Premium
Family Theory Versus the Theories Families Live By
Author(s) -
Daly Kerry
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of marriage and family
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.578
H-Index - 159
eISSN - 1741-3737
pISSN - 0022-2445
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00771.x
Subject(s) - realm , metaphor , sociology , space (punctuation) , spirituality , mythology , epistemology , everyday life , energy (signal processing) , social psychology , psychology , geography , history , computer science , philosophy , medicine , linguistics , statistics , alternative medicine , mathematics , archaeology , pathology , classics , operating system
I argue that there is significant disjunction between the way that families live their lives and the way that we theorize about families. Using the metaphor of positive and negative spaces from the art world, I argue that there are many negative spaces in our theorizing—everyday family activities that take up considerable time, energy, and attention but that are poorly represented in our theorizing about families. Specifically, there are three negative spaces that call out for more attention, including the realm of spirituality, emotions, and myths; activities related to consumption; and time and space.