Kinship
the system of meaning and power that cultures create to determine who is related to whom and to define their mutual expectations, rights, and responsibilities
Nuclear Family
the kinship unit of mother, father, children
Descent group
a kinship group in which primary relationships are traced through consanguine (blood) relatives
Lineage
a type of descent group that traces genealogical connection through generations by linking persons to a founding ancestor
Matrilineal
descent groups constructing the group through the mother's side of the family
Patrilineal
tracking the descent group kinship through the father's side of the family
Unilineal
Both matrilineal and patrilineal because they build kinship groups through either one line or the other
Ambilineal
descent groups that trace kinship through both the mother and father, sometimes called bilateral or cognatic.
Clan
a type of descent group based on a claim to a founding ancestor but lacking genealogical documentation
Affinal relationship
a kinship relationship established through marriage and/or alliance, not through biology or common descent
Marriage
a socially recognized relationship that may involve physical and emotional intimacy as well as legal rights to property and inheritance
Arranged marriage
marriage orchestrated by the families of the involved parties
Companionate marriage
marriage built on love, intimacy, and personal choice rather than social obligation
Polygyny
marriage between one man and two or more women
Polyandry
marriage between one woman and two or more men
Monogamy
a relationship between only two partners
Serial monogamy
marriages interrupted by divorce or death and individuals will marry again reflect this process in which monogamous marriages follow one after the other.
Incest taboo
cultural rules that forbid sexual relations with certain close relatives
Cross-cousins
children of a mother's brother or father's sister
Parallel cousins
children of a father's brother or mother's sister
Exogamy
marriage to someone outside the kinship group
Endogamy
marriage to someone within the kinship group
Kindred exogamy
we practice this in the U.S., we avoid, either by force or law or power of tradition, marriage with certain relatives
Bridewealth
the gift of goods or money from the groom's family to the bride's family as part of the marriage process
Dowry
the gift of goods or money from the bride's family to the groom's family as part of the marriage process
Family of orientation
the family group in which one is born, grows up, and develops life skills
Family of procreation
the family group created when one reproduces and within which one rears children
Fictive kin
those who become kin, not biological
E.E. Evans-Pritchard
studied Nuer people in Sudan. They are a patrilineal descent group, both boy and girl children were born into the group, but membership could only pass to the next generation through the sons who inherited membership through their fathers. Their clans wer
Kathleen Gough
revisited study of Evans-Pritchard's Nuer people a generation later. The people continued to trace kinship through both parents. She suggested that political factors can shape efforts to construct kinship.
Janet Carsten
studied the Malay villagers on the island of Langkawi. Kinship is not only given at birth but also is acquired throughout life. Acquired through co-residence and co-feeding.
Dana Davis
Battered Black Women and Welfare Reform. Research was in a shelter for battered women, insights into the creative process that people use to construct fictive kinship relationships during times of need. Women had difficulty getting the government support
Carol Stack
All Our Kin: Strategies for Survival in a Black Community. Impoverished African American community called the Flats outside Chicago. Complex survival strategies based on extended kinship networks. Involved biological and fictive kin, succeeded in building
Veena Das
Explored relationship between kinship and nation-state in the aftermath of the disastrous partition of India and Pakistan. Focused on the more than 100,000 women who were abducted and raped. Kinship norms placed traditionally high values on purity and hon
Susan Kahn
Reproducing Jews: A Cultural Account of Assisted Conception in Israel. Women serve as key players in defining and maintaining kinship connections. Single Jewish mothers who are giving birth through artificial insemination. Raises questions about kinship.
Kath Weston
Families We Choose. Construction of gay and lesbian families in San Francisco. Turn to chosen families if rejected by their biological one after "coming out." These families come in many shapes and sizes.
Sara Dorow
Transnational Adoption: A Cultural Economy of Race, Gender, and Kinship. traces journey of Chinese children adopted by U.S. parents as they cross geographic, cultural, ethnic, and class divides. Mostly in white middle and upper class families.