Ms. Park – SHDHS Individual Family Society

 The social sciences are not concerned with ‘absolute truth,’ and do not pretend to be.  All disciplines within the social sciences (Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology) report on patterns or trends of behaviour.  Once a pattern / trend can be identified, predictions can be made about future events.  In order to identify a pattern / trend, many subjects (people) need to be observed over a long period of time.

 Please do not take offence to the course material.  Everyone has their own story, and our perceptions of the world are largely based on our experiences.  Education informs our decisions, but ultimately it is you, the individual, who makes the choices that concern your lives.

NO!!!

Defining the Family Functions of the Family

Families are like belly buttons…

…we all have one!

 Take about 5 minutes in your table groups to come up with a working definition of what you think the word “family” means. ◦ Consider your own family and what we see in our everyday lives ◦ It should be detailed but not too specific that it discriminates or excludes

 In all societies, individuals live in families  When you mature, you will probably leave your family, form a new family and raise children ◦ Cycle of human life (remained for tens of thousands of years)

 Thus, to understand families in a diverse society such as Canada’s, it is necessary also to understand individuals

 Individuals are motivated to carry out these functions due to their membership in a smaller group of people, such as a family or household, with whom they agree to co-operate in order to survive

 In turn, societies support individuals and families as they carry out these functions through such institutions as government, education, and health care

Definitions are used to determine who qualifies for the benefits of families, such as eligibility of dental care Its effective if you can use it to differentiate between families and other groups

 Individuals define families based on their own personal experiences and expectations of what family means to them. ◦ Consider the following chart

Views of what constitutes a family by age Percent indicating “yes” Nationally Married man and woman w/ at least 1 child Unmarried man and woman w/ at least 1 child Divorced or separated person w/ at least 1 child Unmarried person w/ at least 1 child Married man and women w/ no children Two people of the same sex w/ at least 1 child Unmarried man and woman w/ no children Two people of the same sex w/ no children One single person w/ no child98109

 Reflect both the actual nature of families as well as the desirable nature of families  In the Social Sciences, definitions have evolved to reflect our understanding of human society

 They define families based on the functions they perform – actions necessary for the society to survive  The family performs functions that could be theoretically performed by others in society, but no societies have separated these functions successfully

 Therefore, they’ve identified the universal functions of the family – any group that performs these functions is a family

 Most definitions based on individuals being related through blood or marriage  Unlike what anthropologists say, there is no mention of the behaviour or actions of individuals

 Statistics Canada gathers important demographic information every five years as part of the Census  This data is helpful to both government and industry

 Stats Can definition is based on residence  “Census family is defined as a married couple and the children, if any, of either or both spouses; a couple living common law and the children, if any, of both partners; or, a lone parent of any marital status with at least one child living in the same dwelling and that child or those children. All members of a particular

 census family live in the same dwelling. A couple may be of opposite or same sex. Children may be by birth, marriage, or adoption regardless of their age or marital status as long as they live in the dwelling and do not have their own spouse or child living in the dwelling. Grandchildren living with their grandparent(s) but with no parents present also constitute a census family.”

 Sociologist Anne-Marie Ambert argues that a definition of family should not be so broad that it does not allow for identification of the family ◦ She states, “the family is a social group, an institution, and an intergenerational group of individuals related to each other by blood, adoption or marriage/cohabitation” (pg 7 new I&F)

 By defining family as an institution, she is implying that families are groups that have a set behaviours they are expected to perform

...any combination of two or more persons who are bound together over time by ties of mutual consent, birth and/or adoption or placement and who, together, assume responsibilities for variant combinations of some of the following: – Physical maintenance and care of group members – Addition of new members through procreation or adoption – Socialization of children – Social control of members – Production, consumption, distribution of goods and services, and – Affective nurturance — love – Pg.6 I&F

 Using pgs. 7&8 of Individuals and Families in a Diverse Society textbook, each table group will spend 10 minutes discussing a function of families (designated by teacher) ◦ Complete the handout chart, providing an explanation of the function, an example, and how other institutions in Canada, such as government, education, health, religion, law, business, etc., support the family to fulfill the function

We are all individuals, yet we are also part of different households, we have different histories, experiences and expectations... So let us keep this complexity in mind throughout the course as we dive into ourselves, our families and our society...

(Don’t you worry, there will be moments of seriousness but I will try my best to balance it with some humour!)