SOCI 371 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Combahee River, Talcott Parsons, Polyamory
19 Jun 2018
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01/11/2019
Definitions are constructs that create boundary conditions
Socialization starts in the family- dictates who we are as social actors
Families define how we interact with the public and public institutions
Definitions of Family:
Murdoch- 1949...a social group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation and
reproduction. It includes 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.
Coser- 1974... a group manifesting the following organizational attributes: it finds its origin in marriage;
it consists of husband, wife and children born in their wedlock, though other relatives may find their place
close to this nuclear group, and the group is united by moral, legal, economic, religious and social rights
and obligations.--- seen as a backlash to changes going on at the time, same sex rights movement,
feminist movement, Combahee River Collective, “womanist love”, legalization of divorce.
Eichler- Definition is too broad, does not set out boundary conditions.
What families do as a group is just as important as what families are.
Vanier Institute: any combination of two or more persons who are bound together over time by ties of
mutual consent, birth/adoption/placement, and who, together, assume responsibilities for variant
combinations of some of the following: physical maintenance and care of group members, addition of
new group members through procreation or adoption, socialization of children, social control of members,
production/consumption/distribution of goods and services and affective nurturance(love).
-First definition of responsibility of families.
Census Family- centers around place of residence. Does not count multigenerational families. Does not
specifically include polyamorous arrangements.
Fathers of sociological theory of family: Talcott Parsons and George Murdock Structural Functionalism
Preservation of gender roles for smooth functioning of society. Gender roles are the key aspect of family.
When the family is dysfunctional, it is because the gender roles are not working properly.
Marxists- looks at not what is happening within the family but what the family is producing for society.
Contributing to creating an economy that is unequal. Some families ‘have’ and some ‘have not’
Symbolic interactionism- interactions between members of families and members of families to the
social institutions. Ex. Mother is opting out of the labour force- looking for meaning in interactions
Exchange Theory- the way family members interact with each other they are always doing a cost/benefit
analyses. Particularly between partners. Assumes that all actors in the family are rational actors.
Family Systems Theory- interactions that families have at different stages with different institutions, ex
interactions with school change as the child gets older. Takes into account the institutional interactions
that families have and how this shapes the family.
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Document Summary
Definitions are constructs that create boundary conditions. Socialization starts in the family- dictates who we are as social actors. Families define how we interact with the public and public institutions. Murdoch- 1949a social group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction. It includes 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. Eichler- definition is too broad, does not set out boundary conditions. What families do as a group is just as important as what families are. Fathers of sociological theory of family: talcott parsons and george murdock structural functionalism. Preservation of gender roles for smooth functioning of society. Gender roles are the key aspect of family. When the family is dysfunctional, it is because the gender roles are not working properly. Marxists- looks at not what is happening within the family but what the family is producing for society.
