History of the family

The history of the family is a branch of social history that concerns the sociocultural evolution of kinship groups from prehistoric to modern times. The family has a universal and basic role in all societies. Research on the history of the family crosses disciplines and cultures, aiming to understand the structure and function of the family from many viewpoints. For example, sociological, ecological or economical perspectives are used to view the interrelationships between the individual, their relatives, and the historical time. The study of family history has shown that family systems are flexible, culturally diverse and adaptive to ecological and economical conditions.

Family defined as the co-residence and the organization by kinship are both integral in the development of the concept of the family. A co-residential group that makes up a household may share general survival goals and a residence, but may not fulfill the varied and sometimes ambiguous requirements for the definition of a family.

The history of the family emerged as a separate field of history in the 1970s, with close ties to anthropology and sociology. The trend was especially pronounced in the U.S. and Canada. It emphasizes demographic patterns and public policy. It is quite separate from genealogy, although, it often draws on the same primary sources such as censuses and family records. According to an influential pioneering study in 1978 called: Women, Work, and Family. The authors, Louise A. Tilly and Joan W. Scott, broke new ground with their broad interpretive framework and emphasis on the variable factors shaping the women's place in the family and economy in France and England. It has considered the interaction of production and reproduction in an analysis of the women's wage labor and thus helped to bring together labor and family history. Much work has been done on the dichotomy in women's lives between the private sphere and the public. For a recent worldwide overview covering 7000 years see Maynes and Waltner (2012).

The history of childhood is a growing subfield.

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