Week 12 — Readings & Resources · Family & Marriage

Course: Introduction to Sociology (SOC 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Adeyemi
Objective covered: Objective 7 — Analyze the family using the three theoretical perspectives, and read social data on the changing household.

How to use this page

Everything here is a link to an external resource — open it in your browser, the same way you'd open a YouTube link. Nothing needs to be downloaded, and there is nothing to buy.

This week's load is moderate: a short video + 2–3 brief readings + two data pages to see for yourself, grouped by the ideas from the lecture. Read or watch one item per group and you're ready for the quiz; do all of them and you'll be very comfortable. Total time is roughly 45–55 minutes if you do everything, far less if you pick one per group.

Reading order that matches the lecture: ① what a family is + marriage patterns → ② the three perspectives on the family → ③ read the data on the changing household.

A habit to start now: before you trust any claim about the family — in these readings, in the news, or from a chatbot — ask the sociologist's questions from class: What's the evidence? Is this a household figure or a person figure? What does it show — and not? "In decline" or "changing"? Correlation or causation?

① What a Family Is · and Marriage Patterns

Maps to Lecture Segments 2–3. Family is a socially recognized unit whose form varies across cultures and time; learn family of orientation vs. procreation, nuclear vs. extended, and the marriage patterns (monogamy/polygamy, endogamy/exogamy).

Reading — "What Is Marriage? What Is a Family?" (OpenStax, Introduction to Sociology 3e, §14.1)
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/14-1-what-is-marriage-what-is-a-family
Why it's assigned: the cleanest plain-language version of the definitions we drew on the board — family as a socially recognized group (joined by blood, marriage, cohabitation, or adoption), family of orientation vs. procreation, lines of descent, and the marriage patterns (monogamy/polygamy). Free to read online in your browser.
⏱ ~12 min

Video — "Theories About Family & Marriage: Crash Course Sociology #37"
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaeiCEro0iU
Why it earns the click: a lively tour of how sociologists define the family, the terms for different family types, and how the three perspectives approach marriage and family — exactly Segments 2 and 5. Hosted by Nicole Sweeney.
⏱ ~11 min

② The Three Perspectives on the Family

Maps to Lecture Segments 5–6. Remember the memory hook: Function (glue) · Conflict (power) · Interaction (meaning) — and that the first two are macro, the third micro. They're partners, not rivals.

Reading — Introduction to Sociology 3e, Chapter 14 ("Marriage and Family"), intro + perspectives (OpenStax)
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/14-introduction
Why it's assigned: Chapter 14 lays out the functionalist, conflict, and symbolic-interactionist readings of the family one at a time, with examples — the same "each lens reveals something different" point we made in class. Start at the chapter intro and read forward through the theoretical-perspectives section. Free to read online.
⏱ ~12 min

Note: the §14.1 reading in group ① already previews the functionalist and interactionist views; this Chapter 14 walk-through adds the full conflict/feminist read.

③ Read the Data — The Changing American Household

Maps to Lecture Segments 4 & 7. The point isn't to memorize numbers; it's to see them at the source and read them correctly (household share vs. person; what it shows vs. doesn't; changing vs. declining; correlation vs. causation).

Data page — U.S. Census Bureau, "Families and Living Arrangements"
🔗 https://www.census.gov/topics/families.html
Why it's here: the Census Bureau's hub for household and family data. From here you can reach "Families and Households" and "Marriage and Divorce," including the Historical Marital Status Tables (median age at first marriage since 1890). This is where the lecture's figures live — go find the married-couple-household share and the median age at first marriage yourself.
⏱ ~8 min to explore

Short read — Pew Research Center, "For Valentine's Day, facts about marriage and dating in the U.S."
🔗 https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/02/08/for-valentines-day-facts-about-marriage-and-dating-in-the-us/
Why it's assigned: a concise, well-sourced snapshot of contemporary patterns — the share of adults married vs. cohabiting vs. single, the rising share of 40-year-olds who have never married, and how these vary by group. A good model of reading family data carefully and citing the source.
⏱ ~8 min

Optional one-stop reference (free online text)

If you'd like one optional reference, OpenStax Introduction to Sociology 3e is free to read online. Chapter 14 ("Marriage and Family") covers everything in this week — defining family and marriage, variations in family life, the three theoretical perspectives, and challenges families face.
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/14-introduction
Why it's here: a reputable, currently-available reference you can return to — entirely optional this week.

Pick-one quick path (≈20 min total)

In a hurry? Do exactly these two and you'll be ready for the quiz:
1. Read "What Is Marriage? What Is a Family?" (group ①) for the definitions, orientation/procreation, and marriage patterns.
2. Open the Census "Families and Living Arrangements" page (group ③) and find the married-couple-household share and the median age at first marriage yourself — then say what each number shows and doesn't.

Heads-up (links rot): these point to outside sites that occasionally move or rename pages. If a link ever fails, tell Prof. Adeyemi and use the OpenStax reference above in the meantime. These links are provided for access only — no claim is made about their licensing or reuse terms.