Middle-Class in Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines. Journal of Comparative Family Studies. 36:163-186. 2005
- Deference and Denial: Men Talk about Contraception and Unplanned Pregnancy . International Journal of Men’s Health. 4:223-242. 2005
- Inequality and Educational Investment in Thai Children. Rural Sociology. 70:561-583. 2005
- Couple Attitudes and Agreement Regarding Pregnancy Wantedness in the Philippines . Journal of Marriage and the Family. 65:1019-1029. 2003
- Consistency between Survey and Interview Data Concerning Pregnancy Wantedness in the Philippines. Studies in Family Planning. 32:244-253. 2001
- Pregnancy Wantedness: Attitude Stability over Time. Social Biology. 48:212-233. 2001
- Birth Wantedness Reports: A Look Forward and a Look Back. Social Biology. 47:147-163. 2000
- Couples' Views about Planning Fertility in the Philippines. Rural Sociology. 65:484-514. 2000
- Childbearing Expectations and Subsequent Fertility Behavior: An Analysis Using Prospective Reports. Family Planning Perspectives. 31:220-227. 1999
- Intergenerational Influence in Singapore and Taiwan: The Role of the Elderly in Family Decisions. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology. 14:291-322. 1999
- Attitudes Surrounding the Continuation of Female Circumcision in the Sudan: Passing the Tradition to the Next Generation. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 5:966-981. 1997
- Which Children Will Go to Secondary School? Factors Affecting Parents' Decisions in Rural Thailand. Rural Sociology. 62:231-261. 1997
- Changes in the Planning Status of Births to Ever-married U.S. Women: 1982-1988. Family Planning Perspectives. 26:121-124. 1994
- Determinants of Couple Agreement in U.S. Fertility Decisions. Family Planning Perspectives. 26:169-173. 1994
- The Social Status of Elderly Women and Men within the Household in the Philippines. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 55:415-426. 1993
- Religious Affiliation and Fertility in the United States: New Patterns. Demography. 29:199-214. 1992
- Determinants of Unintended Childbearing among Ever-Married Women in the United States: 1973-1988. Family Planning Perspectives. 23:212-215. 1991
- Marriage and Decision-Making: Intergenerational Dynamics in Indonesia. Journal of Comparative Family Studies. 21:55-66. 1990
- The Changing Influence of Religion on U.S. Fertility: Evidence from Rhode Island. Demography. 27:475-481. 1990
- Postnuptial Migration and the Status of Women in Indonesia. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 51:895-905. 1989
- The Age Difference between Spouses: Variations among Developing Countries. Population Studies. 40:353-374. 1986
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book
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chapter
- Conclusion. Demographic Change in Southeast Asia: Recent Histories and Future Directions. 209-217. 2012
- Preface. Demographic Change in Southeast Asia: Recent Histories and Future Directions. 1-4. 2012
- Family Clocks: Timing Parenthood. It's About Time Couples and Careers. 2003
- The Widening Gap among Children: Family Living Arrangements in New York State and the U.S. New York in the 21st Century. 1999
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conference paper
- Telephone Reinterview -Longitudinal Objectives. The National Survey of Family Growth-Mission for the 1990s. 1990
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report
- Intergenerational Influence in Singapore and Taiwan: The Role of the Elderly in Family Decisions 1994
- Differences in the Living Arrangements of the Elderly in Four Asian Countries: The Interplay of Constraints and Preferences 1991
- Wanted and Unwanted Childbearing in the United States: 1973-1988 1990
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review
- Women, Gender and Development and Family: Southeast Asia 2006
- Women, Gender and Family and Islamic Discourses: South Asia 2006
- Why Marry? Attitudes of Urban Middle-Class Respondents in Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines 2001
- Pregnancy Wantedness: Attitude Stability over Time 1998
- Using In-depth Interviews and Survey Data to Understand Couples' Views about Planning Births in the Philippines 1997
- Attitudes Surrounding the Continuation of Female Circumcision in the Sudan: Passing the Tradition to the Next Generation 1996
- Fertility Intentions, Subsequent Behavior, and Wantedness Reports of Births: A Comparison of Prospective and Retrospective Attitudes 1996
- Women Who Go and Women Who Stay: Reflections of Family Migration Processes in a Changing World 1991
- Variations in Reproductive Goals Among Indonesian Spouses 1990
Teaching
teaching overview
- My current and past research endeavors all contribute to the courses I teach in regular rotation: Population and Development in Asia (DS 6120), Qualitative Research Methods (DS 6150), and Population Dynamics (DS 2010). I introduce substantive results from my published work in the population courses and also discuss some of the methods that produced the findings. In the Qualitative Methods course, we examine the full process of conducting research, from identifying a potential topic, to preparing for and carrying out fieldwork, to coding transcripts and analyzing results. We discuss the ethics and legalities of social science research and highlight case studies of dilemmas from the field. As part of my involvement in the Institute for Socal Sciences' Evolving Family Project, I have also co-taught a course on the Changing Family in Asia. In that course, we compared the types of questions asked, approaches taken, and findings emerging from the disciplines of Economics and Sociology regarding the institution of the family in different contexts in Asia. As I do in my Population and Development in Asia course, we underscored the processes that have transformed Asian societies in the last century. We also considered shifting gendered norms and statuses, changes in household division of labor, and inter-personal dynamics. In each class, I provide students with background about the theories, data, and methods that are used to generate the information that appears in the texts they study.
teaching activities
- DSOC-4300: Human Migration: Internal and International - Spring 2013
- DSOC-6300: Human Migration: Internal and International - Spring 2013
- DSOC-7900: Graduate-Level Thesis Research - Spring 2013
- DSOC-8720: Development Sociology - Spring 2013
- DSOC-8900: Master's Level Thesis Research - Spring 2013
- DSOC-9900: Doctoral-Level Thesis Research - Spring 2013
- DSOC-4380: Population and Development - Fall 2012
- DSOC-6380: Population and Development - Fall 2012
- DSOC-6720: Demography Proseminar - Fall 2012
- DSOC-7900: Graduate-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2012
- DSOC-7910: Teaching Experience - Fall 2012
- DSOC-8720: Development Sociology - Fall 2012
- DSOC-8900: Master's Level Thesis Research - Fall 2012
- DSOC-9900: Doctoral-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2012
- PAM-6720: Demography Proseminar - Fall 2012
- DSOC-6150: Qualitative Research Methods - Spring 2012
- DSOC-7900: Graduate-Level Thesis Research - Spring 2012
- DSOC-8720: Development Sociology - Spring 2012
- DSOC-8900: Master's Level Thesis Research - Spring 2012
- DSOC-9900: Doctoral-Level Thesis Research - Spring 2012
- DSOC-6120: Social Change and Population Processes in Asia - Fall 2011
- DSOC-7900: Graduate-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2011
- DSOC-7910: Teaching Experience - Fall 2011
- DSOC-8720: Development Sociology - Fall 2011
- DSOC-8900: Master's-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2011
- DSOC-9900: Doctoral-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2011
- FGSS-6120: Social Change and Population Processes in Asia - Fall 2011
Service
service to the profession
reviewer or editor for
- American Sociological Review
- Children and Society
- Demography
- International Family Planning Perspectives
- International Migration Review
- Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology
- Journal of Marriage and Family
- NIH Study Section on HIV/AIDS
- Population Research and Policy Review
- Rural Sociology
- Social Problems
- Social Science Research
Background
education and training
- Ph.D. in Sociology, Brown University 1987
- M.A. in Sociology, Brown University 1984
- A.B. in English, Colby College 1979
awards and honors
- Seed Grant, 2012
- Seed Grant, 2010
- Seed Grant, 2009
- Seed Grant, 2005
- Annual Summer Travel/Research Awards, 1998
- Seed Grant, 1998
Other
research keyword
- Demography
- Development Sociology
- Family Sociology
- Southeast Asia