Family and Work in Rural Societies

Drawing on data from rural communities both within and outside Europe, the contributors to this volume, originally published in 1984, examine the character and significance of non-wage forms of labour - for example unpaid household agricultural and domestic work and inter-household or community-level labour exchanges. Two central themes are explored. First, the question of the 'survival' of non-wage labour and 'traditional' patterns of family and household organization in situations where local economic units are, directly or indirectly, dependent upon commodity markets. Secondly, the changing nature and social evaluation of women's work, both within the household and wider community, in contrasting rural settings. These themes are examined through a number of case-studies covering both industrialized Europe and less developed countries. The introductory chapter provides an overview of analytical perspectives on agrarian change and non-wage labour and indicates the broader theoretical implications of the case-studies. This volume will be especially useful for students and scholars working in the fields of rural sociology, economic anthropology, women's studies and development studies.

1.Introduction Norman Long 2. Aspects of Non-Capitalist Social Relations in Rural Egypt: The Small Peasant Household in an Egyptian Deta Village Kathy R. G. Glavanis 3. Cash Crop Productiona nd Family Labour: Tobacco Growers in Corrientes, Argentina Marit Melhuus 4. Interhousehold Co-operation in Peru's Southern Andes: A Case of Multiple Sibling-Group Marriage Sarah Lund Skar 5. Co-operation on and between Eastern Finnish Faily Farms Ray G. Abrahams 6. The Estimation of Work in a Northern Finnish Farming Community Tim Ingold 7. A Note on the Custom of 'Paying Off' on Family Farms in Poland Lucjan Kocik 8. Women's Work in Rural South-West England Mary Bouquet 9. Domestic Work in Rural Iceland: An Historical Overview Marie Johnson 10. The Organization of Labour in an Israeli Kibbutz Alison M. Bowes