Discussion Post: Family and Community
Kinship is a longstanding topic of anthropological inquiry.
In this module, supposed:
You studied and contemplated families and communities in the United States through a variety of anthropological lenses. You read Margaret Mead's early 20th century piece "The Contemporary American Family" and you read and watched a many examples about how parenting and families are changing in the 21st century.
You learned that single women and couples are now taking more time before starting families. You saw examples of same-sex parenting, adopted families, later-in-life parenting, non-"blood"-relative relations, and many, many other family arrangements common in US culture and society..
In the US, "non-traditional" families are common, but that doesn't mean that family is any less important. Think about the types of families considered in this module and visit with your peers over the following topic:
Prompt: (200 - 250 words)
• How does the acceptance or rejection of various types of families into American culture reflect broader (social or political or economic or religious - even generational) changes happening in American society? Did learning about many types of families change your definition of what family means? Why or why not?
• While it's totally acceptable to talk about your own experiences or share examples from popular culture in this discussion post, for full credit, make sure to utilize anthropological terms and concepts.