Tag Archives: Families and Households

AS Sociology – how to Answer ‘using one example, briefly explain’ questions

Posted on May 1, 2017 by

Question 2 on the AS sociology paper 2 exam (research methods with topics in sociology) will ask you to briefly explain something using one example. Below are a few examples of how you might go about answering such questions, using … Continue reading →

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Defining the Family

Posted on August 8, 2016 by

Functionalist Sociologist George Peter Murdock used the following definition of the family as a starting point in his classic cross national study of families in more than 250 societies. ‘A social group characterised by common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction. … Continue reading →

Posted in Families and Households, Family diversity | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Sociology of Personal Life

Posted on December 12, 2015 by

   The personal life perspective on the family is essentially an Interactionist perspective and makes two basic criticisms of structural perspectives such as Functionalism, Marxism and Feminism’. Carol Smart is the main thinker associated with this perspective. ‘They tend to … Continue reading →

Posted in Families and Households, Family diversity, Social Action Theory (Interpretivism and Interactionism) | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Marxist Feminist Perspectives on Family Life

Posted on November 30, 2015 by

Marxist Feminist Perspectives on Family Life Marxists such as Engels and Zaretsky acknowledge that women are exploited in marriage and family life, but they emphasise the relationship between capitalism and the family, rather than the family’s effects on women. Marxist … Continue reading →

Posted in Families and Households, Feminism, Marxism, Pot Luck | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Liberal Feminist Perspective on the Family

Posted on November 28, 2015 by

The Liberal Feminist Perspective on the Family Scroll down for links to Feminism (an overview), Marxist, Radical and Difference Feminist Perspectives (forthcoming) Jennifer Somerville (2000) provides a less radical critique of the family than Marxist or Radical Feminists and suggests proposals … Continue reading →

Posted in Families and Households, Feminism | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Explaining Why so many Young Adults Live with Their Parents

Posted on September 13, 2015 by

You might like this video version of some of the material discussed below According to the Office for National Statistics, in 2011, nearly 3.0 million adults aged between 20 and 34 were living with a parent or parents, an increase … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood, Families and Households | Tagged | Leave a comment

Modernity, Postmodernity and The Family

Posted on May 28, 2015 by

Modernity, Postmodernity and The Family is one of the most difficult topics for students to get their heads around – The first thing to understand is that modernist social theories (Functionalism and Marxism) are OLD – and were theorising about … Continue reading →

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AS Sociology 7191 – Families and Households – A Visual Overview

Posted on May 20, 2015 by

Here’s a quick visual overview of how I’m intending to teach the new (although not that new given the relatively minor changes made) AS Sociology AQA 7191 Families and Households Option. (Click to enlarge/ save). NB – This isn’t in … Continue reading →

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Explaining changes to the birth rate

Posted on April 3, 2015 by

Trends in the Birth Rate and Total Fertility Rate Between 1901 to 2010 the birth rate declined from 29 per thousand to 13 per thousand The Total Fertility Rate has also seen a general decline in the last century, from … Continue reading →

Posted in Demography, Families and Households | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Explaining the Changing Patterns of Marriage

Posted on March 29, 2015 by

This Post examines sociological explanations for the long term decline in marriage. Some of the reasons examined include changing gender roles, the impact of feminism and female empowerment, economic factors such as the increasing cost of living and the individualisation associated … Continue reading →

Posted in Families and Households, Marriage, Divorce and Cohabitation | Tagged , | 3 Comments