SOC543:Comparative Family SystemsFall, 2001: Thursday 6:00-8:30
Lew Hendrix, Faner 3428 Hours:2:00-3:30 .M, Tu, W, Th, or by appointment
Phone: 453-7625. E-mail: lhendrix@siu.edu
SOC543 deals with worldwide variation in family structure, especially among the preindustrial societies traditionally studied by anthropologists. The seminar
emphasizes findings from cross-cultural research, which typically takes ethnographic descriptions as data cases, then codes specific variables of interest from
these, and uses statistical analyses of the variables to test macrolevel hypotheses. Some cross-cultural research is qualitative, comparing only a handful of societies.
As a way of enhancing research skills, each student will carry out a cross-cultural research project on a question relevant to the seminar. Seminar meetings
during most of the semester will be concerned more with the overview of comparative family studies, with increasing emphasis on projects over the weeks.
Required readings for the course are:
Burton Pasternak, Carol Ember and Melvin Ember: Sex, Gender, and Kinship Prentice-Hall, 1997.
Carol Ember and Melvin Ember. Cross-Cultural Research Methods. Prentice-Hall. 2001.
Some 20 xeroxed articles and book chapters in the Sociology Department library. A pad of paper to be used as a sign out/return sheet will help keep track of
these materials. Overnight and over-weekend borrowing is the rule.
Seminar research projects are predicated upon additional readings beyond these requirements. You need to start thinking immediately about a hypothesis for
your project. If you have never read ethnographic accounts of family and kinship in nonwestern societies, you need to get some idea of what kinds of
information is usually presented. You might browse from the works in the suggested readings at the end of the syllabus. You might also wonder what questions
cross-cultural researchers have looked into. For an overview of statistical cross-cultural research that shows what has been done on most topics, see (with
seminar readings in the soc. dept. library inside the main office [3384]):
Ember, Carol R. and David Levinson. 1991. The substantive contributions of worldwide cross-cultural studies using secondary data. Behavior Science Research.
25: 79-140.
GRADES: Seminar grades will be allocated on the basis of:
Exam at Halloween--2/5 of grade.
Paper on seminar project--2/5 of grade.
Presentations and participation--1/5 of grade.
Presentations include (a) brief summaries of readings and (b) progress reports on your project. Participation refers to your commenting on other students'
summaries and progress reports, and counts positively when it is informed, useful commentary, and negatively when otherwise.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND READINGS
PROGRESS REPORTS: Most weeks after the selection of research questions, as seminar time allows, we will have informal progress reports on seminar
projects. These can be about new lit, ideas on variables or theories, or on problems. These are informal, but some progress is expected!
1. Aug 23. Cross-cultural research. What is it and why?
This week the plan and rationale of the seminar and of comparative sociology are explained Potential research topics and data archives will be discussed by the group.
2. Aug30. Cross-cultural methods and resources.
We will use this meeting to talk about: the Human Relations Area Files, an important ethnographic archive;
the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample, an important data set; sources for cross-national data; and
the analysis of cross-cultural archival data.
Readings:
Ember and Ember, Cross-Cultural Research Methods, Chapters 1-7, pp. 1-126, and Appendix, pp. 139-144. (Read further if you find the topics unfamiliar).
3. Sept 6. Split topics. Part 1. Methods and Resources, continued.
Visit Morris Library to see Human Relations Area Files.
Part 2. The first of three theories: Functionalism.
Readings:
Murdock, George P. 1949. Social Structure, Ch 1 The Nuclear Family 1-22.
Hendrix, Lewellyn. 1975. Nuclear family universals: Fact and faith in the acceptance of an idea. Journal of Comparative Family Studies 6: 125-138.
Goode, William J. 1967. World Revolution in Family Patterns. Ch 1 Introduction 6-24, and the last chapter, Conclusion 366-380.
4. Sept 13. Three theories, continued: Conflict theory and sociobiology.
Readings:
Collins, Randall. 1975. Conflict Sociology, Ch 5 Part I, A theory of age and sex stratification 228-258.
van den Berghe, Pierre L., and David P. Barash. 1977. Inclusive fitness and human family structure. American Anthropologist 79: 809-823.
Research question for your seminar paper is due on Sept 13! Turn in a two page statement giving the questions, the type of data and analysis you hope to
do, along with a sociological rationale.
5. Sept 20. Descent and marital residence.
Readings:
Pasternak, Ember, and Ember, Ch 10, Marital residence 211-230, and Ch 12 Descent groups 255-278.
Ember, Melvin, and Carol Ember. 1971. The conditions favoring matrilocal vs. patrilocal residence.American Anthropologist 571-594.
Gaulin, Steven and Alice Schlegel. 1980. Paternal confidence and paternal investment. Ethology and Sociobiology 1: 301-309.
Peregrine, Peter. 1994. Trade and matrilineality: A hypothesis based on world system theory. Cross-Cultural Research 28: 99-110.
6. Sept 27. Extended families and plural marriage.
Readings:
Pasternak, Ember and Ember (Pasternak, Ember, and Ember), Ch 4, Marriage and other mated relationships 77-101; Ch 11 Family and household 232-253.
Lee, Gary R. 1996. Economies and families: A further investigation of the curvilinear hypothesis. Journal of Comparative Family Studies 27: 353-372.
Ember, Melvin. 1985. Alternative predictors of polygyny. Behavior Science Research 19: 1-23.
White, Douglas. 1988. Rethinking polygyny (with commentary) Current Anthropology 29: 529-572.
7. Oct 4. Incest, exogamy, and illegitimacy.
Readings: (A lot to read, but it's an important topic, so just do it!)
Pasternak, Ember, and Ember, Ch 5 Marriage and the incest taboo 103-126.
Davis, Kingsley. 1948. Human Society. Ch 15, pp 394-404 only (From Social Functions of the Family through end of The Incest Taboo.
Kang, Gay E. 1979. The nature of exogamy in relation to cross-allegiance/ alliance of social units. Behavior Science Research 14: 255-276.
van den Berghe, Pierre L. 1979. Human Family Systems: An Evolutionary View, Ch 3 pp. 76-82 only (start with section on Incest Avoidance).
Lewellyn Hendrix and Mark A. Schneider. "Assumptions on sex and society in the biosocial theory of incest." Cross-Cultural Research 33 (May) 1999: 193-218.
Mark A. Schneider and Lewellyn Hendrix, "Olfaction and sexual inhibition.". Human Nature 11 (February) 2000: 65-91.
Hendrix, Lewellyn. 1996. Illegitimacy and Social Structures. Ch 4 Empirical variations in the control of illegitimacy 57-75, and Ch 9 Social structures and
principles of legitimacy 133-144.
8. Oct 11. Sexuality, love, and jealousy.
Readings:
Pasternak, Ember, and Ember, Ch 2 Sexuality 13-44.
Davis, Kingsley. 1948. Human Society. Ch 7 Jealousy and sexual property. 175-194.
Daly, Martin, Margo Wilson, and Suzanne J. Weghorst. 1982. Male sexual jealousy. Ethology and Sociobiology 3: 1-27.
Jankowiak, William and Edward F. Fisher 1992. A cross-cultural perspective on romantic love. Ethnology31: 149-155.
Derne, Steve. 1994. Structural realities, persistent dilemmas and the construction of emotional paradigms: Love in three cultures. Social Perspectives on Emotion 2:281-308.
Herdt, Gilbert. 1990. Father presence and ritual homosexuality. Ethos 18: 326-370.
Sanday, Peggy R. 1981. The socio-cultural context of rape. Journal of Social Issues 37: 5-27. (See also her book, Female Power and Male Dominance).
9. Oct 18. Mate selection.
Readings:
Pasternak, Ember, and Ember, Ch 6 Extension of the incest taboo 127-146. Ch 7. Getting married 147-165.
Buss, David. 1989. Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 12:1-14 (with commentary by Norval Glenn on modernization effects, pp 21-23). [more]
Meekers, Dominique. 1995. Freedom of partner choice in Togo. Journal of Comparative Family Studies 26: 163-177.
Schlegel, Alice, and Rohn Eloul. 1988. Marriage transactions: labor, property, and status. American Anthropologist 90: 291-309.
Borgerhoff Mulder, Monique. 1995. Bridewealth and its correlates: Quantifying changes over time. Current Anthropology 36: 573-589.
10. Oct 25. Marital relationships and divorce.
Readings:
Pasternak, Ember, and Ember, Ch 8 The marital relationship 166-190, and Ch 9 Divorce and remarriage 191-120.
Broude, Gwen J. 1987. The relationship of marital intimacy and aloofness to social environment: A hologeistic study. Behavior Science Research 21: 50-69.
Hendrix, Lewellyn. 1997. Quality and equality in marriage: A cross-cultural view. Cross-Cultural Research31: 201-225.
Hendrix, Lewellyn and Willie Pearson Jr. 1995. Spousal interdependence, female power, and divorce: A cross-cultural examination. Journal of Comparative Family Studies 26: 217-232.
Betzig, Laura. 1989. Causes of conjugal dissolution: A cross-cultural study. Current Anthropology 30: 654-676.
Take home exam to be given out Oct 25 and returned before Halloween Break.
Oct 29-Nov 2 Halloween Break wipes out our 11th seminar meeting.
12. Nov 8. Childhood socialization, filial relations and rituals.
Readings:
Hewlett, Barry. 1992. Husband-wife reciprocity and the father-infant relationship among Aka pygmies. 153-176 in B. Hewlett (ed) Father-Child Relations: Cultural and Biosocial Contexts.
Paige, Karen, and Jeffery Paige. 1973. The politics of birth practices. American Sociological Review 38: 663-667. (See also their book The Politics of Reproductive Ritual).
Broude, Gwen J. 1988. Rethinking the Couvade: Cross-Cultural Evidence. American Anthropologist 90: 902-911.
Hendrix, Lewellyn, and G. David Johnson. 1985. Instrumental and expressive socialization. Sex Roles 13: 581-595.
Ellis, Godfrey, J., and Larry R. Petersen. 1988. Socialization values and parental control techniques. Journal of Comparative Family Studies 23: 40-54.
13. Nov. 15. Family labor and gender.
Readings:
Pasternak, Ember, and Ember, Ch 3 Gender, division of labor, and social behavior 45-76.
Broude, Gwen J. 1990. The division of labor by sex and other gender related variables. Behavior Science Research 24: 29-50.
Drenovsky, Cynthia K. 1992. Children's labor force participation in the world system. Journal of Comparative Family Studies 23: 184-195.
Hawkes, K., et al. 1995. Hadza children's foraging: Juvenile dependence, Social Arrangements and Mobility among hunter-gatherers. Current Anthropology 36: 688-700.
Broude, Gwen J. 1990. Protest masculinity. Ethos 103-122.
Nov 22-23. Thanksgiving Break.
14. Nov 29. Sexual inequality.
Readings:
Coltrane, Scott. 1988. Father-child relationships and the status of women. American Journal of Sociology 93: 1060-1095.
Hendrix, Lewellyn. 1994. What is sexual inequality? On the definition and range of variation. Cross-Cultural Research 28: 287-307.
Hendrix, Lewellyn, and Zakir Hossain. 1988. Women's status and mode of production. Signs 437-453.
Johnson, G. David. and Lewellyn Hendrix. 1982. A cross-cultural test of Collins's theory of sexual stratification. Journal of Marriage and the Family 44: 675-684.
15. Dec 6. Catch-up week. Discussion of research process and projects. Evaluation. etc.
Research Papers are due in Seminar on Dec 6.
16. Finals Week. Formal presentations of research papers. We will meet at the usual time on Thursday evening if there are no conflicts. Our official slot is from 5:50 to 7:50.