Describe the ways in which institutional transfer and institutional transformation both are

Question

reflected in the history of African American family formations.

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Students should define the two terms (institutional transformation, and institutional transfer).
They may note several factors: significant transfer of African institutional culture to the new
context (transfer), as well as accommodation of African institutional cultures to the conditions
in which they found themselves (transformation) in the new context of slavery. There was a
considerable transfer of suitable practices, and modification or transformation of unsuitable
practices, as a means of continuing core values. Many institutional values and objectives such
as preservation of the extended family, care of the elderly, family structure household
structure and other closely held imperatives were preserved intact, but over time some
changed because of conditions of slavery. The African Americans themselves evolved some
new patterns as a result of their own understanding of the new culture (for instance religious
practices). Not all unique African American modern day family processes were a result of
slavery, but some evolved out of socio-economic conditions and cultural pressures. Neither
slavery nor the African heritage determined Black family organization entirely, but rather it
results from interplay between African and American influences.