My Mother Who Fathered Me

1327 Words6 Pages
“In Edith Clark’s classic work on the Afro-Caribbean family, My Mother Who Fathered Me, she makes the point that economics greatly affected the types of family forms that existed in the communities she studied. Critically assess the contribution of her argument and compare it to other approaches to explaining the Afro-Caribbean family.” SOCI1002 Group Members: Jamie Wachowiak Liuxin Li A family can be defined as a social unit of common residence involving two adults who are in a sexual relationship. Children of either adults, from both, or who have been adopted also form part of this family unit. In explaining the Afro-Caribbean family, Edith Clarke in her book, ‘My mother who fathered me’ postulates that “economics greatly affect the family forms that exist in Afro-Caribbean societies”. Clarke based this claim on a research conducted in three communities in Jamaica. However, there are other theorists in the Caribbean that have put forward other arguments in explaining Afro-Caribbean family forms. For the purpose of this essay the writer intends to critically assess the arguments put forward by Clarke in terms of it being applicable to the modern society, and also to examine other theories that explain family forms in Afro-Caribbean societies. Edith Clarke believed that family formation in the Caribbean reflected class differences in household structures and union states. Her position was that the family form was as a result of community organization that was influenced by the economic conditions of the community. Interestingly, Clarke conveyed that the greater the economic well-being of an area, the higher the percentage of marriages; and, conversely, the greater the poverty of an area the higher the percentage of consensual unions. She tested this hypothesis in a study of three different communities; Orange Grove, Mocca and Sugar Town. The results
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