Family – considered the “most important institution” according to Talcott Parsons, resides along side the other institutions that help our society remain self-sufficient and running smoothly. One cannot deny what constitutes a family depends on the individual within it. Sociologists note how family influences society and vice versa (how society influences the concept of family) – despite the rhetoric that “traditional family” is disintegrating we note (using our sociological imagination) that it is changing, and ever evolving.
Read the article “The Nuclear Family is Not Enough: Under Carona Virus Lockdown Our Ideal of the Independent Family Unit is Beginning to Crack (Links to an external site.)” (Rebecca Onion; Slate) https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/03/coronavirus-nuclear-family-unit-problems.html?fbclid=IwAR3S8dRsWRiQJD_l-75oyEFrFjBgHEoExRk4EpI0M1KjLBRntRd2QmPBKBg
Why, according to this article, is the mythical independent family unit struggling?? What role does society play in this?? (note an interesting, optional article very related to this discussion — Stephanie Coontz’s interview: The article: The Way We Weren’tWay We Weren’t).
