XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 15-21, 2018)

143

Contemporary African Families

RC06 Family Research (host committee)

Language: English

African families have experienced rapid change over the past decades due to several reasons. Chief among them is the changing socio-economic climate and a gradual shift from a traditional African society to a more popular and global culture. The continued raising age of starting a family is influenced by more girls completing post secondary education and starting a new job resulting in raising age of first marriage and first birth. This process leads to fewer children in the household and a family structure is more nuclear centred, serving as a contributory factor to the change experienced in African families. The session invites papers from scholars addressing contemporary issues in African families as the factors mentioned above are not the only factors responsible for family change in Africa. Some sub-themes to add robustness to the discussion are: New family forms; Determinants of family change in contemporary Africa; Fertility concerns; Parenting in the African society; Changing gender relations in the home; Finances and the economics of running a family in contemporary Africa; Work-Family balance; The impact of media and technology on the family. Scholars are not bound by these sub-themes but are encouraged to be as varied as possible in their submissions.