Families, History, and Social Change

by Hareven, Tamara K.

• ISBN13: 9780813390871
• ISBN10: 0813390877
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780429980206
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-10-01
• Publisher: Westview Pr

Summary

One of the prevailing myths about the American family is that there once existed a harmonious family with three generations living together, and that this "ideal" family broke down under the impact of urbanization and industrialization. The essays inFamilies, History, and Social Changechallenge this myth and provide dramatic revisions of simplistic notions about change in the American family. In these interdisciplinary essays that are deeply rooted in history, Hareven provides important perspectives on family relations in the present, dispels myths about family relations in the past, offers new directions in research and interpretation, and revises our understanding of social change. Hareven's essays, which are based on thirty years of research, combine empirical evidence with theoretical frameworks and discussions of the state of the art in this exciting field. The essays cover a wide spectrum of issues and topics such as the organization of the family and the household, the networks available to children as they were growing up, the role of the family in the process of industrialization, the division of labor in the family along gender lines, and the relations between the generations in the later years of life. Coincidentally, the essays revolve around three central themes: The family's interaction with the process of industrialization, the life course, and the development of the field of family history--and its future directions. They are both interdisciplinary and cross-cultural.Professor Hareven is a pioneer and leader in the development of the field of family history. Her work makes a major contribution to the theoretical and substantive aspects of scholarship on family life, past and present, and on social change. Her essays also provide a fine understanding of this field's development.

Author Biography

Tamara K. Hareven is Unidel Professor of Family Studies and History at the University of Delaware.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures	xiii
Preface	xv
Acknowledgments	xxv
Part 1 Family and Kinship: Continuity and Change
The History of the Family and the Complexity of Social Change	3	(28)
The Dynamics of Kin in an Industrial Community	31	(46)
Introduction	31	(3)
The Historical Context: Manchester, New Hampshire	34	(3)
Recruitment and Migration	37	(2)
Hiring, Placement, and Job Control	39	(13)
Kin Assistance in Critical Life Situations	52	(10)
Limitations of Kin Assistance	62	(2)
Migration and the Continuity of the Kinship System	64	(2)
Continuities and Discontinuities in the Functions of Kin	66	(3)
Conclusion	69	(2)
Appendix: The Data Base	71	(6)
A Complex Relationship: Family Strategies and the Processes of Economic and Social Change	77	(28)
Introduction	77	(5)
The Family in the Process of Industrialization	82	(3)
Strategies of Kin Assistance	85	(2)
Family Labor-Force Strategies and the Household Economy	87	(8)
Whose Strategies Were Family Strategies	95	(4)
Conclusion: Long-Term Historical Changes	99	(6)
Part 2 Studying Lives in Time and Place
Historical Changes in Children's Networks in the Family and Community	105	(22)
Introduction	105	(1)
Demographic Changes Affecting the Position of Children in the Family	106	(6)
Impact of the Domestic Child-Centered Family on Children's Networks	112	(2)
Emergence of Institutions and Peer Groups Outside of the Family	114	(6)
The Segregation of Childhood and Children	120	(3)
The Return of Diversity	123	(2)
Implications for Child Development	125	(2)
Aging and Generational Relations: A Historical and Life-Course Perspective	127	(24)
Introduction	127	(1)
The Life-Course Paradigm	128	(1)
The Timing of Life Transitions	129	(4)
Myths About the Past	133	(1)
Coresidence	134	(2)
Historical Changes in the Timing of Life Transitions	136	(4)
Interdependence Among Kin	140	(3)
Generational Supports over the Life Course	143	(2)
Cohort Differences	145	(2)
Conclusion	147	(4)
Synchronizing Individual Time, Family Time, and Historical Time	151	(16)
The Definition of Timing	152	(2)
Characteristics of Timing over the Life Course	154	(2)
Transitions and Turning Points	156	(1)
Cohort Differences in the Timing of Transitions and Perceptions of Turning Points	157	(5)
Comparisons of the Manchester Patterns with Those of Japan	162	(1)
Historical and Comparative Implications	163	(4)
The Generation in the Middle: Cohort Comparisons in Assistance to Aging Parents in an American Community	167	(24)
Introduction	167	(3)
Intergenerational Supports over the Life Course	170	(3)
Coresidence Among the Generations	173	(3)
The Making of a ``Parent Keeper,''	176	(5)
The Shadow of the Nursing Home	181	(3)
Cohort Location in Historical Time	184	(7)
Rising Above Life's Disadvantage: From the Great Depression to War	191	(28)
Depression Children in the Bay Area and in Manchester	192	(3)
Recasting Men's Lives Through Military Service	195	(4)
Escaping Hard Times in the Bay Area	199	(6)
Respite from the Great Depression in Manchester	205	(7)
Accelerating the Timing of Life Transitions	212	(5)
Discussion	217	(2)
Changing Images of Aging and the Social Construction of the Life Course	219	(16)
Introduction	219	(2)
The Discovery of Stages of Life	221	(4)
The Emergence of Discontinuities in the Life Course	225	(2)
Discontinuities in the Life Course	227	(2)
Changes in the Family	229	(1)
Conclusion	230	(5)
Part 3 Comparative Perspectives
Between Craft and Industry: The Subjective Reconstruction of the Life Course of Kyoto's Traditional Weavers	235	(26)
Introduction	235	(3)
The Nishijin Context	238	(5)
The Interweaving of Family and Work	243	(8)
The Identity of Nishijin Weavers	251	(3)
Origins of Conflict	254	(4)
Reflections	258	(3)
The Festival's Work as Leisure: The Traditional Craftsmen of the Gion Festival	261	(24)
Introduction	261	(2)
The Moving Museum	263	(3)
The Festival's Work	266	(2)
The Craftsmen's Performance	268	(9)
The Festival's Pillars	277	(4)
The Power of Knowledge	281	(2)
Discussion	283	(2)
Divorce, Chinese Style	285	(16)
The Case of Zhenhua and Shuqin	285	(8)
The Case of Fuchang and Liyin	293	(8)
Part 4 Broader Perspectives
Family Change and Historical Change: An Uneasy Relationship	301	(16)
Introduction	301	(1)
Myths About the Past	302	(1)
The Malleable Household	303	(2)
Interdependence Among Kin	305	(3)
Privacy and the Family's Retreat from the Community	308	(2)
The Ideology of Domesticity and Women's Work	310	(4)
Changes in the Timing of Life Transitions	314	(2)
Reducing the Misfit	316	(1)
What Difference Does It Make?	317	(18)
Reweaving the Tapestry	319	(1)
Time and Motion	320	(1)
Reexamining Social Change	321	(2)
Proto-Industrialization	323	(1)
Family Strategies	324	(1)
The Role of Human Agency	325	(2)
The Subjective Reconstruction of Past Lives	327	(3)
The Life Course and the Rediscovery of Complexity	330	(2)
Looking to the Future	332	(1)
Cross-Cultural Dimensions	333	(2)
Notes	335	(6)
References	341	(26)
Credits	367	(2)
Index	369