VI. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Одной из самых серьезных глобальных проблем, стоящих сейчас перед человечеством является рост народонаселения. Томас Мальтус выдвинул теорию, согласно которой рост народонасе­ления имеет тенденцию опережать увеличение ресурсов, необ­ходимых для поддержания населения.

2. Изучение народонаселения называется демографией. Значитель­ная часть работы демографов имеет статистический характер, но демографы также стремятся объяснить, почему модели народо­населения существуют именно в таких формах, а не иных.

3. Изменения в структуре народонаселения обычно анализируют­ся, исходя из процесса демографического перехода. До начала эпохи индустриализации и уровень рождаемости, и уровень смер­тности были высокими. В начале индустриализации наблюдался рост населения, поскольку уровень смертности сократился, а уро­вень рождаемости все еще оставался высоким. В конце концов, установилось равновесие при низком уровне рождаемости и низ­ком уровне смертности.

4. Предполагается, что население мира вырастет к 2150 г. до более чем 10 млрд человек. По большей части рост населения произойдет в развивающемся мире, где страны будут переживать демографи­ческий переход и где будет наблюдаться быстрый рост населения, прежде чем численность населения наконец стабилизируется. В раз­витых странах население будет расти лишь незначительно.

5. В настоящее время все общества обеспокоены проблемами эко­логии окружающей среды - как лучше всего справиться с труд­ностями и сдержать ущерб, наносимый окружающей среде воз­действием современной индустрии и технологии.

6. Большинство проблем окружающей среды тесно связано с рис­ком, поскольку они являются результатом развития наук и техно­логий. Глобальное потепление означает постепенное повышение температуры на Земле, вызванное повышением уровня содержа­ния различных газов в атмосфере.

Тема 15. The sociology of the family

I. Read and translate the text.

The Sociology of the Family studies how sexual reproduction is institutionalised, and how children are socialised. A family is a domestic group of people, or a number of domestic groups linked through descent (demonstrated or stipulated) from a common ancestor, marriage or adop­tion. Families have some degree of kinship. In Western culture, a family is defined specifically as a group of people affiliated by blood or by legal ties such as marriage or adoption. Many anthropologists argue that the notion of “blood” must be understood metaphorically; some argue that there are many non-Western societies where family is understood through other concepts.

According to sociology and anthropology, the primary function of the family is to reproduce society, either biologically, socially, or both. Thus, one’s experience of one’s family shifts over time. From the per­spective of children, the family is a family of orientation: the family serves to locate children socially, and plays a major role in their enculturation and socialization. From the point of view of the parent(s), the family is a family of procreation the goal of which is to produce and enculturate and socialize children.

However, producing children is not the only function of the family. In societies with a sexual division of labor, marriage, and the resulting relationship between a husband and wife, is necessary for the formation of an economically productive household. In modern societies marriage entails particular rights and privilege that encourage the formation of new families even when there is no intention of having children.

The structure of families traditionally hinges on relations between parents and children, between spouses, or both. Consequently, there are three major types of family: matrifocal, consanguineal and conjugal. It should be noted that these are ideal families, for in all societies there are acceptable deviations from the ideal or statistical norm, owing ei­ther to incidental circumstances, such as the death of a member of the family, infertility or personal preferences.

A matrifocal family consists of a mother and her children. Gener­ally, these children are her biological offspring, although adoption of children is a practice in nearly every society. This kind of family is common where women have the resources to rear their children by themselves, or where men are more mobile than women.

A consanguineal family consists of a mother and her children, and other people - usually the family of the mother. This kind of family is common where mothers do not have the resources to rear their children on their own, and especially where property is inherited. When impor­tant property is owned by men, consanguineal families commonly con­sist of a husband and wife, their children and other members of the husband’s family.

A conjugal family consists of one or more mothers and their chil­dren, and/or one or more spouses (usually husbands). This kind of fam­ily is common where men desire to assert control over children, or where there is a sexual division of labor requiring the participation of both men and women, where families are relatively mobile.

Family in the West. The preceding types of families are found in a wide variety of settings, and their specific functions and meanings depend largely on their relationship to other social institutions. Sociolo­gists are especially interested in the function and status of these forms in stratified, especially, capitalist societies.

Some scholars use the term “nuclear family” to refer to conjugal families. Sociologists distinguish between conjugal families that are rela­tively independent of the kindreds of the parents and of other families in general, and nuclear families which maintain relatively close ties with their kindreds.

Academics also use the term “extended family.” This term has two distinct meanings. First, it is used synonymously with consanguinal family. Second, in societies dominated by the conjugal family, it is used to refer to kindred (an egocentric network of relatives that extends beyond the domestic group) who do not belong to the conjugal family.

These types refer to ideal or normative structures found in particu­lar societies. In any society there is some variation in the actual compo­sition and conception of families. Much sociological, historical and an­thropological research is dedicated to understanding this variation, and changes over time in the family form. Thus, some speak of the bourgeois family, a family structure arising out of 16th and 17th century European households, in which the center of the family is a marriage between a man and woman, with strictly defined gender roles. The man typically is responsible for income and support, the woman for home and family matters. In contemporary Europe and the United States, people in academic, political and civil sectors have called attention to single-father-headed households, and families headed by same-sex couples, although academics point out that these forms also exist in other societies.

In traditional society the family is an economic unit. This role has gradually diminished in modern times and in societies like the United States is much smaller except for certain sectors such as agriculture and a few upper class families. In Chinese culture the family as an economic unit still plays a strong if somewhat diminished role.

In the future, families may become more diverse and may shift from patriarchal to egalitarian models. Developments in reproductive technology and the general aging of baby boomers are challenging traditional understandings about courtship, marriage, parenthood, and the family – and they will continue to do so in the future.

Taking a Closer Look