Hopefully, you're not here by accident. What started as an assignment for my Contemporary Families class at Utah Valley University turned into something a little bigger than I anticipated. I figured this assignment would be easy and that I'd write a paper that I'd soon forget about. A blog feels a little more permanent and something that I can show to future employers.
The topic of this blog is to explore the diversity and strengths in the family structure through a cultural lens. There are so many different ethnic and cultural heritages that make up the United States that it's hard to pin point every single one of them. But what we can learn from those in our neighborhoods and communities can add to our world view of how families live, work, and enjoy time together.
In my Contemporary Families class, I came upon this topic in the fourth week's reading. In chapter 2 it talks about the importance of how the family structure isn't solely regulated to one man and one woman. There are many iterations of how the family is set up. You have the traditional set up of a wife and husband with children in the home. You have single parents with shared custody. You can even have a traditional set up but have elderly parents or elderly family members living with you. Even within different cultures, there are different elements that are important to family structure and cohesion. Some cultures expect children to come back to the home after they've finished college or university till they marry and in the meantime they contribute to the family as they did while they were younger. Some cultures expect the opposite of college and university educated children to go out into the world to set their own lives outside of the family home.
My interest in this topic most stemmed from my own cultural background. I am half Mexican and a quarter Hawaiian and Japanese. I didn't grow up in one specific ethnic culture because my religious background held more importance. I grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I simply grew up "American" for all intents and purposes.
This blog will look at different media representations of family structure. They will be different races and ethnicities . I will include an interview I did with my neighbor Tracy who grew up in South Africa.
Let's take a journey together and see what the world has to offer!
References
Olson, D.H., DeFrain, J., Skogrand, L. (2018). Marriages and Families: Intimacy, Diversity, and Strengths (9th edition). New York: McGraw Hill. Pages 37-69
The topic of this blog is to explore the diversity and strengths in the family structure through a cultural lens. There are so many different ethnic and cultural heritages that make up the United States that it's hard to pin point every single one of them. But what we can learn from those in our neighborhoods and communities can add to our world view of how families live, work, and enjoy time together.
In my Contemporary Families class, I came upon this topic in the fourth week's reading. In chapter 2 it talks about the importance of how the family structure isn't solely regulated to one man and one woman. There are many iterations of how the family is set up. You have the traditional set up of a wife and husband with children in the home. You have single parents with shared custody. You can even have a traditional set up but have elderly parents or elderly family members living with you. Even within different cultures, there are different elements that are important to family structure and cohesion. Some cultures expect children to come back to the home after they've finished college or university till they marry and in the meantime they contribute to the family as they did while they were younger. Some cultures expect the opposite of college and university educated children to go out into the world to set their own lives outside of the family home.
My interest in this topic most stemmed from my own cultural background. I am half Mexican and a quarter Hawaiian and Japanese. I didn't grow up in one specific ethnic culture because my religious background held more importance. I grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I simply grew up "American" for all intents and purposes.
This blog will look at different media representations of family structure. They will be different races and ethnicities . I will include an interview I did with my neighbor Tracy who grew up in South Africa.
Let's take a journey together and see what the world has to offer!
References
Olson, D.H., DeFrain, J., Skogrand, L. (2018). Marriages and Families: Intimacy, Diversity, and Strengths (9th edition). New York: McGraw Hill. Pages 37-69
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