Chapter 1 Questions 1. Differentiate between nuclear family and extended family. The difference between a nuclear family and an extended family is the family unit. The extended family consists of parents, children and other members of the family such as grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. The nuclear family consists of a mother, father and at least one child.
* Nuclear family, two opposite sex, married, with children. * Patriarchy is having a male dominated society. * Polygamy, is having more than one marriage with different people. * Reconstituted Family, having a step sibling/ father or mother. * Serial Monogamy, is having several short term marriages over the course of a life time.
He defined the family as follows : “The family is a social group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction. It contains adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children, own or adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults.” In his definition, Murdock is excluding homosexual couples ,single parents, those who don’t want or can’t have children, polygamous. A nuclear family is a family unit that includes two married parents of opposite genders and their biological or adopted children living in the same residence. When we talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the nuclear family, then financial stability is one of the strongest points in the nuclear family. One can be financially strong because of limited expenses.
A nuclear family (sometimes known in the British sociological term, cornflake family) is a household consisting of two married, heterosexual parents and their legal children (siblings), as distinct from the extended family. While the family is a near-universal cultural phenomenon, nuclear families do not form the family unit in every society. Nuclear families are typical in societies where people must be relatively mobile -- such as hunter-gatherers and industrial societies. Functionalism is a systems theory so it looks at each part or element of society in terms of the contribution it makes to efficient and harmonious functioning of the whole social structure or system. You might also remember the idea of the ‘organic analogy’; the idea that society is like an organism and needs specialist parts to carry out particular functions.
In sociological terms, the traditional definition of a ‘Family’ is; a fundamental social group in society typically consisting of two married parents and their children. Although in modern times, there are many accepted variations of families and social groups within the household. I shall be focusing on two traditional families well-known within society: the currently reigning, British royal family and the Simpson’s; a televised, fictional cartoon family. By means of comparison, I will analyse both family groups through a sociologist’s perspective and evaluate my findings accordingly. The British royals are a government-funded extended family.
Women were forced to stay at home at all times and were controlled by their fathers while growing up then by their husbands after marriage. They were mostly uneducated and spent their time managing the household. Sparta on the other hand was usually classified as an oligarchy: ruled by the few. The Spartan government was controlled by a group of five men called ephors. Most of the decisions
Defining Polygyny: Debates on Kinship and Marriage Abstract How does the practice of polygyny (a form of polygamy) question the idea of marriage and kinship in today’s highly monogamous world? Based on research of published literature and a comparison of polygyny in Utah and Indonesia, this paper concludes that polygamous marriages could possibly be the next frontier to a socially accepted form of marriage system in mainstream societies. Introduction Growing up in a monogamous society I assumed that there is only one way to have a family structure which is a heterosexual monogamous marriage as the core of kinship, leading to affinal and consanguineal kins. This is how most people I have known define marriage and kinship as well. Anthropological studies of kinship present alternative kinship structures thereby questioning mainstream notions of marriage and family.
Lone Parent Families – A Sociological Investigation Key Terms Family is a collection of people who share DNA or an emotional bond. A Household consists of people who occupy a property e.g. a house. A nuclear family is a family group consisting of a mother, father and their children. Ideology is shared beliefs which serve to justify and support the interests of a particular group/organizations.
Kaluli tribe are not a known tribe, they are an isolated tribe from Papua New Guinea and are paterilineal organized into exogamous throughout the longhouse kinship. Although they are associated with the tribe passing through the male line, one will obtain kinship to both the mother’s and father’s groups. Paternal kin will present ties to the longhouse and maternal kin in which will provide connection with ones mother’s kin in another longhouse of the terrain. The ones in which feels closets to those who one has grown ups, or who looks upon the most will be held in charge to take food from their gardens, and they will be given food in return. The distance kin are two or more generations away from one will be called “grandparent” or “grandchild” because they are distant family members who are not considered family members.
George. P. Murdock states that the family is a social group characterized by common residence, economic co-operation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom who maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and one or more children own or adopted of these sexually co-habiting adults. According to Murdock the nuclear family is universal. However many theorists argue that the nuclear family is not universal and there are several different family forms which fulfill the need of society.