American Views On Kinship And Social Relations - 893 Words

Kinship is an area we talked about extensively in class because it represents a huge part of many people’s lives. This ideal is found throughout and delegates the lives of many individuals throughout thousands of cultures. In â€Å"Motorcycles, Membership, and Belonging† McCurdy says that if an Indian couple were to come to the United States for the first time they might be, â€Å"surprised by [the lack of] American social relations.† (McCurdy 2014:209) In this essay I will be describing how American views on kinship and social relations vary from those of Indians through both personal experience and learned information. First lets highlight what kind of roles kinship and social relations play in the lives of these potential Indian tourists. Kinship groups, to Indians, are an essential part of life; kinship is something that makes various decisions for an individuals life, some of those include: who you marry, what you inherit, and your level of status in the family. Throughout most of India, people use patrilineal descent to establish kinship; this means that only males are part of the descent group. In this kind of descent extended family is an integral part of an individuals life because many generations all live together under one roof. For example, one may grow up in a household with their grandparents, uncles and their wives and children, and even older brother’s wives and kids. This way of life keeps familial land and resources all under one roof rather than spreadingShow MoreRelatedLiterature Through The Use Of Ethnographies1389 Words   |  6 Pagesopinions amongst social findings that continue to develop our understanding of societal behaviours. This notion is evident in Undoing Kinship which explores the meaning of Kinship and further, how it is understood and exercised in different cultures. It is through this text that we, as readers, and others, as Anthropologists, begin to question our own knowledge of Kinship and review these viewpoints in aid of a wider Anthropological conversation. Undoing Kinship focuses on how kinship is formed, maintainedRead MoreAnalyze Native American Societies1482 Words   |  6 Pagesessay will analyze Native American societies for world view and cultural and institutional differentiation. In so doing, we will discuss the possibilities or the lack of endogenously generated social change within American Indian societies and cultures. Mainly this essay will concentrate on two important aspects of world view that contribute to conservatism in Native American cultures. The two aspects are as follows, holistic Native American beliefs versus dualistic world views, and in so discussingRead MoreKinship : Who Are We?762 Words   |  4 PagesWho Are We? Kinship can help define who we are, through the values we subscribe to, where we live, and even our political and religious beliefs. Kinship, or families, are a part of all societies, and has been said to be the most basic of all social institutions—it is how people of different cultures categorize the people they are connected to, and that has a lot of influence on a person’s life. But kinship doesn’t always equal family. I’ve heard the phrase, â€Å"she is like kin to us.† That’s becauseRead MoreMy Own Culture, Race, Ethnicity, And Kinship1374 Words   |  6 PagesIn today’s society, one’s own culture, race, ethnicity, and kinship is an important aspect to describing an individual. This relationship can be effected in terms of physical appearance and social situations within ones everyday life. Throughout my own life, family and kinship has positively influenced my own values and morals. Because of these aspects, I have exper ienced some stereotypes of my own race. Throughout my life, my family has impacted how I have looked upon my own morals and valuesRead MoreSocial Organization and Laws in the Trobiand Islands1611 Words   |  6 Pages 1985, 12). Laws are essential in every culture regardless of â€Å"whether ‘savage’ or ‘civilized’ (Malinowski, 1985, 13). Malinowski believed that all societies had laws, rules, and customs that are followed; in addition to hard laws, there are also social morals and obligations that are followed. It may be culture specific, but it exists in all cultures. Malinowski argued that â€Å"there is a number of laws, taboos and obligations in every human culture which weigh heavily on every citizen, demand greatRead MoreAlfred Herbert Radcliffe-Brown : Understanding Of The Sociological Paradigm761 Words   |  4 PagesThe three major Sociological Paradigms are Structural Functionalism, Social Conflict, and Symbolic Interactionist. The Structural Functionalism sociological theorist tha t I will be focusing on will be Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown, a British sociologist. The Social Conflict theorist will be Ralf Gustav Dahrendorf, a German sociologist. And for Symbolic Interactionist sociological theorist will be Herbert George Blumer, an American sociologist. Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown was born in BirminghamRead MoreThe Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis982 Words   |  4 Pagesintroduces the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, which claims that language has strong influence on culture. He then discusses the study of kinship terms, (folk) taxonomies, color terms, prototypes, and taboo and euphrmisms used in different cultures to furthur support the hypothesis. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis illustrates the stucture of one language strongly affect the world-view of its speakers. Wardhaugh first quotes the explaination from Sapir and Whorf to demonstrates a clear outline of the Sapir-WhorfRead MoreGender Analysis : Love, Gold, And The Shadows Of Affluence By Pierrette Hondagneu Sotelo1515 Words   |  7 PagesWGS 203: Gender in the Contemporary World Prof. Grace Cho Fall 2015 Final Exam Throughout history, people around the world are encountered with social structures that may positively shape their lives or may lead to the view of life as a burden. The social structures placed upon us shape the way we view and handle our economical and political values. Global inequalities of wealth and power have increasingly created an abundance of gendered structural violence. These instances can be clearly seenRead MoreSocietys Major Institutions: Education, Economics, Religion, and Political sectors.1608 Words   |  7 Pagesbased on the teachings of values, norms, statuses, and roles. The family is designed to guide sexual activity, socialization, and social relations within a sexual union (Sociology of the Family). Every family is run differently under different circumstances and beliefs. In America, there are many different types of kinships and many different ways each of these kinships are run. The family of procreation consists of parents residing with their biological children. There is also the family of orientationRead MoreWhat Is the Relationship Between â€Å"Biology† and Kinship Systems?2505 Words   |  11 PagesQ. What is the relationship between â€Å"biology† and kinship systems? A. Kinship can be defined as society acknowledging biological connections between people. This view however has been challenged because kinship systems are regarded now as too complex. C. Levi-Strauss (1963) argued; â€Å"Kinship†¦only exists in human consciousness.† The correct way of studying the relationship between biology and kinship systems can only be made by looking at particular societies and cannot be made universally. Biology