Reinventing Couples: Tradition, Agency and Bricolage (Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life)

1. Introduction -- 2. Pragmatic tradition: personal life in the 1950s -- 3. Choosing Tradition: getting married -- 4. Inventing tradition: the case of cohabitation -- 5. The leakage of meaning: traditional naming practices -- 6. Differential agency: living apart together -- 7. Individualised conformity: creating a wedding -- 8. Afterword: extending intimacy.;This book presents a new approach to understanding contemporary personal life, taking account of how people build their lives through a bricolage of 'tradition' and 'modern'. The authors examine how tradition is used and adapted, invented and re-invented; how meaning can leak from past to present; the ways in which people's agencies differ as they make decisions; and the process of bricolage in making new arrangements. These themes are illustrated through a variety of case studies, ranging from personal life in the 1950s, young women and marriage, the rise of cohabitation, female name change, living apart together, and creating weddings. Centrally the authors emphasise the re-traditionalisation involved in de-traditionalisation and the connectedness involved in individualised processes of relationship change. Reinventing Couples will be of interest to students and scholars across a range of disciplines including sociology, social work and social policy. "Acknowledgements" -- "Contents" -- "List of Figures" -- "List of Tables" -- "1: Introduction" -- " Change and Tradition in Personal Life: A Case Study" -- " Christina" -- " Choice and Tradition" -- " Relationality, Emotionality, and Agencies" -- " The Chapters" -- "References" -- "2: Pragmatic Tradition: Personal Life in the 1950s" -- " An Easter Trip to Brighton, 1949" -- " Traditional and Modern Society?" -- " The World We Have Won? Same-Sex Relationships and Heterosexual Marriage" -- " Homosexuality in 1949" -- " Heterosexual Marriage in 1949â#x80;#x93;50" -- " Pragmatic Tradition: Non-marital Sex and Divorce in 1949â#x80;#x93;50" -- " The Traditionalists: Clergymen" -- " The Pragmatists: The Public" -- " The Vanguard: MOâ#x80;#x99;s National Panel" -- " Traditionalists, Progressives and Pragmatists: A Normal Distribution?" -- "References" -- "3: Choosing Tradition: Getting Married" -- " Choosing Tradition: Ruth" -- " The â#x80;Strangeâ#x80;#x99; Survival of Marriage" -- " Re-traditionalisation" -- " Why Young Women Marry" -- " Institutionalised Tradition: Marriage, Security, and Stability" -- " Marriage, the Traditional Family, and the â#x80;#x98;Normalâ#x80;#x99;" -- " Choosing to Be a â#x80;#x98;Wifeâ#x80;#x99;: Reworking Traditional Gender Divisions" -- " Legitimating Tradition: Fairy Tales and Fantasies" -- " Choosing Tradition" -- "References" -- "4: Inventing Tradition: Cohabitation and Common Law Marriage" -- " Martin: The New Becomes Normal" -- " Cohabitation: Rise and Reaction" -- " Cohabitation and â#x80;#x98;Common Law Marriageâ#x80;#x99;" -- " The Invention of Tradition" -- " Common Law Marriage as Invented Tradition" -- " Inventing Practice: Public Belief in Common Law Marriage" -- " Inventing History: The Academic Construction of Common Law Marriage" -- " Cohabitation, Common Law Marriage, and â#x80;#x98;Living Lawâ#x80;#x99;" -- " Cohabitation as the Ordinary" This Book Presents A New Approach To Understanding Contemporary Personal Life, Taking Account Of How People Build Their Lives Through A Bricolage Of 'tradition' And 'modern'. The Authors Examine How Tradition Is Used And Adapted, Invented And Re-invented; How Meaning Can Leak From Past To Present; The Ways In Which People's Agencies Differ As They Make Decisions; And The Process Of Bricolage In Making New Arrangements. These Themes Are Illustrated Through A Variety Of Case Studies, Ranging From Personal Life In The 1950s, Young Women And Marriage, The Rise Of Cohabitation, Female Name Change, Living Apart Together, And Creating Weddings. Centrally The Authors Emphasise The Re-traditionalisation Involved In De-traditionalisation And The Connectedness Involved In Individualised Processes Of Relationship Change. 'reinventing Couples' Will Be Of Interest To Students And Scholars Across A Range Of Disciplines Including Sociology, Social Work And Social Policy. Julia Carter, Simon Duncan. This volume presents a new approach to understanding contemporary personal life, taking account of how people build their lives through a bricolage of 'tradition' and 'modern'. The authors examine how tradition is used and adapted, invented and re-invented; how meaning can leak from past to present; the ways in which people's agencies differ as they make decisions; and the process of bricolage in making new arrangements. These themes are illustrated through a variety of case studies, ranging from personal life in the 1950s, young women and marriage, the rise of cohabitation, female name change, living apart together and creating weddings