Chapter 1 & 2

 Contact sheet  Textbook scavenger hunt  Chapter syllabus  What is a family? Our definition  Notes from pgs. 2-8  What is a family? The Vanier Institute definition  “Your Family” handout  H/W ◦ read pgs ◦ Key terms on pg.2, notes on pgs.7&8 Next class: - Diagnostic test for unit 1

 Take about 5 minutes in groups of 4 or 5 to come up with a working definition of what you think the word “family” means. ◦ Consider your own family and what we see in our everyday lives ◦ It should be detailed but not too specific that it discriminates or excludes

Chapter 1, pg 2-8 notes

 In all societies, individuals live in families  When you mature, you will probably leave your family, form a new family and raise children ◦ Cycle of human life (remained for tens of thousands of years)

 Thus, to understand families in a diverse society such as Canada’s, it is necessary also to understand individuals

 Individuals are motivated to carry out these functions due to their membership in a smaller group of people, such as a family or household, with whom they agree to co-operate in order to survive

 In turn, societies support individuals and families as they carry out these functions through such institutions as government, education, and health care

Definitions are used to determine who qualifies for the benefits of families, such as eligibility of dental care Its effective if you can use it to differentiate between families and other groups

 Individuals define families based on their own personal experiences and expectations of what family means to them. ◦ Consider the following chart

Views of what constitutes a family by age Percent indicating “yes” Nationally Married man and woman w/ at least 1 child Unmarried man and woman w/ at least 1 child Divorced or separated person w/ at least 1 child Unmarried person w/ at least 1 child Married man and women w/ no children Two people of the same sex w/ at least 1 child Unmarried man and woman w/ no children Two people of the same sex w/ no children One single person w/ no child98109

 _____________– universal functions of the family  _____________ – behaviours don’t effect definition of family like anthropologists

 Sociologist Anne-Marie Ambert argues that a definition of family should not be so broad that it does not allow for identification of the family ◦ She states, “the family is a social group, an institution, and an intergenerational group of individuals related to each other by blood, adoption or marriage/cohabitation” (pg 7 new I&F)

 By defining family as an institution, she is implying that families are groups that have a set behaviours they are expected to perform

...any combination of two or more persons who are bound together over time by ties of mutual consent, birth and/or adoption or placement and who, together, assume responsibilities for variant combinations of some of the following: – Physical maintenance and care of group members – Addition of new members through procreation or adoption – Socialization of children – Social control of members – Production, consumption, distribution of goods and services, and – Affective nurturance — love – Pg.6 I&F

 Read pgs. 7&8 and take your own notes on “the functions of the family…in detail.

We are all individuals, yet we are also part of different households, we have different histories, experiences and expectations... So let us keep this complexity in mind throughout the course as we dive into ourselves, our families and our society...

(Don’t you worry, there will be moments of seriousness but I will try my best to balance it with some humour!)