Understanding the Family Paperback / softback

Edited by John Muncie, Margaret Wetherell, Mary Langan, Rudi Dallos, Allan Douglas Cochrane

Part of the Published in Association with The Open University series

Paperback / softback

Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks

Description

`Provide[s] a good overview of current family theory and research.... well written and worth havingâ€² - British Journal of Medical Psychology`Altogether an excellent collection for students of social policy, social care or social work, covering as it does both subjective and objective features of family life and the logics of inequality within which they are embeddedâ€² - Child and Family Social WorkThis revised and updated introductory text presents an accessible, interdisciplinary account of how â€²the familyâ€² is constituted in the â€²publicâ€² and â€²privateâ€² spheres. Drawing in a wide range of theoretical perspectives from sociology, social policy, psychology and psychoanalysis, this book critically examines assumptions about â€²the familyâ€² that are embedded in social policy, law and political discourse.

The text outlines the tensions that exist between such assumptions and the lived realities and everyday experiences of family life.

Understanding the Family shows how dominant understanding of the family have failed to recognize a marked diversity of family forms in contemporary society, and also ignore the complex and myriad ways in which family life comes to be experienced.