At one time Francis L.K. Hsu put forth a hypothesis on kinship
that proposed a functional relationship between particular kinship
systems and behavior patterns in particular cultural contexts. The
controversy provoked among cultural anthropologists by this
hypothesis is reflected in this book, which points the way toward
more fruitful investigations of kinship in cultural and
psychological anthropology.
Hsu's hypothesis offers an alternative to the study of kinship
as a mathematical game and to the treatment of fragmentary aspects
of child-rearing practices as major causal factors in culture.
Considering the kinship system as the psychological factory of
culture, Hsu's aim is to discover the crucial forces in each system
that shape the interpersonal orientation of the individual, which
forms the individual's basis for adequate functioning as a member
of his society and which, in turn, provides his culture with a
basis for continuity and change. His central hypothesis is that the
attributes of the dominant dyads in a given kinship system (such as
father-son or mother-daughter) tend to determine the attitudes and
action patterns that the individual in such a system develops
toward other relationships in that system as well as toward his
relationships outside of it.
The topics are varied, ranging from the link between dyadic
dominance and household maintenance, to role dilemmas and
father-son dominance, to sex-role identity and dominant kinship
relationships. The editor has contributed an introduction, an
original essay on kinship and patterns of social cohesion, and a
summary chapter to bring coherence to the diversity of opinion
stated. This new presentation of Hsu's hypothesis, together with
its discussion by eminent anthropologists and its recommendations
for future research in the area, is an important addition to the
literature on kinship.
"Francis L.K. Hsu" (1909-1999) was professor emeritus of
anthropology at the University of San Francisco and before that
chairman of the department of anthropology, Northwestern
University. Concentrating mainly in two related areas,
psychological anthropology and the comparative study of large
civilizations, Hsu did fieldwork in China, Japan, India, and the
United States. He was also president of the American
Anthropological Association.
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