The social context of the family (regardless of ethnicity), has been undergoing a transformation. For the Latino family, which has traditionally had its own set of special “rules and regulations”, the situation may have taken an even more dramatic turn. Factors like place of birth, inter-cultural marriage, immigration, assimilation levels, shifting economic conditions, residence status/U.S. citizenship, and education all contribute to changes in the traditional social roles within the family.
Moreover, as roles within the family morphed to adapt to the surrounding environment, the definition itself of what a family is seems to have shifted, and younger Latinos may be developing their own interpretation of the concept. Given the size and birthrate of the Latino population, the ability of these families to adapt to this new definition while meet their own needs may very well deeply alter the social fabric in the US in the next generation.
Tonight, let’s talk about La Familia, that most important of societal units. We’ll start at 6pm CT – 7pm EST by celebrating with our Chicago Chapter folks as they hold their first Tweetup and panel talking about (what else?) The Role of the Latino Family in Education.
Then at 8pm CT/9pm EST, we’ll open up the floor – and the topic – to hold this important conversation online! DON’T MISS YOUR CYBER-FAMILY TERTULIA!
- How has the definition of family changed and is that a positive or negative?
- What are the social and economic factors affecting all families in the United States and Latino families in particular?
- What have things like immigration and assimilation (the fact that certain families live in different countries, for example) do to the Latino family unit?
- How are young Latino families merging both new and traditional family values?
- Has the concept of extended family changed with the growth in technology adoption?
- What do these changes mean to the future of American society?