UCSP: Kinship, Marriage and the Household

Summary

This session explores the concepts of kinship, marriage, and household structures across different cultures. Key distinctions are made between kinship and descent, explaining how kinship refers to social relationships and descent focuses on biological origins. The lecture delves into various marriage systems like endogamy, exogamy, monogamy, and polygamy, as well as types of arranged marriages such as child marriage and diplomatic marriage. Additionally, it covers post-marital residency rules and different family types, including nuclear, extended, blended, and transnational families. The discussion also ties these concepts to political dynamics, highlighting political dynasties and alliances.

Takeaways

• 😀 Kinship refers to social relationships formed between members of society, while descent pertains to one's origin or family background.
• 😀 Unilineal descent traces ancestry through either the father (patrilineal) or the mother (matrilineal), but not both.
• 😀 Bilateral descent involves tracing ancestry through both the father's and mother's side of the family.
• 😀 Gonad kinship (blood kinship) is the most basic form of relation, formed by birth or blood affinity, including close family like siblings and extended relatives.
• 😀 Female kinship refers to relations developed through marriage, forming connections between a husband and his wife's family, as well as vice versa.
• 😀 Endogamy involves marriage within a specific clan or ethnic group, while exogamy refers to marrying outside one's group.
• 😀 Monogamy is the practice of having one spouse at a time, while polygamy includes both polygyny (one man, multiple wives) and polyandry (one woman, multiple husbands).
• 😀 Arranged marriages can include child marriages, exchange marriages, diplomatic marriages, or modern arranged marriages, each having different societal implications.
• 😀 Residence after marriage can follow patriarchal, matrilocal, or neolocal rules, determining where the couple resides after marriage.
• 😀 Families can be categorized as nuclear (parents and children), extended (two or more nuclear families), blended (stepfamilies), and transnational (families living in multiple countries).

Q & A

What is the difference between kinship and descent?

Kinship refers to social relationships formed between individuals in society, while descent pertains to the biological or family lineage, tracing one's origin from ancestors, usually through a single line of ancestry.

What does unilineal descent mean?

Unilineal descent refers to tracing one's lineage through a single ancestral line, either patrilineal (father's side) or matrilineal (mother's side), but not both.

How is patrilineal descent different from matrilineal descent?

Patrilineal descent traces ancestry through the father's side of the family, while matrilineal descent traces ancestry through the mother's side.

What is bilateral descent?

Bilateral descent refers to tracing lineage through both the father and the mother's sides of the family, meaning an individual is affiliated with relatives from both parental lines.

What is consanguineal kinship?

Consanguineal kinship, also known as kinship by blood, refers to relationships formed through biological or blood relations, such as siblings, parents, and extended family.

What is female kinship, and when does it occur?

Female kinship, or kinship based on marriage, refers to the relationships formed when a marriage occurs. It involves the husband and wife creating relationships with each other's families, but it only happens after marriage.

What is the difference between endogamy and exogamy?

Endogamy refers to marriage within one's own clan or ethnic group, while exogamy refers to marriage outside one's group, such as a Filipino marrying a foreigner.

What does polygamy mean, and how is it distinguished between polygyny and polyandry?

Polygamy refers to marriage involving more than one spouse. Polygyny involves one man marrying multiple women, while polyandry involves one woman marrying multiple men.

What is an example of arranged marriage types, and how are they different?

Types of arranged marriages include child marriage, where parents arrange the marriage of their children; exchange marriage, where spouses are exchanged between groups; diplomatic marriage, for political alliances; and modern arranged marriage, where parents suggest potential partners for their child, sometimes with the child's input.

What are the different post-marital residence rules?

Post-marital residence rules include patriarchal residence (living with or near the husband's kin), matrilocal residence (living with or near the wife's kin), biological residence (alternating between the husband's and wife's kin), and neolocal residence (living independently from both kin groups).