The reading this week refers to the family as the cornerstone of American society.  What are the biggest changes in how we define “family” over the last 50 years?  According to research, what are people’s general thoughts on family and nontraditional family structures in the United States today? What are the social factors that have influenced this perception of “family?” What can the government and citizens do to strengthen families and marriages in American society? Provide examples to support your answer. Now, critique your answer from the point of view of a functionalist or a conflict theorist.

Meet the following course objectives:

-Apply a sociological perspective to the social world

-Analyze contemporary social issues using the sociological imagination and use sociological theories and concepts to analyze everyday life.

-Describe the family, education, and religion from a sociological perspective.

This post must demonstrate comprehension of the course materials, the ability to apply that knowledge in the real world.  Learners will engage with the instructor and peers throughout the learning week.  To motivate engaged discussion, posts are expected to be on time with regular interaction throughout the week.  All posts should demonstrate college level writing skills. To promote vibrant discussion as we would in a face to face classroom, formatted citations and references are not required.  Quotes should not be used at all, or used sparingly.  If you quote a source quotation marks should be used and an APA formatted citation and reference provided.