Hall - Assignment 16

Parker Hall

The Lasting Effects of Absent Fatherhood: An Annotated Bibliography

Erlich, Avi. Hamlet's Absent Father. United States, Princeton University Press, 2015.

In this book, the author, Avi Erlich, analyzes the classic Shakespearean work of  Hamlet.  A major turning point of the original play is the death of Hamlet’s father, the king of Denmark, at the hands of his jealous brother who wished to take his place. Hamlet then devotes the rest of his life (and therefore the very play itself) to avenging his father. The author notices the drastic shift from a previously contemplative and considerate demeanor to a depressed and erratic character bent on vengeance and violence. The author speculates that Hamlet’s behavior is the result of an intense and partially subconscious complex search for a father figure to identify with. Erlich also argues that each father figure presented to Hamlet throughout the work was an imitation or parody of Denmark’s deceased king.

While this source was re-released in 2015, which is relatively current, the original source was published in 1978, and so the source could prove to be slightly outdated. 

The author of this source, Avi Erlich, has published other sources of analysis, such as Ancient Zionism: The Biblical Origins of the National Idea and Short Eternity.

However, this source would provide an excellent perspective, in that absent fatherhood was a concern in previous decades as well, serving to reinforce my argument that absent parenthood qualifies as a societal monster.

Luscombe, Belinda. “Deadbeat Dads: New Study Examines Non-Custodial Fathers.” Time, Time, 15 June 2015, time.com/3921605/deadbeat-dads/. 

This article gives further insight into statistics revolving around fathers who do not live with their children. It gives an alternate perspective, in that fathers considered to be “deadbeat dads” are not always so, in that they provide child support and fulfill their responsibilities outside of court recognized care. 

Time magazine is a well known, trusted, and reliable source; as this study was published five years ago, it can be considered relevant and current. The research this study used are cited and their authors are credited. The author, Belinda Luscombe, is an editor-at-large at Time Magazine, and has written countless other accredited articles such as Marriageology: The Art and Science of Staying Together. She has a B.A. in English Literature and a Diploma of Education from the University of Sydney, and has written for other notable publications such as The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Vogue, and The New York Times Magazine.

This source had relevant statistics and an alternate perspective that I will utilize in my piece. This article can also be used for its quotes, such as “There are fewer pariahs more deeply loathed by society at large than the deadbeat dad, the fully-grown man, who, having had his fun, abandons his responsibilities.” This quote will be crucial to cementing my viewpoint, in that absent fathers are considered a societal monster. 

Page, Marianne E., Stevens, Ann H.. “The Economic Consequences of Absent Parents.” JSTOR, 2004, www.jstor.org/stable/3559006. 

This academic article provided an economic lens as well as a logical and analyzing approach to the topic of absent parenthood. In this article, the authors find that, in the year after a divorce, family income drops and, if the parent remains unmarried, the family income never quite recovers. The authors conclude that family structure has a significant impact on the economic status of families with children, and that after divorce, the family income falls by almost half.

This source was written in 2004, so while it is reliable, I am aware that it has the potential to be somewhat outdated. The objective research documents their facts well, and credits other studies that the authors utilized in creating this piece. The authors, Dr. Marianne Page of UC Davis, a professor of economics and public economics with both a BA and a PhD in Economics, and an affiliate of the Center for Poverty Research, and Dr. Ann Huff Stevens, a professor of economics at UC Davis and Deputy Director at the Center for Poverty Research with a PhD in economics, are well qualified in this subject.

This source will be used for its copious statistics and graphs as well as its economic perspective in countering the TIME article. On top of this, this particular article has a number of credible sources that I could discover through it.

Shakur, Tupac A. “Papa’z Song.” Strictly 4 My [obscenity]. By Tupac A. Shakur. Rec. 1993. Big D the Impossible, 1993. CD.

Tupac Shakur’s song is a recalling of his life in a low socioeconomic single parent household, and he recounts the effects of being without a father. 

This piece was first released in 1993, and so while it would be plausible that it could be outdated, this song remains a popular work in this genre, which speaks to its continued timeless relevance. The artist, Tupac Shakur and his brother Mopreme, grew up in an unstable single parent in a lower-class predominantly black neighborhood. They recount their experience growing up searching for a reliable father figure, struggling to pay rent and make ends meet, as well as feeling unsupported, pitied, and alone.

While it is not technically research, this artistic popular source will provide a filterless firsthand account of the experience and effects of absent fatherhood, and will prove to be a helpful source in doing so. However, it is important to acknowledge that this source is specific to Shakur’s experience, and other single parents and their children’s experiences may be drastically different due to outer factors like socioeconomic status, family support, etc.

Sikweyiya, Yandisa & Nduna, Mzikazi & Khuzwayo, Nelisiwe & Mthombeni, Andile & Mashamba-Thompson, Tivani. (2016). Gender-based violence and absent fathers: A scoping review protocol. BMJ Open. 6. e010154. 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010154. 

This source describes the link between gender-based violence and absent fatherhood. The study finds that gender-based violence, which arises from the unequal power relationships between men and women, disproportionately affects unmarried women and absent fathered children. The source acknowledges that gender-based violence and absent fatherhood are both societal monsters.

The objective academic paper was published in 2016, making it relatively current and very reliable as a result. The credited statistics and lengthy list of references further support this fact. The authors, Dr. Yandisa Sikweyiya of the South African Medical Research Council’s Gender and Health Research Unit, Dr. Mzikazi Nduna, professor of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, Dr. Nelisiwe Khuzwayo, professor of rural health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Andile Mthombeni, professor of psychology at the University of Witwatersrand, are qualified in this subject.

This scholarly article will be used to provide a widespread, international perspective of the societal monster that is absent fatherhood, and its effects on the victims. This source is very helpful, and will be used to compare and contrast the American experience to an outside one.