My Family And The Family

The purpose of this essay will be to look at what is meant by the term ‘family’ and to look at the differences of the term, when we study the family cross culturally. There are many different family forms which I will explore whilst writing this essay, along with the increasing family forms, and how they have changed over time. I will also be studying the cultural aspects of family both in Western and Non Western societies explaining how they differ to western families. ‘Kinship’ is said to be the foundation of the family according to anthropologists, so I will be looking at ‘kinship’ in more detail throughout my essay by looking at different cultures of families and the different kinship systems that they have. I will now examine the meaning of the term ‘family’, before moving onto the different family formations and different cultural meanings of ‘family.’

The idea of family is something that most people strive to have, and they travel amazing journeys and make difficult sacrifices in order to maintain the integrity of their family. The bonds of family can motivate a person to make large changes for the betterment of their family. In many cases a person will sever a piece of their self in order to maintain the integrity of their family. People will go through great lengths to maintain their families, as is evident in “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, “Babylon Revisited” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and “Intervention” by Jill McCorkle.

“Family, a group of individuals connected by either marriage or blood, is the most elementary social, economic, and residential collective unit in most human societies” (Xie, 2013). Family is a vital aspect of every human being’s life. The importance of family is learned at a very early age and it is a factor that applies to all situations. It reflects ethical values and morals of a culture and of a nation as a whole. Every culture has its own interpretation of the meaning of family.

The discussion of how society has shaped or altered the daily life of families across the globe has been going on for centuries. Some studies blame advancing technology, the industrializing of American society, differing forms of economic systems, or shifting from a religious to a more secular modern society for the loss of a strong emotional bond between family members--but whatever the explanation, the western world family unit is no longer the heartwarming entity of yesteryears. Analytically studying the daily life of each era and comparing the differences give a good depiction of what parts from each combine to form the best family for tomorrow. The key to a better family for tomorrow is to use the beneficial pieces of the past, such as

In this last chapter, the author briefly summarizes the four definitions of family and how the family has changed over time. Although every family has different definitions of family, I believe most individuals agree that the interactional approach is more accurate. The interactional approach depicts that families have a sense of collective identity that emerges through shared activity and interaction. For instance, caring and helping each other in difficult times or simply just having dinner together every night. Furthermore, a significant change in families was the late transition to adulthood. Today, young adults are more dependent on their parents than they were in the 20th century because the expansion of higher education and the competitive

Chances are everyone has been asked the question, “What does family mean to you,” at some point in their lives, and to no surprise everyone has a different definition of what family means. Yet, very few people take the time to think about how the family they know and love became what it is today. In this project, an analysis of my family will be conducted. It was observed that a strong correlation between family and the ability to survive was expressed. Based on concepts and work done by Jessaca Leinaweaver and Carol Delaney, a better understanding of this significant connection will be observed. For families in the middle class, such as my own, it became evident that the dependence on family was required for not only social mobility but

Family, as Macionis states (2015), is a social institution found in all societies that unites people in cooperative groups to care for one another, including any children. The family is therefore a micro-level society where individuals can experience socialization, emotional support, and financial security. The behavioral direction and philosophies a family will apply in their livelihood is influenced by the macro-level society (nation, village, culture). For example families that developed in westernized civilizations may be more attuned to follow the principles of monogamy, placing their children in an institution, social placements of traditional gender roles and other social inspirations; nevertheless, families formed in particular eastern

Family dynamics have changed in many ways over the past fifty to one hundred years. Recreational activities, including hobbies and holidays have changed as the “small world” seemed to expand with inventions of things like vehicular transportation and the internet. The development and sharing of ideas that resulted from increased communication over geographical areas led to changes in some values and beliefs over the years. Economic atmospheres have fluctuated, and with this so did employment opportunities. My paternal grandmother died when I was very young. Complicated relationships between my paternal grandfather and his family lead to a level of estrangement. Unfortunately, these reasons meant that I had little communication or relationship with the eldest members of my father’s family. Instead, over time, the relationships with my mother’s side flourished. For the purposes of this assignment, the maternal side of my family will be discussed.

Today, family still remains alive and well. Although many forces have attempted to change the American family, it has managed to prevail and preserve the basic values and principles it was first found upon. What Americans need to realize is that what works for a family in one economic and cultural setting doesn’t work for a family in another. This study is relevant because most people don’t understand that families are just doing what they have to do to survive the new ways of society.

In the article “Families” by Andersen and Taylor, the authors take an in-depth look at the subject of families, the foundations of families, the evolution of families over time, and the growing changes society has done to the institution of family. They clarified extensively how families today are not just blood related. They can be composed of adoptive relatives, step siblings and roommates who might share the same household with you. The authors point out how there are many ways of finding families in today’s society. Some families live with the typical mother and father, but others live with their grandparents, only one parent, parents of the same-sex and parents whom are not legally married. This growing changes to families is evicted

The family is an important social institution. The concept of family is found in every known society (Murdock, 1949:1). Anthropologists classify family as individuals related by blood and marriage (Haviland 1996:230); nevertheless there remains no universal definition of the family. The forms a family might take (nuclear or extended, polygamous or monogamous) vary across cultures and time (Murdock, 1949:1). It performs six universal functions to satisfy the needs of its members, such as, reproduction, protection, socialization, regulation of sexual behaviour, attention and companionship, and providing social status (Ogburn & Tibbits, 1934).

My grandmother and her siblings lived near a grocery store with old fashion wooden floor as well as freshly picked fruits and vegetables from the farm. My grandmother stated the rent prices was different compare to her days and her oldest sister had to pay only $6.50 for rent. My grandmother said back in her time a nickel was worth a whole lot and If you had a dime you were considered to have a lot of money. To return to the subject, after losing their mother, another tragedy strikes seven years later when my grandmother finds out her younger sister Veronica got married. My grandmother stated from her days you could get married at the age of fifteen if you had parents ' permission. Everyone was so upset because he or she thinks her sister was too young to get married and did not trust her husband. My grandmother said he kept saying he would kill somebody and go to jail. My grandmother said her sister husband started to give her bad vibes. To change the topic my grandmother also said one day when her sister was in bed trying to go to sleep her husband was in the bathroom taking a bath. She felt something poking at her side and turn around to see what it was. It was a bunch of knives in the bed with her. Fear for her life she left silently while her husband was still in the bathroom. One day my grandmother sister spouse had called her sister to meet him on the track. Hesitant she went to meet him that morning. After my grandmother sister was done talking to him, she turns to

I grew up in a household slightly different from the average household. This abnormal household showed me that no matter the family unit someone can have a positive influence in their life that will push them to achieve their goals. We lived in Maryland so the cost of living was high my parents had to work multiple jobs. This means my brother and I really had little to none parental or supervision growing up. I am only four years younger than my brother so I would hang with his crowd of friends rather than mine. In my household, my mother’s niece, Monet lived with us she is about ten years older than my brother. When my brother and I would wake up and I would be the only person in the house. I can remember waking up and smelling the freshly cooked waffles and bacon downstairs. Monet was my mother’s brother, daughter. Monet became so close to my brother Avery and I she was almost as if she was our sister. I can remember growing up and she would always say, “You don't have to take the route I took, its many more exits on the highway.” Even though I was young I was not blind to the fact of Monet role in the community and her neighborhood job I never judged her, she did what she had to do to make ends meet. It was an experience every day, or anytime being with Monet. She was so popular around Maryland it was almost like everywhere we went we received respect love. Now that I look back at the past, I see that Monet has taught me a lot that I know and live by today. I could

Many of us have had that one pet, or one family member that we are close to, whether we bonded well with them or we feel like we can tell them anything and they will never tell anyone. This experience for me has been my dog, Lucas, a chocolate and tan dachshund, his story isn’t well known or known by many, but to me he is my fighter and my best friend.

In contrast to the other stories in the textbook, “Albert and Esene,” by Frances Khirallah Noble was very interesting because it shows us at first how important to have a good relationship between a husband and a wife. Then it was a happy ending story. In the story, Albert was a good husband to his wife Esene by being there for her anytime she needs him even though she didn’t has a child. All he did is to make the marriage more interesting than ever by treating her as a lovely wife, a partner for life and as human being who has feelings and who needs affection. Marring a woman and think that she is only made to take care of the whole family, or even think that she is made to be good in the bedroom is it really the only important thing in