51³ÉÈËÁÔÆæ

Course Description

Summary

Interpersonal relations constitute the cement of society. What does it mean to be a sibling, a friend, a spouse or a lover? We will examine relatedness as a fundamental aspect of society and social organization by looking at some of the classic and most recent anthropological findings on the topic of family, kinship, friendship, networking, and community. We will analyze how our actions and loyalties are influenced by cultural rules and pressures pertaining to intimate relations through examining lived realities in various places, and then examine how intimacy and kinship obligations have changed in the global era through new technologies in medicine and in communication. How do domestic groups meet the challenges of the global neoliberal economy? How have contemporary dynamics reshaped kinship and intimate relations and brought about new forms of gendered relations, intimacy and family structures? Key questions center on the relationship between family and household structure and economic, political, and cultural change both historically and in the more recent past. Theoretical perspectives on the family will be supplemented with case studies of variation and change in families and households.