Credit Points 10

Legacy Code 102143

Coordinator Emily Wolfinger Opens in new window

Description This subject will critically examine sociological perspectives on families and intimate life, building on the approaches and theories introduced in the first year of Sociology studies. The familiarity of families and intimate relationships will be thrown into question. Students will be asked to examine their beliefs, unpack myths of the 'naturalness' of family, and question the 'personal'. Families and intimate relationships will be viewed as part of the wider social structure, their constitutions shaped by culture, economies, social policy, technology and globalisation. The subject will demonstrate the historical and cultural specificity of the nuclear family and its role in the creation and reproduction of social inequality and social difference.

School Social Sciences

Discipline Sociology

Student Contribution Band HECS Band 4 10cp

Check your fees via the Fees page.

Level Undergraduate Level 2 subject

Equivalent Subjects HUMN 2052 - Sociology of the Family HUMN 2016 - Comparative Studies of Families and Kinship

Restrictions

Successful completion of 40 credit points

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

1. Recognise and describe the family and intimate relationships as socially constituted.
2. Describe the contemporary diversity of family and intimate relationship forms across cultures.
3. Provide evidence for the historical specificity of family forms and intimate relationships.
4. Analyse the family and intimate relationships in terms of power relations.
5. Demonstrate an understanding of sociological approaches to the family and intimate life.
6. Apply sociological theory to analyse families and intimate life.
7. Recognise and describe the family as a social rather than a biological construct;
8. Recognise and describe intimate relationships as social constructs;
9. Describe the contemporary diversity of family and intimate relationship forms both in our own and other cultures;
10. Provide evidence for the historical specificity of family forms and intimate relationships;
11. Analyse the family and intimate relationships in terms of power relations;
12. Demonstrate an understanding of sociological approaches to the family and intimate life.

Subject Content

• Diverse families and intimate relationships across time and culture
• Sociological theories on the family and intimate life
• Love and romance
• Marriage and cohabitation
• Gendered division of domestic labour
• Childhood and parenting
• Transnational families and outsourcing care
• Violence in families and intimate relationships
• Relationship breakdown, divorce and re-partnering
• Friendship and social networks beyond the family
• Gender, sexuality and power