Sociology › Section N · Marriage and family › Topic N.1
What are marriage and family?
Almost everyone belongs to a family, yet sociologists, lawmakers and the public disagree about what counts as one. This topic sets out how marriage and family are defined, how marriage and kinship are organised across cultures, and how family life has been mapped over time.
In this topic
- A changing institution
- Defining marriage
- Defining family
- One spouse or several?
- Who marries whom?
- Lines of descent
- Where couples live
- Mapping family life over time
- Worked example: descent and residence
- Worked example: is it a family?
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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