Viviana A. Zelizer: Sociologist of the family and intimacy.

This article is an introduction to the themed section titled, "Viviana A. Zelizer: Sociologist of the Family and Intimacy." It first reviews the major works of Viviana Zelizer and their significance for the social studies of families and intimacy, underscoring how she has accounted for the interplay between family and economy through a series of objects: life insurance, the assessment of children's value, the social meaning of money, and, more recently, intimacy.