Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T18:38:53.841Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4 - From Elizabeth Bott, “Urban Families: Conjugal Roles and Social Networks”

from II - Early Foundations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2021

Mario L. Small
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
Brea L. Perry
Affiliation:
Indiana University, Bloomington
Bernice Pescosolido
Affiliation:
Indiana University, Bloomington
Edward B. Smith
Affiliation:
Northwestern University, Illinois
Get access

Summary

The work by Elizabeth Bott is still mentioned as a "hypothesis" even though it has inspired many researchers over generations, pointing out that the subject is not closed. She raised a new fundamental question about the link between network structure and the forms of conjugality, which remains relevant in a world that has evolved in the social, cultural, and scientific domains. Networks are considered not only an object of research, rather they shed light on other objects (way of life, culture, behaviors, etc.). Today, Bott’s questioning may undergo some shifts as some social realities have changed and the lenses for observing these realities have also progressed. Advances in network analysis and in cultural and gender studies, as well as the more recent emphasis on relational dynamics, all contribute to further explore her question and give new insights on her hypothesis. The greater accuracy of the categories of both network structures (specifying the position of the partner) and conjugal roles (dividing them between norms and practices, then decisions and tasks) allows a more detailed description of their ways of combination. The dynamic dimension makes it possible to differentiate between contrasting processes of building a couple and integrating the partner into people's relational universes.

Type
Chapter
Information
Personal Networks
Classic Readings and New Directions in Egocentric Analysis
, pp. 112 - 117
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×