Becca's page! :)

Course Description:  Introduction to marriage and the family. Personality, interpersonal relations and society are examined within the context of the family life cycle. Emphasis is placed on the impact of societal and personal choices on the family.

Marriage and Family Relations covered a range of connections and diversities cross culturally, nation wide, specific to Utah, and personal norms and beliefs. My signature assignments evaluate the connection between the course and my understanding. The first paper, "switching roles" helped me get a sense of the significance of gender roles and how they are either magnified or devalued. It gave me the opportunity to see men and women "doing gender" which refers to masculinity and femininity stereotypes placed upon our sex. The most engulfing aspect, was imagining putting myself in a male's shoes and how I would change and adapt to survive.

My second signature assignment,  "Prototypes" refers to the different assumptions of love that we see in our society, whether formal or informal.  Traditional views have changed on the concept of marriage and we see more preferences and desires in finding "the perfect match" rather than arranged marriages or marriage out of logic. This assignment allowed me to interpret my opinion and views by my choice of descriptive words.

Between the unit assignments I was able to use concepts taught in class and apply them to my assignments. I became more aware of the reality of each theory and apply suggestions in real life situations. What I learned from this course gave me a new feel on how I look at life and different relationships globally. It was a class very applicable to diverse stages of life.