Assignment 1: The Social Construction of Family Life: A Sociological Analysis (500-700 words, not including reference list). Worth 20% of final grade.
Families differ significantly across time, societies, and cultures. These differences may exist, for example, in family relationships; forms of marriage; expectations about family roles, responsibilities, and duties; and how “family” is defined (culturally, legally, politically). Your task in this assignment is to compare the definition of family and the family relationships in your own society (or your own culture, or the present time) with that of another society (or another culture or another time), using one of the three core sociological perspectives.
In your assignment, please specifically identify the two societies, cultures, or times that you will be comparing in your essay, and then choose one of the following three options:
Option 1: Structural Functionalism
As part of your introductory paragraph, identify the two societies, cultures, or times that you will be comparing, as well as which theory you will be using.
Briefly describe how the “typical” family is defined in each of the two societies/cultures/times.
Identify one key function or role of the family in each of the two societies/cultures/times (i.e., a total of two functions/roles).
Explain (a) the functionalist perspective and (b) how a functionalist theorist might explain the importance of these roles/functions for society.
As part of your conclusion, write a self-reflection on how your own family fulfills or does not fulfill the two functions/roles that you have identified.
Option 2: Conflict Theory
As part of your introductory paragraph, identify the two societies, cultures, or times that you will be comparing, as well as which theory you will be using.
Briefly describe how the “typical” family is defined in each of the two societies/cultures/times.
Identify a key problem (economic, social, political, and/or technological) that families face in each of the two societies/cultures/times (i.e., a total of two problems).
Explain (a) the conflict perspective and (b) how a conflict theorist might explain why these problems exist for families.
As part of your conclusion, write a self-reflection on how your family, or another family that you know, has confronted one or both of the problems that you have identified.
Option 3: Symbolic Interactionism
As part of your introductory paragraph, identify the two societies, cultures, or times that you will be comparing, as well as which theory you will be using.
Briefly describe how the “typical” family is defined in each of the two societies/cultures/times.
Identify at least one characteristic of parent-child relations and/or spousal relations in each of the two societies/cultures/times.
Explain (a) the symbolic interactionist perspective and (b) how a symbolic interactionist might explain these characteristics of interactions within families.
As part of your conclusion, write a self-reflection on how your own family life matches or differs from the parent-child and/or spousal relations that you have identified.
Your assignment should include at least two Learning Resources from our course. In addition, you may use other authoritative resources for information and insights. Be sure to use APA-style citations when relying on/quoting from your sources (including the Learning Resources from our course) and include a Reference List at the end of your assignment.
Your paper will be reviewed using Turnitin prior to being graded. For more information about the use of Turnitin in this course, please review the material in the syllabus.
Links to some of the course resources:
https://www.ncfr.org/ncfr-report/past-issues/summer-2014/what-family
https://cnx.org/contents/M_RkLtXv@2/The-Three-Sociological-Paradigms-Perspectives
APA Formats of the course resources
Amato, P. (2014). Why study families? Retrieved from https://www.ncfr.org/ncfr-report/past-issues/summer-2014/what-family
Dunn, R. (2020). The three sociological paradigms/perspectives. Retrieved from https://cnx.org/contents/M_RkLtXv@2/The-Three-Sociological-Paradigms-Perspectives
Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. (2018). Family (Sociology). Retrieved from http://ezproxy.umgc.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=funk&AN=fa008000&site=eds-live&scope=site
CrashCourse. (2017). Theories about marriage & family: Crash course sociology #37. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaeiCEro0iU
OPTIONAL resource:
CrashCourse. (2017). Major sociological paradigms: Crash course sociology #2. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbTt_ySTjaY
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