SOCL 2001 Chapter : Sociology November 7th
Document Summary
Family forms and changes: a nuclear family or traditional family is a family consisting of father and mother and their biological children. Extended family refers to familial networks that extend beyond the nuclear family and may extend beyond the home. There is no real typical family in western society today: multiple generations can live together, families can consist of stepsiblings and half-siblings, there are many single-parent families. Individuals and couples can choose not to get married or not to have children: cohabitation. Traditional family is a misleading term and only characteristic of the 1950"s. Early modern families depended heavily on kinship networks: which are systems of relationships between people related by blood and marriage, preindustrial family functioned like a miniature economy. The traditional nuclear family is not a timeless and universal concept. It developed in response to conditions in a specific time and place: the post- world war 2 economic boom in the united states.
