Linda Burton

Contact Info 

Location: 255 Soc/Psych Building

Office Phone: (919) 660-5609

Office Fax: 919-660-5623

Email Address:  

Website: http://fds.duke.edu/db/aas/Sociology/faculty/burton

Mailing Address: 255 Soc/Psych Building Durham, NC 27708

• SOCIOL 495S.01, SOCIOLOGY HONORS SEMINAR 1 Synopsis

  Languages 312, W 03:05 PM-05:20 PM

Education:

• PhD, Sociology, University of Southern California, 1985
• MA, Sociology, University of Southern California, 1982
• BS, Gerontology (with honors), University of Southern California, 1978

Areas of Interest:
Poverty
Intergenerational Families
Family Life Course Transitions
Neighborhood Context
Ethnographic Methods

Research Summary:
My program of research is conceptually grounded in life course, developmental, and ecological perspectives and focuses on three themes concerning the lives of America's poorest urban, small town, and rural families: (1) intergenerational family structures, processes, and role transitions; (2) the meaning of context and place in the daily lives of families; and, (3) childhood adultification and the accelerated life course. My methodological approach to exploring these issues is comparative, longitudinal, and multi-method. The comparative dimension of my research comprises in-depth within group analysis of low income African American, White, and, Hispanic/Latino families, as well as systematic examinations of similarities and differences across groups. I employ longitudinal designs in my studies to identify distinct and often nuanced contextual and ethnic/racial features of development that shape the family structures, processes (e.g., intergenerational care-giving) and life course transitions (e.g., grandparenthood, marriage) families experience over time. I am principally an ethnographer, but integrate survey and geographic and spatial analysis in my work. I am currently one of six principal investigators involved in an multisite, multi-method collaborative study of the impact of welfare reform on families and children (Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study). I direct the ethnographic component of the Three-City Study and am also principal investigator of an ethnographic study of rural poverty and child development (The Family Life Project).

Representative Publications   (More Publications)

1. Burton, L.M., Garrett-Peters, R., & Eason, J, Morality, Identity, and Mental Health in Rural Ghettos, Communities, Neighborhoods, and Health: Expanding the Boundaries of Place (2011), NY: Springer .
2. Burton, L.M., Bonilla-Silva, E., Ray, V., Buckelew, R., & Hordge Freeman, E., Critical race theories, colorism, and the decade's research on families of color, Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 72 (2010), pp. 440-459  [abs].
3. Burton, L.M., & Bromell, L., Childhood illness, family comorbidity, and cumulative disadvantage: An ethnographic treatise on low-income mothers' health in later life, Annual Review of Gertontology and Geriatrics (2010), pp. 231-263  [abs].
4. Burton, L.M., Cherlin, A., Winn, D.M., Estacion, A., & Holder-Taylor, C., The role of trust in low-income mothers' intimate unions, Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 71 (December, 2009), pp. 1107 - 1127  [abs].
5. Burton, L.M. & Tucker, M.B., Romantic unions in an era of uncertainty: A post-Moynihan perspective on African American women and marriage, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 62 (2009), pp. 132-148 .
6. Burton, L.M., Childhood adultification in economically disadvantaged families: An ethnographic perspective, Family Relations, vol. 56 no. 329-345 (2007) .