FAD2230 CHAPTER 1 What is a Family Legal vs Social Definition o Legal 2 or more people living together related by birth marriage or adoption Unmarried not a family o Social family relationship by blood marriage or affection in which members may cooperate economically may care for any children and may consider identity to be intimately connected Sorority team work group Family of orientation family that you are born into Family or procreation family you make through marriage partnering or parenthood Fictive kin non relatives w bonds strong and intimate o Not a real aunt or uncle but you call them that Marriage an institutional arrangement b w people to publicly recognize social and intimate bonds o All societies have their own version o Different norms ceremonies traditions etc o Anthropologist William Stephens definition 1 Socially legitimate sexual union 2 Public announcement 3 undertaken w some sort of permanence 4 Assumed w a more or less explicit marriage contract Expectations from spouse The Functions of Family Regulation of Sexual Behavior incest is recognized as bad Reproducing Socializing Children reproducing is a good thing Property Inheritance sharing food money and knowing they are your children Economic Cooperation help each other out economically Social Placement Status Roles religion class established Care Warmth Protection Intimacy you can t survive on food and shelter alone o The most important Linking the Micro Level Macro Level Perspectives on Families Social Structure a stable framework of social relationships that guides our Micro level focus on the individual and his or her interactions in specific things interactions with others o Why do I do this Macro level focus on interconnectedness of marriage families intimate relationships with rest of society Family as a Social Institution organized to meet basic human needs Social Status and Families Social institution a major sphere of social life w a set of beliefs and rules that is Master status The major defining status or statuses that a person occupies o Social position you occupy brother sister mother co worker o One word that defines yourself Families are Always Changing Marriage Patterns o Monogamy marriage b w 1 man 1 woman o Polygamy multiple spouses at one time It is illegal but not in Africa Polygyny man having more than one wife Polyandry wives are allowed to have more than one husband Patterns of Authority o Patriarchy men have authority over women Most widespread The practice of female circumcision is explained through the norms and values of patricarchy o Matriarchy women have power and authority over men Type of social institution o Egalitarian power authority equally vested in man and woman Common in developed countries Patterns of Descent o Bilateral descent can be traced through both sides of family Both sets of grandparents are involved in family etc o Patrilineal man s family line is the only one traced Father s side is dominant aka woman takes man s name bits and pieces are common among our lifestyles o Matrilineal lineage traced exclusively through the woman s Residence patterns Neolocoal the expectation that a newly married couple establishes a residence and lives there independently Partrilocal the expectation that a newly married couple will live with the husband s Matrilocal the expectation that a newly married couple will live with the family of family the wife Families in Transition China Need to apply for permission to get married govt then determines 1 child policy population control effort o pop reduced by millions Male children are favored o Females are often killed at birth History of Family Life in the United States Family life in colonial America European colonists o Families were self sustaining produced their own household goods i e clothing furniture food education religion o Families helped each other survive it was a team men and women were still not seen as equals o Families were much more strict they had to beat the sin out the child Adolescence was not a concept Once you were old enough to help out you did Colonial America African Americans and Slavery encouraged to reproduce and marry Industrialization Urbanization Immigration o Slaves were not allowed because you couldn t bring them anymore the family o Industrialization the economy shifted from the small rural farms larger more urban societies Work is now not something you do at home o Urbanization families are now moving closer to their work o Immigration land of opportunity So much going on others want this opportunity to succeed The Poor and Working Classes Middle and Upper Classes o Father goes off to work and the mother stays at home The idea of the bread winner father and stay at home mom really developed in this time period It was now the mothers responsibility to shape and mold the child to make them a better person The Rise of the Modern Family The 20th Century o The depression world wars affected the traditionally accepted ideas Divorce and teen pregnancy are more accepted Down syndrome used to be frowned upon now it is accepted o Adolescence is a new concept Families Today o Very hard to survive on one pay check o More women in the workforce now than ever along with women in charge of small children o Minimum wage 7 67 15 000 a year o Many families are house poor the majority of their income goes toward house maintenance o 50 of people that make minimum wage are over the age of 25 The Importance of Social Science Research Empirical Approach An approach that answers questions through a systematic collection and analysis of data Goals of Family Research o Describe some phenomena Ex Patterns of domestic violence o Examine the factors that predict or are associated with some phenomena Ex who reports domestic violence and who does not Demographic differences o Explain the cause and effect relationships or provide insight into why certain events do or do not occur Questions that can be answered through research o Examine the meaning or interpretation of the phenomena Ex victim what does this mean to men vs women what is the impact of the word victim worse survivor Common Research Methods Used to Study Families and Relationships o Surveys answering questions o Random sample everyone in population has an equal chance of being in study Very expensive and difficult to accomplish The majority of research is done by a convenient sample aka college Ex alcohol consumed at football game acknowledge that it is just one
View Full Document
Unlocking...