Sociology 1201 Sociology 1201: Week Two 1. Tuesday: Complete “Legacy” and meet in groups

Sociology 1201 Theoretical perspectives in sociology: Functionalism Analyze social patterns in terms of the contribution they make to the well-being of society as a whole Institution: a complex social pattern that meets a societal need Family System Religious system Political System Criminal Justice Military Educational system Economic System Mass media????

Sociology 1201 Characteristics of institutions Supported by tradition Have moral authority Institutions are interdependent Usually change slowly because of these first three characteristics… the family as an institution has been quite a surprise in that regard over the course of the last 40 years or so

Sociology 1201 “Surprises” in family as an institution Divorce revolution Births outside marriage Feminist Movement Women in the work force Gay/lesbian rights movement Battered women’s movement

Sociology 1201 Sociological approaches to family The scientific method: theory and research Objectivity and the community of scholars Science: the process of creating (and modifying) theories that are tested through systematic research. E.g. what are the consequences of divorce for children? (not primarily a matter of opinion or political views)

Sociology 1201 Research methods Experiment: NOT FEASIBLE OR ETHICAL Quantitative research methods: censuses, surveys and samples, government statistics Qualitative research methods: field study, in-depth interviews Cross cultural and longitudinal studies

Sociology 1201 Groups Meet in groups to discuss your questions on the first three assignments in Promises I Can Keep Remember to attach your questions to the project report sheet (these must be typed!)

Sociology 1201 Family history: the colonial period Patriarchy Broad range of functions Nuclear, not extended, both in norms and in reality High death rates and low life expectancy Children as miniature adults African-American families: By 1790, 1 in 5 Americans were slaves (see “Africans in America”)

Sociology 1201 History: The Breadwinner/Homemaker family Beginning in about 1820 although not the majority pattern until 1920 Industrial capitalism and the division of labor by sex Women as spiritual, men as practical/rational (legal powers, sexuality, voting) Childhood and the need for nurture Adolescence as a stage White immigrant families (peak of immigration in late 19 th /early 20 th century)

Sociology th century and the rise of the companionate family Less gender separation (e.g., my grandparents decision to sit together in church) More emphasis on emotional intimacy (beginning with middle and upper classes) Attention to female sexuality, again beginning with the middle and upper classes

Sociology s family (really, ) Exception to longer trends of the 20 th century (age at marriage, % who marry, birth rates, women in the workforce) A golden age? U.S. domination of the world economy Peak of unionization in U.S. Low death rates AND low divorce rates Suburbs and family life… home ownership Rapid increase in college education (GI Bill)

Sociology 1201 What was less golden in the 1950s? Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique— ”the problem that has no name” The sexual double standard Homosexuality as both a crime and a mental illness The high rate of teen pregnancy Battering and child abuse largely hidden Can we define the “health” of society as a whole, apart from values?