Course for international guest/part time students

Faculty

Faculty of Social Sciences

Organization

TÁTK Department of the History of Sociology

Code

ESZOCBA04

Title

Family and Society

Usual semester

Autumn

Published semester

2026/27/1

ECTS

4

Language

en

Learning outcomes

This course focuses on the history of the population, the driving forces of this history and the social consequences of the massive population growth. Within the entire population we will consider the changing role and structure of family within society. Families are universally important social institutions, past and present. Although the majority of families around the world have certain things in common - relating people biologically and socially, organizing care and residence, the specifics of how the settings are accomplished may vary substantially across time and space. In the first part of the course, students are introduced into the basic concepts of demography, then we consider the history of families from the 19th century until today. We also discuss sociological theories and methods used to study and understand families, including sociological and economic theories of population. We will pay special attention to measurement issues, indicating the limits of our knowledge and demonstrating the nature of uncertainties of contemporary science. In the second part of the course we will focus on the main sociological approaches in the study of families, and the most significant social problems related to this institution: inequalities, social roles, marriage, sexuality, child bearing, family diversity, and work.

Course content

COURSE SCHEDULE 9th September People as population. Sources and nature of demographic data. Censuses. Readings: John R. Weeks – Population, pp. 2-6. and 108-135; Tim Dyson: Population and Development – the Demographic Transition, Zed Books, 2010. pp. 8-49. 16th September Sources of fertility, mortality and migration data. The limits of knowledge Reading: Jasilioniene, A., Sobotka, T., Jdanov, D. A., Zeman, K., Kostova, D., Andreev, E. M., ... & Shkolnikov, V. M. (2016). Data resource profile: the human fertility database. International Journal of Epidemiology, 45(4), 1077-1078e. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyw135 23th September Demographic perspectives and the emergence of the demographic transition theories Readings: John R. Weeks – Population. An Introduction to Concepts and Issues. 10th ed., 2008, pp. 74-83.; 448-452; 472-482. 30th September Health and mortality transition Reading: Vallin, J., & Meslé, F. (2004). Convergences and divergences in mortality: a new approach of health transition. Demographic research, 2, 11-44.https://www.demographic-research.org/special/2/2/S2-2.pdf 7th October Fertility transition and population politics Reading: John R. Weeks – Population. An Introduction to Concepts and Issues. 10th ed., 2008, pp. 86-98, 487-514. 14th October Migration trends and population policies Reading: John R. Weeks – Population. An Introduction to Concepts and Issues. 10th ed., 2008, pp. 262-305 21st October Variation in population politics, global population policy Reading: Robinson, W. C., & Ross, J. A. (Eds.). (2007). The global family planning revolution: three decades of population policies and programs. World Bank Publications.pp1-12. https://books.google.hu/books?hl=en&lr=&id=c67CZT-ZGVEC&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=global+population+policy&ots=6k7jA4eI5A&sig=G1hBU28PR7UnEthSydSiaMCEBzY&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=global%20population%20policy&f=false 4th November Families in societies: sociological and anthropological perspectives Reading: Giddens Sociology, pages 331-338, 369-370 (Chapters: Basic concepts, The family in historical context, Theoretical perspectives on families and relationships) 11th November Families in the social hierarchies: status and mobility Reading: Torche, F. (2015). Intergenerational mobility and equality of opportunity. European Journal of Sociology/Archives Européennes de Sociologie, 56(3), 343-371. https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/836A1D7549E375C78FE9893CA9943341/S0003975615000181a.pdf/intergenerational-mobility-and-equality-of-opportunity.pdf 18th November Families and the economic production: paid and unpaid work, unemployment and poverty Reading: Giddens Sociology, pages 891-930 (Chapters: Transforming the social organization of work; The changing nature of work and working; Job insecurity, unemployment and the social significance of work) 25th November Families and intimate relationships: love and reproduction Family formation (marriage, divorce, remarriage) – traditional and new formations Reading: Giddens: Sociology, pages 338-349, 371-377 (Chapters: Families and intimate relationships; Theorizing the transformation of love and intimacy) and Giddens Sociology pages 350-363 (Chapters: Divorce and separation, New partnership, step-families and kin relations) 2nd December Wolves and rabbits: the marriage of biological and social modelling. Population and sustainability Reasding: Motesharrei, S., Rivas, J., & Kalnay, E. (2014). Human and nature dynamics (HANDY): Modeling inequality and use of resources in the collapse or sustainability of societies. Ecological economics, 101, 90-102. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800914000615 9th December Tutorial Class – consultation based on students’ queries

Assessment method

Attending the course is not mandatory but recommended because the lecture material, beyond the mandatory readings, makes part of the evaluation. The course ends with a written exam, composed of a few essay questions.

Bibliography

Anthony Giddens: Sociology (6th Edition), Polity Press, 2009 (mandatory chapters indicated below. Page numbering refers to this edition) John R. Weeks – Population. An Introduction to Concepts and Issues. 10th ed., 2008 (chapters indicated below) Several articles listed in the course schedule

Programmes of the course