Dr. Najmi
Office Hours: BR 128E and by appointment

The purpose of this course is to develop a cross-cultural understanding of the organization of the family as an aspect of the total social and econo-political organization of society.

Course Objectives:

General

1. Present sociology as a liberating discipline and help students transcend the limiting constraints of their own culture in understanding other peoples removed in time and space.
2. Emphasize a comparative approach to the study of the family and cultures in general as a productive way of comprehending all human events and contexts.
3. Help students utilize the study of other cultures to reflexively gain insights into their own way of life.

Specific

1. Introduce students to selected major non-western cultures, their institutions, and world views.
2. Help students understand the institution of the family cross-culturally and in its interrelationships with other institutions such as the economic, political, and cultural, etc.
3. Relate the significant features and observations from the non-western cultures to events and issues in the contemporary western industrial societies.

1. Non-western civilizations: a general introduction
2. Historical background of contemporary non-western cultures: colonialism and neocolonialism. Worldwide European colonization and its aftermath. The Third World today.
3. Social structure of non-western cultures: tribal cultures and great traditions/civilizations. Anthropology and the study of "primitive" cultures. Define "primitive". Some attributes of tribal cultures.
4. Primitive social structure, family and kinship: tribes, clans, lineages, and households. Key concepts and terms: rules of residence, descent and authority. Monogamy, polygamy, polyandry. Nature and demography of polygamous marriages. (Readings: Hutter, Chapter One: Introduction to Comparative Family Study).
5. Historical and cross-cultural study of the family: hunting and gathering cultures; agricultural societies.
6. Primitive family and kinship: case studies. [The Patrilineal Swazi of Africa (Reading on library reserve: Kuper, The Patrilineal Swazi Family); The Matrilineal Hopi of Native America (Reading on library reserve: Queen & Habenstein, The Matrilineal Hopi Family.)]
7. Urbanization and the Family: Western and non-Western Experience [Modernization and Urban-Suburban family in the West. (Reading: Hutter, Chapter 4: The Family in the City: The Western Experience.); The Family in the City: The Non-western Experience (Readings: Hutter, Chapter 7: The Family in the City: The African Experience)
   
   Mid-Term Examination: Friday, August 1, 1997




8. What is civilization? Definitions of civilization as "moral advancement", "technological advancement", or "a stage in cyclical process". (Lectures)
9. Introduction to Asia: Concept of the individual in Asian civilizations; social relationships; the Asian family. (Lectures).
10. Family and kinship in Asian Civilizations: case studies. [The classical Chinese family (Reading on library reserve: Queen & Habenstein, The Classical Chinese System of Familism. Hutter, Ch. 18: The Family in China. Also Lecture & Documentary); The Urban Hindu Family in India . (Lecture & Documentary; Hutter, Ch. 13: Fertility Patterns; India: A Case Study, pp. 353-362); The Islamic family (Lecture & Documentary); Marital Breakdown in Western & Non-Western Societies: (Reading: Hutter, Ch. 17, pp. 485-514)]

Final Examination: Friday, August 15, 1997

Evaluation

There are two multiple choice exams: a mid-term and a final, each worth 100 points. Grades are based on class curve. There are generally no make ups allowed with rare exceptions. ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED. Grades are based on a total of 225 points. There are 25 points for a perfect attendance record; first absence deduct 10 points; two absences zero credit. Grades will be assigned based on the following scale: A=90% or higher; B=80% or higher; C=65% or higher; D=55% or higher; F=54% or less.

Required Text:

Mark Hutter, The Changing Family: Comparative Perspectives, Macmillan Publ., Co. NY. 1988