Sociology of Families

This course focuses on diversity, inequality and social change, in families in the Canadian context, including Indigenous Peoples. The historical, societal contexts of family forms, processes and social change is examined in relation to the following areas: colonisation/decolonisation and reconciliation; state institutions, laws and policies; economy and work; structural racism; politics; cultures, ideologies and mass media; religion and spirituality; social movements; demography; the environment and climate change.

Prerequisites

SOCI 1100 with a minimum ‘C-‘ grade or equivalent, or SOCI 1200 with a minimum ‘C-‘ grade or equivalent (SOCI 1200 recommended).

What you will learn

• Socio-historical contexts of diverse, changing family structures, and experiences in Canada, including Indigenous Peoples, in Canadian sociological practice
• Socio-historical context of changing legal and cultural definitions of family in Canada and globally
• Diverse family structures and experiences that include the following: Indigenous Peoples families; Black Canadian families; other racialised ethnic families; immigrant, migrant, and refugee families; 2SLGBTQQIA families; extended families; common-law families; single-person households; blended families; single-parent families; childless families; married nuclear families; communal families; families with members with disabilities; egalitarian and non-egalitarian families etc.
• Socio-historical contexts of family structures, processes, and social change, examined in relation to the following areas: colonisation/decolonisation and reconciliation; state institutions, laws and policies; economy and work; structural racism and discrimination; politics; cultures, ideologies and mass media; religion and spirituality; social movements; demography; the environment, land-based connections and climate change
• Main theories: structural functionalism (family systems); life course and development; symbolic interactionism; conflict and critical theories, including critical race theory; and feminist theories
• Research methods: historical, quantitative (statistical), qualitative (interpretative), feminist, critical including decolonising methods; and mixed-methods
• Traumas and inter-generational effects of colonisation and poverty effecting Indigenous Peoples families including the following: the Indian Act (1876 to present); Residential Schools and Day Schools; the "sixties scoop"; missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls; disproportionate criminalisation and incarceration; and health, family and child services practices etc.
• Relationships/family formations and dissolution over the life course
• Fertility, reproductive choices and aging in families
• Child-rearing, socialisation and parenting
• Power, authority and inequality in families
• The domestic division of labour and caring, feminist theories and oppression
• Abuse and violence effecting families
• Poverty in families, housing, health and education
• The state, family law, and social and health policies

How to register

This course is offered as part of a VCC program only.

Contact us

If you have any question, please email at advising@vcc.ca.

† This information is intended as a guideline only. Program and course details are subject to change with the approval of VCC's Board of Governors.