School Of Social Sciences And PsychologyFamilies and Intimate LifeWestern Sydney University Unit Code: 102143.1
Discipline: SOCIOLOGY
Student Contribution Band: 1
Level: 2
Credit Points: 10
Equivalent Units
400510 - Sociology of the Family, 101609 - Comparative Studies of Families and Kinship
Unit Enrolment Restrictions
Successful completion of 40 credit points
About this Unit
This unit will critically examine sociological perspectives on the family and intimate life, building on the approaches and theories introduced in the first year of Sociology studies. The familiarity of family and intimate relationships will be thrown into question and students will be asked to examine their beliefs, decode the meaning, and discard the myths of the ‘naturalness’ of these spheres of social life. The family and intimate relationships will be viewed as part of the wider social structure, their constitutions shaped by history, economic factors, and cultural systems. Each week we will focus on aspects of the family and intimate life and examine how these spheres are undergoing change but also how they are experienced differently depending on an individuals social location or background in order to demonstrate the historical and cultural specificity of the nuclear family and its role in the creation of social stratification and social difference.