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CORVALLIS - An expert on the history of marriage and family types in American society will explore "The Myth of the Normal Family" in a free public lecture on Thursday, Oct. 14, at Oregon State University.

Stephanie Coontz, who teaches history and family studies at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., says it is impossible to predict the success or failure of a family by the way it looks from the outside. She will present her views in a lecture beginning at 4 p.m. in the Construction and Engineering Auditorium of LaSells Stewart Center.

Coontz is the national co-chair of the Council on Contemporary Families, and the author of several books, including "The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap." Her forthcoming book will look at the history of marriage.

In her OSU lecture, Coontz will trace the origins and consequences of today's diverse family forms and examine what is unique about them. She will also address problems with what she calls the "one size fits all" viewpoint of the right way to organize marriages or raise children.

Her lecture is sponsored by the Thomas Hart and Mary Jones Horning Endowment in the Humanities at OSU, and coordinated by the university's Department of History.