Week 11 - Sociology of the Family

Definition
Family: a group of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage or other
intimate relationship or by adoption.
Marriage: a legal and socially recognized union or two or more people
Household: people who occupy the same dwelling
Family unites individuals into cooperative groups to oversee the bearing and
raising of children
A set of intimate social relationships that people create to share resources to
ensure their welfare and that of their dependants
Nuclear family: direct family; group consisting of a husband, wife and their children
Polling the Proposal
Who asks?
Where?
When?
What?
Why?

Wedding, divorces, marriage, common law, - the context of the proposal

Marriage is for those who can afford it
Idealizing of marriage, cant get married until financially ready
The proposal
a) the phenomenon
-media influence, Hollywood, mythology
b) paradigm analysis
Symbolic Interactionism:
-what is that script, where did it come from
-cultural amnesia

-meaning of white wedding dress? Why do some people use red?

-history of engagement ring
-significance of being on one knee
-meaning of asking for her hand in marriage
Structural Functionalism:
-asking: what parts of society are involved?
-public or private?
-how to measure success of proposal
-problem with Hollywood proposal

Social Conflict
-who owns the proposal
-why does the man ask
-what are benefits of asking
-what does the surprise do?

Case study