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UGC NET Sociology Family, Marriage and Kinship Flashcards
51 question-and-answer cards covering Family, Marriage and Kinship as it is examined in UGC NET Sociology. 24 of them are printed below, taken from across the deck — no signup, no paywall on the preview.
24 sample cards from the Family, Marriage and Kinship deck
Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.
Define 'lineage' and 'clan' and distinguish them.
A lineage is a descent group whose members can trace genealogical links to a known common ancestor; a clan is a larger group claiming descent from a common (often mythical/unverifiable) ancestor, sometimes via a totem.
Define 'exogamy' and 'endogamy.'
Exogamy is the rule requiring marriage outside one's own defined group (e.g., gotra, clan). Endogamy is the rule requiring marriage within a defined group (e.g., caste, religion, sub-caste).
Distinguish 'monogamy' from 'polygamy,' and name the two forms of polygamy.
Monogamy is marriage to one spouse at a time. Polygamy is plural marriage, comprising polygyny (one man, multiple wives) and polyandry (one woman, multiple husbands).
Distinguish 'fraternal' from 'non-fraternal' polyandry.
Fraternal (adelphic) polyandry: a woman's husbands are brothers (e.g., among the Todas and in some Himalayan groups). Non-fraternal polyandry: the husbands are not related.
What is 'hypergamy' (anuloma) versus 'hypogamy' (pratiloma) in Indian kinship?
Hypergamy (anuloma) is marriage of a woman into an equal or higher status group than her own. Hypogamy (pratiloma) is marriage of a woman into a lower status group; traditionally disapproved.
Define the residence rules 'patrilocal,' 'matrilocal,' and 'neolocal.'
Patrilocal (virilocal): couple resides with/near the husband's father's family. Matrilocal (uxorilocal): couple resides with/near the wife's family. Neolocal: couple establishes a new, independent residence.
What is 'avunculocal' residence and which descent system is it associated with?
Avunculocal residence is where a married couple lives with or near the husband's mother's brother (maternal uncle); it is associated with matrilineal descent systems.
Distinguish 'bride price' (bride wealth) from 'dowry.'
Bride price (bride wealth) is wealth transferred from the groom's family to the bride's family. Dowry is wealth transferred from the bride's family to the groom/groom's family.
What are the eight types of marriage in classical Hindu (Dharmashastra) tradition?
Brahma, Daiva, Arsha, Prajapatya (four approved forms), and Asura, Gandharva, Rakshasa, Paisacha (four disapproved/condemned forms).
What is the difference between 'levirate' and 'sororate'?
Levirate: a widow marries her deceased husband's brother. Sororate: a widower marries his deceased wife's sister (or a man marries his wife's sister, often if the wife is barren).
In Iravati Karve's classification, what are the four kinship zones of India?
Northern, Central, Southern, and Eastern zones, distinguished by differences in kinship terminology, marriage rules (e.g., cross-cousin marriage in the South), and language families.
What marriage practice characterizes the Southern kinship zone in Iravati Karve's scheme, contrasting with the North?
The South permits/prefers consanguineous unions such as cross-cousin and (in some groups) maternal uncle-niece marriage, whereas the North enforces strict exogamy (gotra, village, sapinda rules) forbidding such unions.
What is the 'gotra' and its role in North Indian Hindu marriage rules?
A gotra is an exogamous patrilineal clan tracing descent from a common rishi (sage); marriage within the same gotra is prohibited (gotra exogamy), reinforcing the rule of marrying outside one's lineage.
What is 'sapinda' exogamy in Hindu marriage law?
A rule prohibiting marriage between persons related within specified degrees of common ancestry (sapinda relationship)—generally up to five generations on the father's side and three on the mother's side.
What is a 'kinship terminology' and name the two broad types distinguished by classificatory vs descriptive systems (Morgan).
Kinship terminology is the system of terms used to label relatives. Lewis Henry Morgan distinguished 'classificatory' systems (one term covers several distinct relatives, e.g., father and father's brother) from 'descriptive' systems (each relative has a distinct term).
According to Radcliffe-Brown (descent/structural-functional school), what is the function of kinship systems?
Kinship systems function to maintain social structure and solidarity by establishing orderly, predictable patterns of rights, obligations, and behavior among related persons across generations.
What is the 'avunculate' and how did Radcliffe-Brown explain it?
The avunculate is the special relationship between a man and his mother's brother (maternal uncle). Radcliffe-Brown explained it via the principle of extending sentiments from one parent to that parent's siblings, structurally linked to descent and the treatment of the mother.
What is a 'joint family' as classically defined in Indian sociology?
A family in which members related by blood share a common residence, common kitchen (hearth), common property, common worship, and are bound by mutual rights and obligations across generations.
How does the functionalist view of family differ from the conflict/feminist critique of it?
Functionalists see the family as performing positive, integrative functions for society and members; conflict and feminist theorists critique it as a site of inequality, exploitation of women's unpaid labor, and reproduction of class/patriarchal domination.
What did Edmund Leach's study of Kachin society contribute to Alliance theory?
Leach showed how asymmetrical (generalized) marriage exchange between wife-givers and wife-takers (mayu-dama relations) created ranked political alliances, supporting Levi-Strauss's emphasis on marriage exchange as structuring social and political order.
In Alliance theory, what is the structural relationship between 'wife-givers' and 'wife-takers'?
In systems of generalized exchange, wife-givers and wife-takers form distinct, often ranked categories where one group consistently gives women to another, creating asymmetrical and enduring inter-group alliances.
What is 'fictive kinship'?
Kin-like relationships not based on blood or marriage but socially recognized as kinship (e.g., godparents, ritual friendship, adoption), illustrating the cultural/symbolic constructedness of kinship.
How do 'new kinship studies' (e.g., influenced by Schneider) reconceive kinship in light of assisted reproduction?
They argue kinship is increasingly understood as culturally constructed and 'made' rather than purely biological—new reproductive technologies (surrogacy, IVF, donors) detach kinship from natural facts, showing relatedness is defined by cultural meaning and practice.
What is the key conceptual shift signalled by using 'relatedness' instead of 'kinship' (Janet Carsten, cultural approach)?
'Relatedness' avoids assuming a biological core to kinship and foregrounds the locally meaningful, everyday processes (sharing food, substance, residence, care) through which people become kin—emphasizing culture over biology.
What this deck covers
The Family, Marriage and Kinship deck follows the UGC NET Sociology Family, Marriage and Kinship syllabus — 12 chapters and 3 topics — so questions land on material that is genuinely examinable rather than trivia around it. That works out to roughly 4.3 cards per chapter.
Answers are written to be recallable, not just readable — averaging about 206 characters, which is long enough to carry the reasoning and short enough to say out loud.
A deck like this earns its keep on the second and third pass. Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then use the cards to find the specific facts that have not stuck.
Family, Marriage and Kinship flashcards FAQ
How many Family, Marriage and Kinship flashcards are in this UGC NET Sociology deck?
51 cards. This page previews 24 of them, sampled evenly across the deck so you can judge the difficulty before installing anything.
Are these UGC NET Sociology flashcards free?
Yes. The preview here is free to read with no signup, and the full 51-card deck is free inside the Examius app.
What do the Family, Marriage and Kinship cards cover?
They follow the UGC NET Sociology Family, Marriage and Kinship syllabus — 12 chapters and 3 topics — so the questions track what is actually examinable.
How should I use these flashcards?
Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then drill the deck. Examius schedules each card with spaced repetition, so cards you keep missing come back sooner and ones you know drift further apart.