Lecture Topics Kinship Descent groups Kinship terminology blocks of society each other Kinship Families Kinship and Descent Family kinship descent and marriage are the basic building o How people organize themselves o How people are related to each other or not related to o Structured and organized human relationships of interdependence Families The beginning of kinship starts with o Family Two or more people related by blood marriage or adoption Blood biological connection Adoption including someone in a kin group who is not biologically related Family functions o Nurturing children Education of children Our children require care for many many years o Economic cooperation There are different kinds of families o Different cultures think about families in different ways Nuclear families o Mom Dad Children nuclear family o Nuclear family is not the same as a descent group Impermanent kinship structure Family of orientation the family that we are born into Mom dad siblings Family of procreation the family that you Wife husband children Not everyone goes through this Families CHANGE over the course of your marry into process lifetime Extended families o Cousins aunt uncles grandparents ect o Can be families of procreation and orientation Nuclear Family The nuclear family is not a universal human trait Not everyone thinks of family in terms of nuclear family o Some think of the extended family as the primary family unit EX Nayar India o Tarawad household o Men do not live with their wives o Family is about grandma mom aunts sisters uncles Uncles is the primary male role model in Family and Ideals children s lives o U S family ideal is the nuclear family Preferred family social unit Around 20 of U S families are now nuclear Most people do not live in nuclear families EX divorce single parent households o Brazilian family ideal is the extended family See the extended as the primary family unit Descent Groups Descent group ancestry o A permanent social unit whose members claim common Does not change over a person s lifetime o Genealogical relationship 3 ways the we define descent o Unilinineal Relationships are recognized through one line of descent whether mother s OR father s kin line Do not recognize descent on both sides of the family Matrilineal Patrilineal Only the mother s side of the family Only the father s side of the family Most common kind of descent societies more matrilineal societies than patrilineal societies o Ambilineal People can choose to recognize relationships through either the mother s OR the father s lines Very uncommon You choose which side of the family you want to recognize relationships through Do not recognize relationships on both sides at the same time EX Hawaiians use ambilineal descent o Bilateral descent Relationships are recognized through both lines of Through the mother and father s lines of descent EX use here in the U S Forms of Descent Groups Three different forms o 1 Lineage A descent groups with a common known ancestor Patrilineages The male line base descent on one male ancestor Daughters leave their patrilineage Patrilocal fathers and sons tend to live in the same location Matrilineages The female line base descent on one femal ancestor Sons leave their matrilieage when they get married Matrilocal o 2 Clan Members believe they have a common ancestor May not specify the genealogical links Made up of several lineages Long historical background Ancestor is often a mythical figure Nonhuman ancestors are called totems o 3 Bilateral Kindred Group Totem polls Membership is based on recognizing close relatives on the mother s and father s side Can get incredibility large Kinship and Descent Kinship systems o Structured and organized human relationships of interdependence Family o Nuclear family o Extended family o Family of orientation o Family of procreation 3 principles for defining descent Kinship and Descent Kinship systems o Structured and organized human relationships of interdependence Family impermanent kinship units the family unit itself changes over time o Nuclear family o Extended family o Family or orientation The family that you are born into o Family of procreation The family that you marry into 3 principles for defining descent not coexisting o Unilateral descent One line of the family Matrilineal or Patrilineal o Ambilineal descent Either mother or father s side Can change throughout a persons life o Bilateral descent Recognize both the mother s and the father s side 3 kinds of descent groups of the family o Lineage Ancestral o Clan Made up of multiple lineages Share descent with multiple ancestors o Bilateral Kinship Group Recognize both sides of the family Descend from both sides of the family Indistinct groups Either or side of the family family reunions Kinship Calculation Classification systems based on how cultures perceive their social worlds o Differences in terminology Different societies think about kinship in different ways o There are different classification systems for kinship Terminology o No two individuals will have the same kinship However general patterns do exist o Cousins FBS FBD MBS MBD Parallel cousins the children of a person s parents same sex siblings EX Mother s sister s children Cross cousins the children of a person s parent opposite sex siblings EX Father s sister s children Kinship Terminology Four kinship classification systems o 1 Lineal Terminology Parental generation has four terms Mother father uncle FB MB aunt MZ Distinguishes relatives in a direct line lineal from all other relatives collateral and affinal Collateral relative off to one side aunt FZ uncle Affinal relative by marriage in laws EX Eskimo Pattern o 2 Bifurcate Merging Terminology Splits mother s relatives from father s relatives Bifurcate means cutting Either only about the mother s side of the family or only about the father s side of the family Merges the same sex siblings of the parent with one term sister mother Mother father mother s brother father s No aunt and uncle Mother s sister has the same term as Same with father s brother EX Iroquois Pattern Crow Pattern the Iroquois today do not use this patter o 3 Generational Terminology Distinguishes only between generations and sex Parental generation has two terms Mother and father Merging same sex sibling uncle aunt with their parents Usually among Ambilineal societies EX Hawaiian Pattern Don t distinguish between siblings and cousins o 4 Bifurcate Collateral Terminology