Shared Obliviousness in Family Systems

Paul C. Rosenblatt is Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He is the author of many books, including Two in a Bed: The Social System of Couple Bed Sharing, also published by SUNY Press; African American Grief (with Beverly R. Wallace); and Help Your Marriage Survive the Death of a Child.

• PrefaceAcknowledgments1. Shared Obliviousness as a Family Systems Phenomenon2. Family System Mechanisms for Maintaining Shared Obliviousness3. Family Obliviousness to Context4. Obliviousness to Matters within the Family5. Shared Obliviousness and Family Decisions6. Family System Responses to Threats to Obliviousness7. Obliviousness and Family Therapy8. Researching Shared Family Obliviousness9. Shared Obliviousness Th at Is Not Quite Shared or Oblivious10. The Future of Shared Family ObliviousnessReferencesIndex

"…Rosenblatt breaks new ground by introducing shared family obliviousness theory and providing examples of how the theory works and helps families maintain their lives in view of the pressures of daily information that inundates them from a multitude of sources—adding a new dimension for working with families." — Journal of Contemporary Social Services"…an intriguing addition to the literature on family-systems theory, a work that builds on a rich history of family-systems research." — CHOICE"This work pertains to family information management, focusing on what is not said rather than what is. In a highly readable fashion, Rosenblatt makes us more aware of the many ways in which we avoid talking about certain topics in our families and elsewhere. He takes a systems approach to the family and clarifies mechanisms that render some topics unspeakable." — Dudley D. Cahn, editor of Family Violence: Communication Processes