article

Change, barriers to change, and contradictions in the Arab village family

American anthropologist70 (4) • Published In 1968 • Pages: 732-752

By: Rosenfeld, Henry.

Abstract
While changes in the Arab village in Israel have been extensive over the last few decades, they have not been sufficiently radical to transform family structure completely. This article considers processes or structural change and of changes in interpersonal relations within the Arab family and tries to explain the meaning of such changes when the structure nevertheless maintains a semblance of formal continuity. Formalist and equilibrium interpretations are inadequate since the only changes they consider are those of form. A historical and dialectical approach, however, takes into consideration, among other things, the direction of the processes of structural change; the accumulated effects of change; contradiction between the existing economic, political, and cultural forces that have created the structure over time and the forces present but not brought to bear on the structure or manipulated so as to contain it; and the awareness people have of the forces involved (p. 732).
Subjects
Sociocultural trends
Real property
Labor supply and employment
Accumulation of wealth
Gender status
Regulation of marriage
Family relationships
Extended families
Avuncular and nepotic relatives
Parents-in-law and children-in-law
Siblings-in-law
Lineages
culture
Palestinians
HRAF PubDate
2005
Region
Middle East
Sub Region
Middle East
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
John Beierle ; 2004
Field Date
ca.1950-1967
Coverage Date
1950-1967
Coverage Place
Lower Galilee region, Israel
Notes
Henry Rosenfeld
Includes bibliographical references (p. 751-752)
LCCN
17015424
LCSH
Palestinian Arabs