Family as basic social institution; the nexus between marriage, family and kinship; Importance of kinship, descent groups, descent systems; Inheritance and succession; Marriage: processes and forms; Marital stability, divorce and its Implications; Types of extended family in comparative perspective with reference to sub-Saharan Africa; Family in theoretical perspective: functionalist and conflict perspectives; Major key studies of the family; Social change and the family: emergence of the nuclear family and its implications for authority, power and interpersonal relations, decision-making, inheritance, welfare of members. Alternative family lifestyles in marriage of contemporary societies: singled; unmarried, cohabitation; single parenthood, blended families, gay couples, etc.