Writers of different articles, books, and journals of families in a global perspective use different sociological approaches to the matter. The most dominant approaches used are the functionalist perspective, feminist conflict perspective, and symbolic perspective. Although the three perspectives seem to be independent, they complement each other.
According to functionalism theories, society act like a living organism, where it has parted with special functions to take for the good of the larger society (Jaipaul & Uwe 2005). Every element in the society is interpolated to have its role where the failure of one party is felt across the society. The perspective can be traced from the works of Emile Durkheim and reinforcement made by Talcott Parsons of the mid 20th century. According to the feminist conflict perspective, society can be broadly being divided between gender lines where every gender has a defined role to play in the larger society. In most societies, women have been on the losing end however, modern global families are recognizing women’s rights and embarking on measures to reinforce them. According to the symbolic perspective, human beings are seen as pragmatic actors where they adjust to fit in the prevailing condition or situation. They are of the view that people behave is of the view that people’s behavior keeps changing and adjusts to the prevailing environment. The notion is humans are social beings thus they need to live in harmony with others calling for behavior adjustments. The three perspectives of a family in a global perspective complement each other in that when one fails to appropriately explain certain behavior in societies, the other does. For example, functionalist does not explain why there is a tendency that some jobs are done by women, however; feminist conflict perspective does (Leeder, 2004).
The core areas focused upon by the editors of Families in Global Perspective as common themes throughout the readings.
Different areas are focused in Families in Global Perspective articles however they rotate along the area of change that has occurred in modern societies. The area of focus is on the role of women in modern societies, the influence that socialization has on future and modern generation, changes in a family setting, and causes of deviant behaviors in the society.
What changes are going on in these different domains?
Different changes are expected in different realms of social life. Women are increasingly taking the traditional roles played by men like feeding a family and protecting their family. Education is one of the factors that has resulted in equality and respect of human rights whether women or men. The danger that the world is likely to face is denying the boy child the attention it requires.
Socialization shapes the attitude, personality, and behavior of human beings; in the future, socialization is likely to be shaped further by media houses opinions other than the traditional family and community socialization. Technological development is likely to play an important role in socialization. As people continue to adopt technology and learn new skills, crime is likely to take a different new shape; they are likely to be more sophisticated and call for similar crime-fighting mechanisms. Deviance in society is likely to be on the increase as parents spend less time with their children unlike in the traditional family setting. Children are likely to be attached to what they come across and with a lack of parental guidance; the future deviant rate of behavior is likely to be on the rise (Ehrenreich & Hochschild, 2003).
Reference
Ehrenreich, B, & Hochschild, R. (2003). Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy. New York: Metropolitan Books.
Jaipaul, L., & Uwe, P. (2005). Families in global perspective. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Leeder, J.(2004). The family in global perspective: a gendered journey. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.