History of the family
The study of how family structures, relationships, and roles have changed across societies and historical periods.
Kinship: Social relationships formed through descent, marriage, adoption, or other culturally recognized ties. Kinship systems define who counts as family and what obligations connect them.
European marriage pattern: A historical pattern in parts of Europe marked by relatively late marriage and substantial celibacy. Its timing influenced household formation, fertility, and women's economic roles.
Philippe Ariès: A French historian whose work helped shape historical study of childhood and family life. His account of changing attitudes toward childhood provoked debate about family history.
History of childhood: The study of how understandings, experiences, and institutions of childhood have changed over time. Changing ideas about children reveal shifts in parenting and family relationships.
Nuclear family thesis: The claim that the nuclear family became dominant as societies modernized, often replacing extended family forms. Historical evidence challenges simple accounts of a universal shift toward nuclear households.
Household: People who live together and organize some aspect of domestic life, whether or not they are related. Household membership often differs from kinship, complicating historical counts of families.
Stem family: A household form in which one child remains with parents and inherits the family property, while siblings establish separate households. Inheritance and residence could preserve a family household across generations.
The Making of the Modern Family: A 1975 book by Edward Shorter arguing that a more affectionate modern family emerged in early modern Europe. Shorter's thesis made emotional change central to debates about family transformation.
History of marriage: The study of how marriage practices, meanings, and legal forms have changed over time. Marriage history tracks how family formation was governed and experienced.
Extended family: A family network that includes relatives beyond parents and their children, often across multiple generations. It contrasts with narrow household definitions and complicates claims of historical decline.