Historical Anthropology of the Family

Thishistoricalanthropologyofthefamilyrepresentsanewdepartureinfamilystudies.Overthepasttenyearsorso,thesocialscientificsociologicalanalysisofthefamilyhasundergoneachange,andhasbeenobligedtoreconsideritstraditionalviewthatindustrialisationtriggeredashiftwithinsocietyfromthe'largefamily',whichfulfilledallsocialfunctionsfromsocialisingthechildrentocaringforthesickandtheold,tothemodernnuclearfamily,whichwasregardedsolelyasbeingthelocusforemotionalrelationships.Historianshaveshownthatinthepasttherewasinfactagreatvarietyofdifferentfamilystructureswithinawiderangeofvaryingdemographic,economicandculturalframeworks,distinctiveforeachsociety.Atthesametime,theinteractionbetweensociologyandsocialanthropologyhasledtoaclearerconceptualanalysisofthatvague,polysemicterm'family';andnotionsofdwelling-place,descent,marriage,therelativerolesofhusbandandwifeandparent-childrelations,aswellasthemoregeneralrelationsbetweengenerations,haveinavarietyofpastandpresentsocialcontextsbeentakenapartandanalysed.Inthisbook,MartineSegalenreviewsandsynthesisesarichwealthofoftenlittle-knownEuropeanandNorthAmericanhistoricalandsocialanthropologicalmaterialonthefamily.Thisresultsinareversalofthefrequentlyheldviewofthefamilyasaninstitutionindecline,showingitinsteadtobebothdynamicandresistant.