Extended family

united by love and trust” (?, 19) has captivated American people as a model for the ideal families for over half a century now. This model family, or nuclear family, is identified by a suburban fantasy of the bread winning father, housewife, 2.5 kids, maybe a dog, and white picket fence. Portrayed in the media since the early 1950’s, shows like “I Love Lucy” and “Leave it to Beaver” prorogated the model family though positive and negative reinforcement. This model that was showcased in the…

The Oxford dictionary defines home as “The place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household”. Although it has a formal definition like other words, the word home holds a uniquely different meaning to each and every one of us. For me home is a more than a place. Home is an idea, and more importantly a feeling. The word home has been used since the ninth century, but the idea of home has existed for far longer. Since the beginning, protection against weather and…

Functionalism The Functionalists looks at the family like a nuclear family structure, which usually is a mother, a father and one child, in some cases two children. The family meets the needs of the society by socializing norms and values leading to social stability. Murdock believed that there is a nuclear family in every society. Murdock's defined the nuclear family as a universal human social grouping. Either as the sole prevailing form of the family or as the basic unit from which more…

Family refers to a social institution where blood, marriage, or adoption relates people together (Carl, et al., 2012). Families in the past are considered alive (functional) since its doing its functional well. According to the functionalist theory, a family is functional when it provides practical and emotional support for the members, regulates sexual activity and reproduction, also provides social identity for its members (Barkan, 2010). But for the conflict theory, a family is functional…

According to the author, a nuclear family is a family that consists of a father, mother, and their children. Many others would also deem this as a “traditional” family. This has been considered a function necessity in a modern industrial society, because society needed productive workers and people to take care of children. To give you an image of what this would look like, it was the husbands/fathers who would go to work for the day, the wife/mother would handle the tasks at home, and the…

In Artichoke’s Heart, Kyle Cox and Kay Kay Reese are similar in many ways. They are also quite different. The two are foils for each other, yet they have a similar personality. Kyle is somewhat low maintenance and sloppy, while Kay Kay is higher maintenance and neat. Kyle is a jock, while Kay Kay can be considered a preppy girl. Kay Kay is irresponsible at times, and Kyle always knows the right thing to do. Kay Kay and Kyle are very similar in the ways that they interact and associate with…

Julia’s time study also indicated an imbalance in social participation. On Thursday she did not have any social participation, then on Friday she hung out with friends for two hours. The next day since she did not have class, she spent ten hours with family and friends. There is a huge imbalance between the time spent on social participation within the three days of the study. While education and social participation is important, the imbalance of time Julia spends among these occupations takes…

Merriam-Webster, family can be defined as “the basic unit in society consisting of two parents rearing children”(Family). But in reality, family is much more than that. Families are people who have strong emotional connections with each other. To Live is a story about a man who experiences many misfortunes in his life. Fugui’s family is a big part of his life and once they are all gone he has no choice but to keep living without them. Throughout the story, Fugui realizes how important his family…

Kin exists beyond a restricted definition of blood relation. Family can be founded in a sense of community and belonging, no matter who mothered you. With this said family expectations can easily come from close loved ones we have in our lives. In Sula by Toni Morrison we witness Nel Wright battle with not only the family rejection and fear of female liberation but also the expectation to exclusively be free within her female friendship with Sula Peace. Nel through this struggle loses the sense…

past 60 years, family dynamics have been drastically changing. Sociologist study these changes, and the impact on human development and the future diversity of evolving families. The American culture has witness a shift from the working dad, stay at home mom, and two children family to multiple variations of families. These new compositions of families affect socialization of children through adulthood impacting the individual membership to society or culture. The changes in family dynamics…