Overview
The form and function of families, and major issues and forces shaping families in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
This paper introduces key ideas and concepts about the family, as well as considering how issues like poverty and disability impact upon the family. This paper will help students consider multiple perspectives on the family; engage in key debates about the family and its construction; and reflect on their own personal experiences and reactions to the family in all its forms in the broader structural contexts of Aotearoa/New Zealand society.
About this paper
| Paper title | Families and Society |
|---|---|
| Subject | Sociology |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Semester 1 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees ( NZD ) | $1,040.70 |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Prerequisite
- (SOCI 101 or SOCI 102 or SOCI 103) or 54 points
- Restriction
- SOWK 233, SOWX 233
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music
- Eligibility
Available to students in Sociology, Gender Studies and Criminology who meet the prerequisites.
Compulsory for Social Work students.- Contact
- More information link
- View more information on the Department of Sociology, Gender and Social Work's website
- Teaching staff
Co-ordinator and Lecturer: Professor Anita Gibbs
- Paper Structure
- Key topics will include:
- Historical perspectives on the family
- Theories of family
- Multiple answers to the question, 'What is family?'
- Family policy and the 'politics' of the family
- Roles, functions and forms of family
- Family belief systems
- Disability and families
- Gender, ethnicity and class perspectives on family
- Parenting, children and families
- Teaching Arrangements
- On-campus weekly lectures and tutorials over one semester.
Guest speakers will offer additional input. - Textbooks
- Textbooks are not required for this paper, but readings will be listed in study outlines and will be available on Blackboard.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Communication, Critical thinking, Research, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete the paper will be able to:
- Critically evaluate knowledge and theory about families and the structure and history of 'the family' with relevance to contemporary Aotearoa/New Zealand
- Demonstrate an awareness of the forces shaping the contemporary context of family life, including an exploration of intersecting issues of gender, power, ethnicity and class
- Debate and engage in issues regarding families and society