Family Today: Recent Evolutions

What is a family? At first glance, this question might appear simple and the answers may equally appear evident. But if we go further it becomes obvious that defining what a family is in contemporary societies is not a simple task. Families have become diversified and relationships within the couple and between parents and children have changed profoundly. The number of marriages is fast declining, divorce has become banal, and increasing numbers of children are born outside of wedlock. These are some of the most obvious signs of how the family as an institution in society has weakened. Nowadays, the family is both more individualized and more frequently based on personal affinities than on legal ties. It is more often considered as an affective group, as a place to share intimacy and mutual recognition together as autonomous individuals. “Free together” is how one well-known French sociologist defined it when summarizing how the family functions and what efforts need to be made in the concrete reality of family life today. What does it mean to be free? What does it mean to be together? The course will begin with a reflection on these two questions and will provide an opportunity to explore all aspects of family life in contemporary French society. Ambivalence, conflict and paradox will also be examined as part of a new framework of familial and conjugal relationships.

This course will explore the various changes within the family over the last few decades in France and beyond. Using a diversity of documents and approaches – social sciences, psychology, literature, movies and documentaries – it will provide an opportunity to students to fine tune their answers to the question, “What is a family?”.