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Book No. – 17 (Sociology)
Book Name – Sociology (Yogesh Atal)
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1. THE REPLACEMENT AND RECRUITMENT DIMENSION
2. OMNIPRESENCE OF THE INSTITUTION OF FAMILY
3. BIOLOGICAL BASES OF THE FAMILY
4. DEFINITION OF THE FAMILY
4.1. THE NUCLEAR FAMILY
4.2. KINSHIP RELATIONS
4.3. TYPOLOGY OF FAMILY
5. MONOGAMOUS FAMILIES
5.1. NUCLEAR FAMILY (ALSO CALLED SIMPLE OR ELEMENTARY FAMILY)
5.2. NUCLEAR FAMILY WITH ADHESIONS AND/OR ADJUNCTS
5.3. COMPOUND FAMILY
5.4. STEM FAMILY
5.5. EXTENDED FAMILY OR JOINT FAMILY
5.6. INCOMPLETE FAMILY
6. POLYGAMOUS FAMILIES
6.1. TYPOLOGY BASED ON RESIDENCE
7. KINSHIP EXTENSIONS
7.1. KINGROUP
7.2. OTHER ASPECTS OF KINSHIP
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LANGUAGE
Family, Marriage and Kinship
Yogesh Atal
Chapter – 9
Table of Contents
- The difference between a living and a dead social system is the presence or disappearance of its members, which may occur due to death or migration.
- A social system lives through its membership; individuals can die or withdraw, but replacement is necessary for the system’s survival.
- A social system is a plurality of interacting individuals, so the first functional prerequisite is the presence of individuals-in-interaction.
- Since individuals have a limited lifespan compared to a social system—particularly a society or a community—the system must ensure replacement when individuals die or move out.
- Every social system must address the issue of recruitment of its membership to ensure continuity.
- For societies as a whole, the recruitment prerequisite is fulfilled through the institution of marriage.
- Marriage unites persons of opposite genders for the purpose of sexual congress, necessary for reproduction.
- The continual living together of mating partners and their progeny creates conditions for the small primary group called the Family.
THE REPLACEMENT AND RECRUITMENT DIMENSION
- In all inclusive social systems, such as society, replacement is mainly through the process of sexual reproduction.
- This implies that such a social system must be heterosexual, consisting of both males and females in its demographic composition.
- Marion J. Levy defines society as having members recruited at least in part by their own sexual reproduction.
- The phrase “in part” hints at two aspects of recruitment:
- It does not imply promiscuity—free sex; it allows sexual relationships with eligibility criteria and norms.
- It allows people not born of sexual reproduction within the system to become members, e.g., foreigners choosing to join.
- Foreigners can contribute to societal recruitment through sexual reproduction.
- A foreigner may marry a member of the host society, and children from this union may be allowed membership.
- Some societies offer dual membership (e.g., citizenship of the parent’s society and the country where the child is born).
- Foreigners who are naturalized citizens contribute to the recruitment of new members.
- Foreigners producing a child in the host country may result in the child automatically receiving citizenship.
- The key point is that sexual reproduction is essential for societal recruitment, though other mechanisms exist.
- Sub-systems within society may not require sexual reproduction for membership, even if individuals become members through marriage or by having children.
- Membership in sub-systems does not necessarily depend on birth or reproduction.
- Reproduction is both a sexual drive and a social necessity, as a society lives through its members, following a lifecycle of birth-growth-death.
- The void caused by death is often filled by the birth of new members.
- At any given time, society has three distinct types of persons:
- Natives (Indigenes): Those born in the society.
- Naturalized citizens: Those migrated and settled from other societies.
- Transient population: Those temporarily staying from abroad.
- Loss of membership occurs due to:
- Death of members.
- Migration to other societies (temporary or permanent).
- The population of a society at any time is expressed by the demographic formula: P = (b + i) – (d + e).
- P = Population
- b = Birth
- i = Immigration
- d = Death
- e = Emigration
- The population consists of those born in the society and those who migrated from other places, including temporary or permanent immigration.
- Diaspora refers to people who leave the society, either temporarily or permanently, and the cultural communities they form.
- India and China are significant sources of diaspora export, with their presence in societies around the world.
- Diaspora communities often create sandwich cultures and possess a double identity in their host societies.