Married to the Job examines an important but under-researched area: the relationships of wives to their husbands’ work. Janet Finch looks both at the way women’s lives are directly affected by the work their husbands do and how they can get drawn into it. These she sees as the two sides of wives’ ‘incorporation’. Dr Finch discusses a wide range of occupations, from obvious stereotypes – services, diplomatic, clergy and political wives – to more subtle but equally valid shades of involvement – the wives of policemen, merchant seamen, prison officers, the owners of small businesses and academics. She stresses that this process is by no means confined to the wives of professional men; she argues that the nature of the work done and the way it is organised are more important pointers to the ways in which wives will be incorporated. For specific illustrations, Dr Finch draws substantially on her own original research on wives of the clergy. Married to the Job clearly shows that marriage itself (not just child-bearing) is an important feature of women’s subordination. Dr Finch points to the links between husband’s work, the family and its relationship to economic structures, and suggests that wives are tied into those structures as much as anything through their vicarious involvement in their husband’s work. She views any prospects for change with caution. The organisation of social and economic life makes it difficult for wives to break free from this incorporation even should they wish to; it makes economic good sense for them to continue in most cases; social life is organised so as to make compliance easy; and it provides a comprehensible way of being a wife. As an empirically-based survey of women’s subordination within marriage, Married to the Job will prove essential reading to all those concerned about the position of women, whether feminists, academics or general readers. It will also provide important background material for undergraduate courses on women’s studies, the sociology of the family, the sociology of work and family policy.

Married to the job: Wives' incorporation in men's work

Politics & Social Sciences

Finch, Janet

Social Sciences

G. Allen & Unwin

The issue of how assets are distributed after death is of increasing significance for larger numbers of people. In this original and path-breaking study, the authors examine the principle means through which people plan to dispose of their assets after death: by the use of wills. By offering an empirical study of 800 English wills, the book identifies significant patterns of bequeathing among a cross-section of the population, and not just among those sections of society whno enjoy substantial wealth. This leads us to focus upon what wills tell us about the family and kin relationships, and upon how people transmit their assets across generations: to their families and to institutions and organizations.

Wills, Inheritance, and the Family (Oxford Socio-Legal Studies)

Business & Money

Mason, Jennifer

Hayes, Lynn

Masson, Judith

Wallis, Lorraine

Economics

Clarendon Press

For some time access to publicly provided services has been shrinking and governments have been emphasizing the family as the first line of support, but how far do such policies accord with what people will provide for their relatives, and with contemporary ideas about what it is proper to expect from family members? This book examines patterns of support, both practical and financial, between adult members of family and kin groups, and focuses upon ideas about responsibility, duty and obligation within families and how far these underpin the support actually given. This text provides an insight into contemporary family life, particularly kin relationships outside the nuclear family. While many people believe that the real meaning of "family" has shrunk to the nuclear family household, there is considerable evidence to suggest that relationships with the wider kin group remain an important part of most people's lives. Based on the findings of a major study of kinship, and including lively verbatim accounts of conversations with family members, concepts of responsibility and obligation within family life are examined.

Negotiating Family Responsibilities

Routledge

Based on findings of a major study of kinship, and including lively verbatim accounts of conversations with family members, provides a new insight into contemporary family life and kin relationships outside the nuclear family.

Finch, Professor Janet V

A discussion of the nature of family life, especially the concepts of duty, responsibility and obligation. The author looks at political and popular debates in this area bringing together material from many disciplines within the social sciences. She looks at the historical perspective, uses empirical evidence about contemporary families and highlights the gaps in research on these topics. The whole discussion is set in the context of current economic and social changes - including social policy and welfare provisions - which create external pressures upon family life. The author argues that these affect both the need for support and the capacity of family members to provide it.

Family Obligations and Social Change (Family Life Series)

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Psychology & Counseling

Polity Pr

Polity

Negotiating Family Responsibilities provides a major new insight into contemporary family life, particularly kin relationships outside the nuclear family. While many people believe that the real meaning of 'family' has shrunk to the nuclear family household, there is considerable evidence to suggest that relationships with the wider kin group remain an important part of most people's lives. Based on the findings of a major study of kinship, and including lively verbatim accounts of conversations with family members concepts of responsibility and obligation within family life are examined and the authors expand theories on the nature of assistance within families and argue that it is negotiated over time rather than given automatically.

Passing On: Kinship and Inheritance in England

Inheritance, once the preserve of the propertied upper classes, has become a much more common experience. Many more people now than in the past have something of material value to bequeath when they die, mainly because of the spread of home ownership during the second half of the twentieth century. Passing On examines what these changes can tell us about kinship in England, through a study of how contemporary families handle inheritance. Based on the findings of a major research project into inheritance and kinship, Passing On examines how it is transmitted, 'who gets what' and the meaning this has for individuals and families. The authors argue that we should understand English kinship as a set of relational practices which are flexible and variable, rather than as a rigid structure or system. Inheritance is characterised more by symbolic practices and moral reasoning than by materialism. Of interest to lecturers and students of sociology, anthropology, social policy, law and gender studies, Passing On is also of considerable interest to those seeking to understand changing forms of kinship and ownership, especially researchers, policy makers and legal practitioners.

This major study examines the increasing significance of inheritance for life in ordinary families.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Finch, Janet. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Finch, Janet

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Finch, Janet. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Married to the job: Wives' incorporation in men's work

Wills, Inheritance, and the Family (Oxford Socio-Legal Studies)

Negotiating Family Responsibilities

Negotiating Family Responsibilities

Family Obligations and Social Change (Family Life Series)

Family Obligations and Social Change (Family Life Series)

Negotiating Family Responsibilities

Negotiating Family Responsibilities

Passing On: Kinship and Inheritance in England

Passing On: Kinship and Inheritance in England