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ChapterThe
2 Family System

- Pranjal Bhatt
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History of the Family

• Historians--Upper class bias
▫ Nobles
▫ Wars
▫ Rise & fall of empires

• First, study of “ordinary” families

1960
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Philippe Aries
CENTURIES OF CHILDHOOD (1963)
• Concept of “Childhood”
• Innocent
• Protect
• Hidden from children:
- Birth
- Death
- Sex
- Tragedy
- World events
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Philippe Aries--CENTURIES OF CHILDHOOD

• Children segregated by age

• Having an age important

• In the past ages were unknown

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17th Century
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18 Century
th
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19th Century
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19th Century
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20th Century
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Origins of Family and Kinship

*Evolutionary theory
*Infants need care of Families
*Hunter-gatherers: For 3 million years

-Until invention of agriculture (8000-10,000 years

ago)
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Hunter-gatherers
• Small bands (approx. 30 people)
▫ Several families
▫ Nomads
• Group size=Depended on food in region
• Men
▫ Hunted, fished

• Women
▫ Gathered nuts, berries
▫ Cared for children

• Children also worked.

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Kinship

Kinship traced through mother’s or father’s

kin

Lineages
 Patrilineage: Father’s line

 Matrilineage: Mother’s line

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Origins of Family and Kinship

Kinship Groups
 Ensure order
 Defend against outsiders
 Provide labor
 Assist others in group
 Recruits new members through marriage
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Origins of Family and Kinship

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Origins of Family and Kinship

• Fundamental needs:
▫ Reproduction
▫ Food
▫ Defense
▫ Safety
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European Colonists:
The Primacy of the Public Family
• Families performed public services:
▫ Education
▫ Hospitals
▫ Houses of correction
▫ Orphanages
▫ Nursing homes
▫ Poor houses
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European Colonists
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European Colonists:
The Primacy of the Public Family

• No room for privacy or private lives

▫ Family affairs=public business

▫ Houses not designed for privacy—public

▫ Little privacy from other households

▫ Conjugal family is integral part of society

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From Family Labor to Paid Labor

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Emergence of Early Adulthood

• Early adulthood – Period between mid-teens &

about 30
▫ May return to parents’ home

• Labor force =
▫ All people who are working for pay or
▫ Looking for paid work.
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Declining Parental Control

• A century ago, young people lived
with parents until marriage.

• Now-a-days, parents have less

control over children
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