Sociological Approaches: Beware the Boxes

The Family: Marxist and Feminist Theories

In this course, Professor Michèle Barrett (Queen Mary University of London) explores Marxist and Feminist approaches to the family. In the first lecture, we caution against seeing different sociological approaches, particularly Functionalism, Marxism, and Feminism, as entirely separate “boxes”. In the second lecture, we outline the Marxist approach to the family, expressed most notably by Friedrich Engels. In the third lecture, we turn to the ideas of four key Feminist theorists – Shulamith Firestone, Kate Millett, Christine Delphy, and Ann Oakley. Next, we look at attempts to unify Marxist and Feminist analysis, particularly those of Eli Zaretsky and Margaret Benston. In the fifth and final lecture, we examine historical variations in how families have been organised and defined, asking whether it is useful to refer to “the family” as a universal concept.

Sociological Approaches: Beware the Boxes

In this lecture, we think about three key sociological approaches – Functionalism, Marxism, and Feminism – and the issues with seeing these as clearly defined, separate “boxes”, focusing in particular on: (i) how, while Functionalism and Marxism are often presented as entirely distinct traditions, Marxism is highly functionalist in its approach to the family; (ii) how many important Feminist authors such as Shulamith Firestone and Christine Delphy borrow many ideas from Marxist thought, meaning these two approaches cannot easily be separated; (iii) considering Talcott Parsons’ functional fit model of the family.