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 is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK.Simon Duncan is Emeritus Professor of Comparative Social Policy at the University of Bradford, UK.
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.