I. Recap: Kinship Studies in early Anthropology

A. Kinship and cultural relativism: thinking about pigs and babies in Yap
B. Morgan: kinship terms as key to evolution of marriage systems

1. Flaw: kin terms don't equal conceptions of biological relatedness

C. Radcliffe-Brown: classificatory kin terms

1. Problems with looking at kin terms in isolation

D. Kinship categories and characteristic dilemmas

 

II. An alternative approach to the US family

A. History of the nuclear family

1. Catholic church, 4th c. AD: prohibits polygyny, concubinage, divorce, and remarriage

a. Couples left without heirs
b. Church gets property, becomes largest landowner in Europe

2. Industrialization
3. Gap between ideal and reality

B. Family as product of historical and social circumstances
C. Cultural relativism

 

III. Wolf and the male view of Chinese kinship

A. Official Chinese kinship presents only male view

1. Patriline as chain of male ancestors and descendants
2. Child bears weight of obligation
3. Strategies to ensure offspring

a. uxorilocal marriage
b. adopt a daughter to "lead in" a son
c. adopt a son

4. Marriage strategies

a. Adult marriage: brideprice, expensive
b. Sim pua: adopt a daughter-in-law

5. Ultimate goal: 5 generations under one roof

 

V. Women's Networks and the Uterine Family

A. Women's extra-household village networks

1. Networks of friendships centered on daily tasks
2. Pressure group supporting a young woman
3. Site of gossip, issue of maintaining "face"
4. Women as "rugged individualists" appearing to depend on men

B. Uterine families

1. Bride as outsider in husband's family
2. Woman and her children
3. Sons as a woman's primary source of influence within family and household
4. Unofficial, ad hoc, unconscious
5. Subtleties and near fatal weaknesses of Chinese kinship

a. Explains why women support system
b. Women compete against each other for loyalty of men
c. Uterine family often leads to formal family division

For more information, contact:  aleshkow@holycross.edu