CHAPTER 1 6 02 10 2015 Why study families and other close relationships Mainly examing how fams have changed over time and connecting that to why we should understand these changes Colonial America families were businesses schools churches and correctional health and welfare institutions family was the center of life and al aspects of life took place within family African Americans and slavery o during same time o because of the white family at this time blacks experienced any education worship correctional within family themselves o spent a lot of time together working and taking care of eachother in colonial america Industrialized and Urbanized America separate work and home life waves of immigration Poor working class middle and upper class Two things happen o 1 Whites the man would go to work and woman stayed home and take care of home separation of the working homelife Often only experienced by white working or middle class americans o 2 Immigration from Europe Poor low working class men and women had to work Idea of woman staying home etc is not the same o family is not the center of life but a part of life as individuals go out into industry and work outside of the home o working class o middle class managers supervisors in the factories o upper class owned the factories i e henry ford o Modern America dual income technology ability to telecommute and flex work o work from home much more common for women to be working inside home and working an equal status women and men working full time Leave it to Beaver 1950s The idal fam White middle class Mother stays home father works two children Father high school education was able to obtain a good job and provide a good living for entire family not possible today o standard of family that today is not economically realistic nuclear family non divorced its still what individuals strive for today o extended family includes grandparents or other relatives challenge to the idea of a perfect family divorce and remarriage reflects the changing norms attitudes behaviors of America at the time step family trying to be a nuclear family the brady bunch 1970s The cosby show 1980s A change in media Black family Highly College educated husband and wife o So that white fams can relate Emergence of a strong woman who contributes equally has a leadership role Acknowledging black population and black fam in the 1980s Represent key characteristics o Strong multigenerational relationships Friends 1990s Group of young people living together sharing finances Function like a family to each other Challenge of traditional idea of having to be related to be a family o More on who you rely on for support etc Single opposite sex partners casual dating and sex o Controversial at time The Osbournes 2000s First reality tv Privileged nonscripted Not really relatable everyday challenges that they faced in raising teenagers love and dedicated to each other 2012 traditional families 23 5 living alone 25 8 female headed 7 2 unmarried 5 2 Definition of Family Burgess and Locke 1945 a group of persons united by the ties of marriage blood or adoption constituting a single household interacting and communicating with each other in their respective social roles husband and wife mother and father son and daughter brother and sister and creating and maintaining a common culture o Excludes single parent families gay lesbian cohabitating partners o By this definition it would not be a family o Also close friends would not be considered Seccombe 2012 a relationship by blood marriage or affection in which members may o Cooperatye economically o Care for children o Consider their identity intimately connected to a larger group When you identify with the people around you that s what makes you a family o Affection who you choose to share your life or love with o Essentially defined by what they do together i e cooprate economically Types of Family Family of orientation o Born into o Teaches us about love communication provides support socialization rules of society Family of procreation o The family you make Fictive kin o Not related o Important friends functions of family regulation of sexual behavior o getting married reproducing and socializing children o teach them how to operate in society o i e manners etc property and inheritance economic cooperation and provision o as children our parents provided for us and expectations that we will do the same for our children one day social placement status and roles o learn who we are as men women and roles care warmth protection and intimacy o human beings need love acceptance where they can meet their highest potential CHAPTER 1 BOOK THREE KEY THEMES Theme 1 Linking the Micro level and Macro level perspectives on families At a micro level the focus is on the individual and his her social interactions Opportunities choices and constrains are made or experienced by the individual without much thought given to the social cultural context in which that person lives macro level understanding shows us that our personal relationships are interconnected with the rest of society Social structure influences the opportunities choices and constraints that we experience in everywhere in life including intimate relationships social institution a major sphere of social life with a set of belief and rules organized to meet basic needs Theme 2 Families are Always Changing Fams are not monolithic static People have constructed families to meet their needs Differ around the world in terms of patterns of authority rules of descent and patterns of residence Companionate family based on mutual affection Sexual attraction compatibility and personal happiness Families today the economy greatly affects fam s lifestyles opportunities constraints o Social inequality also influences the fam o Risk of divorce increases if spouse works between 12am 8am Theme 3 The Importance of Social Science Theory and Research An appreciation for the role that social science theory and research play in helping people understand fams and close relationships Scientific perspectives can provide more objective window because common sense differces from place to place SS can inform us about the structure of fams the experiences people have within them and the meanings that they attach to their relationships empirical approach an approach answers questions thru a systematic collection and analysis of data people are still marrying but marrying later o Theories Helping Us Make
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