Sociology 2235 Lecture 1: L1

• School: Western University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: Sociology 2235
• Professor: Helene Cummins

Document Summary

Based on our experience in family, we think that we are knowledgeable about the sociology of family. We assume that other families are like ours and that others share our worldview, moral values, and lifestyles. This is not a good basis for research. We need to step back from the family we grew up in and look objectively at the institution of family. Family is one of the major institutions in society, along with other social institutions, like education, religion, government, economic systems. It may well be the most important social institution of all. It is critically important because its functions include reproduction, socializing new members, and maintaining social order. We will talk more about the functions of family later. we need to remember that families are not just based on beliefs/ideology of emotional attachment. Families are a place where production, distribution, and consumption takes place. It is important to realize that family can be particularly difficult to study.