DOCSLIB.ORG

Salvaging Children's Lives: Understanding the Experiences of Black Aunts Who Serve As Kinship Care Providers Within Black Families

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Salvaging Children's Lives: Understanding the Experiences of Black Aunts Who Serve As Kinship Care Providers Within Black Families Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Sociology Dissertations Department of Sociology 8-2-2006 Salvaging Children's Lives: Understanding the Experiences of Black Aunts Who Serve as Kinship Care Providers within Black Families Regina Louise Davis-Sowers Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/sociology_diss Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Davis-Sowers, Regina Louise, "Salvaging Children's Lives: Understanding the Experiences of Black Aunts Who Serve as Kinship Care Providers within Black Families." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2006. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/sociology_diss/29 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Sociology at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sociology Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Salvaging Children’s Lives: Understanding the Experiences of Black Aunts Who Serve as Kinship Care Providers within Black Families by REGINA LOUISE DAVIS-SOWERS Under the Direction of Ralph E. LaRossa ABSTRACT Previous research on grandparents as kinship care providers demonstrated that grandparents are confronted with both challenges and rewards. Using qualitative research methods, I examined the lives of 35 black aunts who served as kinship care providers for nieces and nephews. I found that grandparents and aunts experienced increased time demands, financial burdens, and family stress. However, this study demonstrated that aunts’ experiences differ from grandparents’, due to the younger age of aunts and the fact that aunts are of the same generation as the biological parents. Moreover, I found that aunting, or the care and nurture of children by aunts and great-aunts, is gendered and invisible work that, at the most basic level, salvages children’s lives. Salvaging children’s lives involved three non-linear stages: making the decision to become a kinship care provider, transitioning from aunting to parenting, and parenting nieces and nephews. I utilized a synthesis of symbolic interactionism and black feminist thought as a theoretical framework that examines how the meanings that black women attach to family influence their definitions of self and affect their decisions to act on behalf of family members. These findings extend the research on black women’s lives and on kinship care within black families. I used a narrative style that allows the respondents’ voices to be heard, as these are their stories. I offer suggestions for future research, as well as outline a number of policy and theoretical implications. This research is important because black children are disproportionately represented within the child welfare system. If interventions and policies are to influence other black women or black men to accept responsibility for many of the most at-risk children in their families and neighborhoods, research must explore and report the challenges, sacrifices, costs, and rewards of becoming kinship care providers within black families. INDEX WORDS: Black aunts, Kinship care provider, Kinwork, Black families, Black women, Salvaging children’s lives SALVAGING CHILDREN’S LIVES: UNDERSTANDING THE EXPERIENCES OF BLACK AUNTS WHO SERVE AS KINSHIP CARE PROVIDERS WITHIN BLACK FAMILIES by REGINA LOUISE DAVIS-SOWERS A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2006 Copyright by Regina Louise Davis-Sowers 2006 SALVAGING CHILDREN’S LIVES: UNDERSTANDING THE EXPERIENCES OF BLACK AUNTS WHO SERVE AS KINSHIP CARE PROVIDERS WITHIN BLACK FAMILIES by REGINA LOUISE DAVIS-SOWERS Major Professor: Ralph LaRossa Committee: Elisabeth O. Burgess Charles A. Gallagher Romney S. Norwood Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of arts and Sciences Georgia State University August 2006 iv ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS I would like to express my sincere appreciation first to God, for his mercy and grace that kept me throughout the completion of this study. Next, I would like to thank Dr. Ralph E. LaRossa, the chairperson of my dissertation committee, for his patience, encouragement, and guidance. Dr. LaRossa truly went over and beyond the call of duty, by sacrificing of his time so that I could complete this study on time. I would also like to acknowledge the other members of my committee, Dr. Elisabeth Burgess, Dr. Charles Gallagher, and Dr, Romney Norwood, who each gave of their time and talents to the ensure the success of the research. In addition, I am indebted to the wonderful and courageous women who shared their stories with me and made this research project possible. I also extend my gratitude to my parents-in-law, Dr. Malcolm Sowers and Mrs. Helen Sowers, for their encouragement and support during a very difficult time. Their support made it possible for me to pursue my research goals. Finally, I want to offer my gratitude to my husband, Douglas M. Sowers, for his love, patience, and sacrifices. I truly could not have completed the study without his assistance and support. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv LIST OF TABLES v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of the Problem 1 Significance of the Study 2 Personal Experience as Kinship Care Provider 5 Principal Research Questions 7 Summary 8 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 11 Past and Present Research and Theories on Black Families 12 Black Extended Families and Their Role in Informal and Formal 23 Adoption Black Children within the Social Welfare System 28 Black Grandparents Serving as Kinship Care Providers 30 3 RESEARCH DESIGN 35 Guiding Theoretical Framework 35 Research Aims 40 Sampling 42 Data Collection 45 Sample Characteristics 46 Data Analysis 48 Limitations of the Study 55 vi 4 THE CHOICE TO BECOME A KINSHIP CARE PROVIDER 59 Perception of a Crisis 66 Family Consciousness 71 A Black Helping Tradition 78 The Importance of Faith 85 Personal Identities 91 The Role of Aunt 97 5 CHALLENGES TO THE TRANSITION FROM AUNTING TO 101 PARENTING Role Ambiguity 104 Alterations to Everyday Lives 112 Family Stress 132 Changed Lives 136 6 PARENTING NIECES AND NEPHEWS 141 Parenting Trials 144 Parenting Strategies 154 Sacrifices and Rewards of Parenting Nieces and Nephews 169 7 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 178 Research Findings 180 Future Research 199 Theoretical Implications 201 Policy Implications 206 vii REFERENCES 212 APPENDICES A INTERVIEW GUIDE 238 B SAMPLE OF FLYER 245 C INFORMED CONSENT FORM 247 D DEMOGRAPHICS OF SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS 251 E REASONS AUNTS BECAME KINSHIP CARE PROVIDERS 253 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Demographics of the Characteristics of the 252 Respondents Table 2. Reasons Aunts Became Kinship Care Providers 254 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Recent research has documented the increasing numbers of black children living in the homes of kinship care providers (Altshuler 1999; Cuddeback 2004; Dressel and Barnhill 1994; Gibson 2002a; Karp 1996; Schwartz 2002). This situation is still particularly prevalent among blacks in urban areas. HIV/AIDS, addiction to crack cocaine, and the increasing rates of incarceration of black men and black women have taken a toll on inner-city families, rendering kinship care a crucial aspect of black families (Altshuler 1999; Dressel, Porterfield, and Barnhill 1998; Gibson 2002a; Hegar and Scannapieco 1995; Iglehart 2004). Gibson (2002a: 341) defines kinship care as caring of children by non-parent relatives when parents are absent, unwilling, or unable to effectively parent them. Additionally, Hegar and Scannapieco (1995) stated, “Kinship care may be defined as the full-time nurturing and protection of children who must be separated from their parents by relatives, members of their tribes or clans, godparents, stepparents, or other adults who have a kinship bond with a child” (p. 200). Dressel and Clark (1990) noted that when family care is measured in terms of who does it, the large majority of kinship care providers are women, and that women turn out to be better at it and to devote more time to it. Research has shown that black women, including grandmothers, great-grandmothers, aunts, great-aunts, sisters, and female friends, are involved in an often complex configuration of female-kin networks that are 2 responsible for child care in black families (Bunting 2001; Hunter and Ensminger 1992; Johnson-Garner and Meyers 2003; Scott and Black 1991; Stack 1974). Scott and Black (1991) asserted that black single mothers depend on female-centered networks to provide essential services such as food, shelter, transportation, money, clothing, and child care at “one time or another” (p. 203). Furthermore, in their study of the factors that contribute to the resilience of black children in kinship care, Johnson-Garner and Meyers (2003) found 19 grandmothers, seven aunts, three great-aunts, and one uncle serving as surrogate parents in 30 families. Nevertheless, the majority of the studies on kinship care providers have examined grandparents, particularly grandmothers. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The roles of grandparents, especially grandmothers, as kinship care providers have been well documented over the last decade (Burnette 1997; Burton and Devries 1992; Dressel and Barnhill 1994; Karp 1996; Minkler and Roe 1996). Consistently, studies demonstrated that there are both rewards and challenges of serving as kinship care providers for grandchildren
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 2020 Question Book
    2020 QUESTION BOOK 13TH EDITION WHO WE ARE Welcome to the thirteenth edition of the Ninja’s Guide to PRITE! Loma Linda University Medical Center is located in sunny Southern California. about 60 miles east of Los Angeles. A part of the Adventist Health System, we provide patient care in one of the largest non-profit health systems in the nation. Loma Linda's mission is to excel in medical education, global healthcare, and community outreach, all under a central tenant: "To Make Man Whole." At the Loma Linda Department of Psychiatry, our residents are trained in many diverse patient care settings. As an official World Health Organization Collaboration Center, our department funds resident electives in Global Mental Health at locations around the world. Additionally, our residents can participate in national and international disaster relief on the LLU Behavioral Health Trauma Team. We were proud to welcome our first group of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellows in the Summer of 2019 and work collaboratively with 3 other residency programs within the region. Our residency didactic education is constantly evolving based upon resident feedback, and our residents have the opportunity to aid in course development. More than anything, our residency fosters an environment where residents and faculty treat each other like family. Our faculty are dedicated to resident education and professional development. We believe in "taking 'No' off the table", encouraging innovative change, and passionately supporting our residents to achieve anything they set their minds to. For over a decade our residents have volunteered their time to create The Ninja's Guide to PRITE at our Annual Ninja PRITE Workshop.
    [Show full text]
  • Grandmothers Matter
    Grandmothers Matter: Some surprisingly controversial theories of human longevity Introduction Moses Carr >> Sound of rolling tongue Wanda Carey >> laughs Mariel: Welcome to Distillations, I’m Mariel Carr. Rigo: And I’m Rigo Hernandez. Mariel: And we’re your producers! We’re usually on the other side of the microphones. Rigo: But this episode got personal for us. Wanda >> Baby, baby, baby… Mariel: That’s my mother-in-law Wanda and my one-year-old son Moses. Wanda moved to Philadelphia from North Carolina for ten months this past year so she could take care of Moses while my husband and I were at work. Rigo: And my mom has been taking care of my niece and nephew in San Diego for 14 years. She lives with my sister and her kids. Mariel: We’ve heard of a lot of arrangements like the ones our families have: grandma retires and takes care of the grandkids. Rigo: And it turns out that across cultures and throughout the world scenes like these are taking place. Mariel: And it’s not a recent phenomenon either. It goes back a really long time. In fact, grandmothers might be the key to human evolution! Rigo: Meaning they’re the ones that gave us our long lifespans, and made us the unique creatures that we are. Wanda >> I’m gonna get you! That’s right! Mariel: A one-year-old human is basically helpless. We’re special like that. Moses can’t feed or dress himself and he’s only just starting to walk. Gravity has just become a thing for him.
    [Show full text]
  • Patterns of Traumatic Injury in Historic African and African American Populations
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 8-2005 Patterns of Traumatic Injury in Historic African and African American Populations Christina Nicole Brooks University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Brooks, Christina Nicole, "Patterns of Traumatic Injury in Historic African and African American Populations. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2005. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/1801 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Christina Nicole Brooks entitled "Patterns of Traumatic Injury in Historic African and African American Populations." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Anthropology. Murray K Marks, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Andrew Kramer, George White Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Christina Nicole Benton Brooks entitled “Patterns of Traumatic Injury in Historic African and African American Populations.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Anthropology.
    [Show full text]
  • The Road from Estrangement to Reconciliation
    The Road From Estrangement to Reconciliation The Road from Estrangement to Reconciliation 15 Week Program Participant Name: ___________________________________ Date: _____________________________________________ Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Gatehouse_The Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGatehouseChildAbuseInvestigationSupportSite YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GatehouseThe?feature= Instagram: @thegatehousetoronto 1 The Road From Estrangement to Reconciliation Contents WEEK ONE – The Road From Estrangement to Reconciliation ............................................................................. 4 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................. 5 4 Possible Outcomes .............................................................................................................................................. 5 The Pain of Estrangement ..................................................................................................................................... 6 The Roots of Estrangement................................................................................................................................... 6 Embracing Paradox ................................................................................................................................................. 7 WEEK TWO: Building a Self: The Importance of Autonomy ................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Intergenerational Estrangement Between Older Parents And
    Every family: Intergenerational estrangement between older parents and their adult-children Kylie Beth Agllias BSW (Hons), UoN, AUST. A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Social Work) University of Newcastle School of Humanities and Social Science May 2011 Declaration This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. I give consent to this copy of my thesis, when deposited in the University Library, being made available for loan and photocopying subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Signed:............................................................. Date:.................................................. i Acknowledgements A mind that is stretched to a new idea never returns to its original dimension (Oliver W. Holmes) Some suggest the proof of a good thesis is when the examiner knows the student learnt something. However, the main lessons are the ones witnessed by supervisors, family, and friends, the lessons most often excluded from the text. I would like to thank the following people who witnessed and supported my doctoral journey and the associated life lessons: To my doctoral supervisors, mentors and colleagues, Professor Mel Gray and Doctor Jill Gibbons, I cannot thank you enough for your encouragement, guidance, and faith. You ‘saw me’ well before I knew myself. To my wonderfully generous, loving, amusing, and busy family, James, Kara, Paige, and Tyson, I love you. You are my world.
    [Show full text]
  • Typology of Signed Languages: Differentiation Through Kinship Terminology Erin Wilkinson
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of New Mexico University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Linguistics ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 7-1-2009 Typology of Signed Languages: Differentiation through Kinship Terminology Erin Wilkinson Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/ling_etds Recommended Citation Wilkinson, Erin. "Typology of Signed Languages: Differentiation through Kinship Terminology." (2009). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/ling_etds/40 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Linguistics ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TYPOLOGY OF SIGNED LANGUAGES: DIFFERENTIATION THROUGH KINSHIP TERMINOLOGY BY ERIN LAINE WILKINSON B.A., Language Studies, Wellesley College, 1999 M.A., Linguistics, Gallaudet University, 2001 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Linguistics The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico August, 2009 ©2009, Erin Laine Wilkinson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED iii DEDICATION To my mother iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many thanks to Barbara Pennacchi for kick starting me on my dissertation by giving me a room at her house, cooking me dinner, and making Italian coffee in Rome during November 2007. Your endless support, patience, and thoughtful discussions are gratefully taken into my heart, and I truly appreciate what you have done for me. I heartily acknowledge Dr. William Croft, my advisor, for continuing to encourage me through the long number of months writing and rewriting these chapters.
    [Show full text]
  • Gender, Language, and Wills Karen J
    Marquette Law Review Volume 98 Article 3 Issue 4 Summer 2015 Not Your Mother's Will: Gender, Language, and Wills Karen J. Sneddon Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/mulr Part of the Estates and Trusts Commons, and the Law and Gender Commons Repository Citation Karen J. Sneddon, Not Your Mother's Will: Gender, Language, and Wills, 98 Marq. L. Rev. 1535 (2015). Available at: http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/mulr/vol98/iss4/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Marquette Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Marquette Law Review by an authorized administrator of Marquette Law Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MARQUETTE LAW REVIEW Volume 98 Summer 2015 Number 4 NOT YOUR MOTHER’S WILL: GENDER, LANGUAGE, AND WILLS KAREN J. SNEDDON* “Boys will be boys, but girls must be young ladies” is an echoing patriarchal refrain from the past. Formal equality has not produced equality in all areas, as demonstrated by the continuing wage gap. Gender bias lingers and can be identified in language. This Article focuses on Wills, one of the oldest forms of legal documents, to explore the intersection of gender and language. With conceptual antecedents in pre-history, written Wills found in Ancient Egyptian tombs embody the core characteristics of modern Wills. The past endows the drafting and implementation of Wills with a wealth of traditions and experiences. The past, however, also entombs patriarchal notions inappropriate in Wills of today. This Article explores the language of the Will to parse the historical choices that remain relevant choices for today and the vestiges of a patriarchal past that should be avoided.
    [Show full text]
  • Adult Child-Parent Relationships: Predicting Physical and Emotional Estrangement
    Adult Child-Parent Relationships: Predicting Physical and Emotional Estrangement Brianne Pragg Penn State University Abstract It is often assumed that the relationship between parents and children are involun- tary and stable throughout the life course. However, a growing literature on the estrangement of adult children from their parents finds that this is not always the case. The current study uses Waves I – IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to examine the predictors of different dimensions of adult child-parent estrange- ment. Physical and emotional estrangement are rarely considered separately in quantitative studies, but this study will explore these dimensions of estrangement separately and con- sider whether the predictors vary between types of estrangement and by gender of both the children and the parents. Acknowledgements This research was supported by funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to the Population Research Institute at The Pennsylvania State University for Population Research Infrastructure (R24HD041025) and Family Demography Training (T-32HD007514). 1 It is often assumed that parents and their children have unconditionally supportive relationships throughout the life course. However, studies on intergenerational relationships have found that the relationships between parents and their adult children are not always positive (Blake 2017). A growing literature on parent-child estrangement has found that some relationships between adult parents and their children are physically and/or emotion- ally distant, and others are dissolved entirely (Blake 2017). Depending on the measure or typology of estrangement used, studies estimate that between four and 27 percent of adult children report having strained relationships or no contact with their parents, making it a fairly common occurance over the life course (Agllias 2017; Gilligan et al.
    [Show full text]
  • The Dobe Ju/'Hoansi
    Lee Case Studies Janice E. Stockard and From the Field to the Classroom Dobe Ju/’hoansi The in Cultural Anthropology George Spindler, Series Editors Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology Series Editors: Janice E. Stockard and George Spindler The Dobe Ju/’hoansi Fourth Edition Geographically and topically diverse, the Case The Dobe Ju/’hoansi, 4th Edition, Studies in Cultural Anthropology series has Richard B. Lee Richard B. Lee enriched the study of cultural anthropology ISBN-13: 978-1-111-82877-6 and the social sciences for countless Shadowed Lives: Undocumented Immigrants in undergraduate and graduate students. More American Society than 200 ethnographies have been published , 3rd Edition, Leo R. Chavez through the years, many of which have ISBN-13: 978-1-133-58845-0 become classics in the field. And as the world continues to evolve into a global community, CourseReader for Cultural Anthropology the more recent studies in the series provide CourseReader: Cultural Anthropology allows not only readable, informative ethnographic you to create a fully customized online treatments of the world’s cultures but also reader in minutes. Access a rich collection discussions of their interactions and the of thousands of primary and secondary consequent changes that ensue. sources, readings, and audio and video selections from multiple disciplines. You A partial listing of series titles follows. For have the freedom to assign and customize more information on the series and to access individualized content at an affordable price. a wide range of anthropology resources, CourseReader: Cultural Anthropology is the visit us on the web at www.cengage.com/ perfect complement to any class.
    [Show full text]
  • Sibling Estrangements Experienced by Children in Out-Of-Home Care and Moving Towards Permanence
    Relative strangers: Sibling estrangements experienced by children in out-of-home care and moving towards permanence Key terms: sibling placements, out-of-home care, sibling contact, family estrangement, permanence, sibling reunions Abstract Loss of sibling relationships is a common experience across international jurisdictions for children entering public care. This is the case despite statutory guidance that emphasizes the need to place siblings together when in their best interests, and increasingly robust evidence of the protective nature of sibling relationships when children face adversity. Research on the experiences and outcomes of siblings in care has thus far focused predominantly on placement and contact patterns, particularly of siblings in care concurrently. This study extends this research by comprehensively mapping sibling networks both within and outside the care system and measuring sibling estrangement (living apart and lack of contact) over time. Drawing on administrative and case file data within the Children’s Hearings System in Scotland, the circumstances of 204 children and young people from 50 sibling networks were examined longitudinally. The study found very high rates of sibling estrangement with seven in 10 relationships between a child in out-of-home care and a sibling classified as estranged and half of all siblings classified as strangers (siblings having never lived together and no record of any communication or meetings between the child and sibling). Moreover, sibling estrangement increased significantly as children moved through the care system. We argue that continued effort is needed to improve the accuracy with which aspects of sibling relationships of children in care are recorded and measured in order to assess the longer-term impact of state interventions on children’s lives and the capacity of child welfare agencies to meet policy goals.
    [Show full text]
  • DJ's Own Version
    ABSTRACT 'Family' is a contested concept within the social sciences. Social investigations in this area are beset with methodological problems. However, the Mass-Observation Archive and a number of life history interviews are used to provide evidence of people's own ideas about kinship - its scope and composition. The use of autobiographical writing poses problems of its own. The material used in this chapter raises questions about the relationship between the researcher and the researched, about the multiple realities involved, and about the use of language. The chapter falls into several parts. In the first I consider the conceptual and methodological problems associated with the study of kinship. The second consists of conceptualisations of kinship in the responses to a Mass-Observation directive on the subject. There follows a discussion of models of kinship. One of them, particularly popular among writers and interviewees, is linked to a popular pastime: working on one's 'family tree'. The final part explores the motives of these amateur genealogists. The chapter ends with some conclusions about the nature of qualitative research and the value of Mass-Observation and life history material. 1 The Family in Time and Space: Personal Conceptions of Kinship Introduction 'Family' has different associations for different people. Attempts to theorise about family life by social scientists have involved searching for uniformities; the variations in personal experience have been minimised. Every social actor has a notion of what 'family' is all about, and although it may not be articulated or even consciously held, it guides experience, provides a basis for decisions and choices and impinges on broad areas of social life.
    [Show full text]
  • Language and Culture. Work Papers of SIL-AAB, Series B, Volume 8. INSTITUTION Summer Inst
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 282 426 FL 016 724 AUTHOR Hargrave, Susanne, Ed. TITLE Language and Culture. Work Papers of SIL-AAB, Series B, Volume 8. INSTITUTION Summer Inst. of Linguistics, Darwin (Australia). Australian Aborigines Branch. REPORT NO ISBN-0-86892-252-8 PUB DATE Dec 82 NOTE 242p. PUB TYPE Collected Works - General (020)-- Reports - Research/Technical (143) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC10 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Children; Color; Comparative Analysis; Concept Formation; Creoles; *Cultural Context; Cultural Traits; Ethnic Groups; Females; Foreign Countries; *Indigenous Populations; *Kinship; Language Research; Lexicology; Linguistic Theory; Literacy; *Mathematical Concepts; Social Values; Sociocultural Patterns; Structural Analysis (Linguistics); Uncommonly Taught Languages; *Vocabulary IDENTIFIERS *Aboriginal People; Anindilyakwa; *Australia;Yanyuwa Possessives ABSTRACT Six Papers on the relationship of language and culture in the Australian Aboriginal contextare presented. "Some Thoughts on Yanyuwa Language and Culture" byJean Kirton gives an overview of some language-culture relationships and examinesseven kinds of possession in one language. "Nyangumarta Kinship:A Woman's Viewpoint" by Helen Geytenbeck outlines kinship and itsterminology as learned by a field linguist for her work with thisgroup. In "A Description of the Mathematical Concepts of Groote Hylandt Aborigines," Judith Stokes describesan Anindilyakwa mathematical language in its cultural context, refuting popular-generalizations about the limited counting ability of the Aboriginal people."Facts and Fallacies of Aboriginal Number Systems" by John Harriscriticizes anthropologists' and linguists' neglect of and bias concerning existing data about the mathematics of Aboriginalgroups. In "Aboriginal Mathematical Concepts: A Cultural and Linguistic Explanation for Some of the Problems," BarbaraSayers suggests that the mathematical problems of some Aboriginal schoolchildrenare real, but have a cultural rather than linguistic basis.
    [Show full text]