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About MARIAL MARIAL in the News LIFE, LOVE AND THE UNMARRIED WOMAN: Is marriage disintegrating or just evolving? For the first time, more American women are living without husbands than are living with them —- 51 percent, according to recent research. The trend is most pronounced among African-Americans, says a New York Times study: Only 30 percent of black women live with a spouse. In its examination of 2005 census data, the Times found that 49 percent of Hispanic women are living with a husband, as are 55 percent of non-Hispanic white women and 60 percent of Asian women. What is happening to marriage in America? Is it still the bedrock of our culture? An Emory University researcher urges a long and calm look at the facts. For instance, says Kristin Celello, who is writing a book on marriage in 20th-century America, the United States had the highest divorce rate in the world in '89. That's 1889. "The divorce rate was one in six by the mid-20s, one in four in the mid-50s," said Celello. "[Today's divorce rate] has led many Americans to conclude that marriage is in crisis. But if you think about it, this means it was in crisis for the entirety of the 20th century, if not before." SEMINAR Author and historian Stephanie Coontz, who says marriage has changed more in the past 35 years than in the preceding 35 centuries, will lecture on "Courting Trouble? The World Historic Transformation of Love and Marriage" at Emory University next month. Coontz, author of "Marriage, a History: From Obedience to Intimacy or How Love Conquered Marriage," will speak from 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 20 at 206 White Hall. Admission is free. Information: 404-727-3149.
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