ABSTRACT
This detailed study maps variations in family systems throughout the world, focusing on the ways families cooperate and interact with their societies. Harrell describes families in nomadic bands, traditional African societies, Polynesian and Micronesian societies, native societies of the Pacific Northwest coast, preindustrial class societies, and modern industrial societies. His extensive case studies are clearly illustrated with unique diagrams that allow comparison of complex groups and family processes extending over a generation. }This detailed study maps the variations in family systems throughout the world, focusing on the ways families interact with their societies. Tracing the developmental cycle of families in a wide range of times and places, Stevan Harrell shows how family members in different societies must cooperate to perform various activities and thus organize themselves in particular ways. Within six major divisions, the book describes families in nomadic bands, traditional African societies, Polynesian and Micronesian societies, native societies of the Pacific Northwest coast, preindustrial class societies, and modern industrial societies. Within each group, the authors copious examples demonstrate the variation from one family system to another. His case studies are clearly illustrated with a unique set of diagrams that allow comparison of complex groups and of family processes extending over a generation. Scholars and advanced students alike will find this ambitious book an invaluable resource. }
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part ONE|50 pages
Concepts and Methods
part TWO|48 pages
The B-Cluster: Nomadic Foraging Bands
part |2 pages
Prelude: Children in an Mbuti Camp
part THREE|104 pages
The A-Cluster: Family Systems of Sub-Saharan Africa
part |3 pages
Prelude: Sebei Elders Discuss Cattle Claims
part FOUR|81 pages
The O-Cluster: Islands of Micronesia and Polynesia
part |2 pages
Prelude: An Argument Over Teen Sexuality
part FIVE|73 pages
The N-Cluster: Societies of the Northwest Coast of North America
part |3 pages
Prelude: Growing Up in a Kwakiutl House
part SIX|93 pages
The C-Cluster: Premodern, Complex Societies
part |2 pages
Prelude: Dowry Negotiations in Lahore, 1925
part SEVEN|102 pages
The M-Cluster: Families in Modern Society
part |3 pages
Prelude: The Debate About the Family