Modern weddings in Uzbekistan: ritual change from ‘above’ and from ‘below’

Under the new conditions of independence, wedding ceremonies in Uzbekistan have increasingly diversified along growing social and economic divides. Recent state measures to curb ritual expenditures follow the furrow of a long tradition of criticism against ritual prodigality which, however, falls short of its self-set target of enforcing more ‘rational’ rituals. Based on fieldwork conducted in the Ferghana Valley, this paper sheds a new light on the controversy around ‘excessive ritual expenditures’ by discussing tensions in local practices arising from changing livelihoods and consumption patterns, on the one hand, and, on the other, from an ambivalent state policy that aims at containing ritual expenditures and social polarization, while also promoting an ideal of modern wedding that undermines the very aim of the policy.     

转型期社会分层机制的变迁与问题

当前我国正处于加速转型期,即由传统社会向现代社会、由计划经济体制向市场经济体制过渡的时期。在转型过程中,社会分层机制表现出贫富分化加剧、社会分层机制方面欠公正等一系列问题。鉴于这些问题,社会分层机制应朝着以市场为主体,由市场、政府、民间团体相互配合、共同支配的方向发展。     

Household formation, institutions, and economic development: Evidence from imperial Russia

Household formation patterns have been adduced in recent years by historians and other social scientists to account for the economic development of western Europe. The so-called European Marriage Pattern, which prevailed throughout northwest Europe, is viewed as having been particularly conducive to early industrialisation and economic growth. But to what extent were household formation systems exogenous to the broader economic and social context in which they were located? Evidence from nineteenth-century Russia indicates that family systems were influenced by the same variables that determined the shape of the local economy; they were part of a complex web of institutions and thus cannot be viewed as independent determinants of economic development.     

商榷“婚姻法解释（三）”第十一条规定之不适当——基于“对夫妻共有产权另一方权益保护”视角

本文通过引用《宪法》的规定,列举和分析此条对夫妻共有房产权另一方权益的侵害及其程度,以及由此导致的司法资源浪费、社会不安定因素的增加等方面的不适当之处,以《宪法》至高无上的法律效力、特别法优先于一般法、侵权行为是无效法律行为等法制的原理和原则,从维护司法公正、权威,保护妇女合法权益,维护全社会共同保障妇女权益的大好局势和社会安定团结等方面,提出对“婚姻法解释（三）”第十一条改变或撤销建议。     

凉山彝族婚姻习惯法及其司法实践的合理性运用

随着经济的发展,凉山彝族的婚姻习惯法也在不断的蜕变当中,全面掌握彝族婚姻习惯法现状对彝区法律工作具有十分重要的意义.彝族婚姻习惯法的主要原则包括:同族内婚、家支外婚、等级内婚.其许多方面都与我国的法律原则相背离.我们应就凉山彝族习惯法与国家制定法的调适和司法实践的合理性运用进行探索.     

UNTIL DEATH DO US PART? WHY COURTS SHOULD EXPAND PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS TO INCLUDE TEN‐YEAR MARRIAGES

It has become apparent that marriage, while still strongly valued by society and government, has become less appealing to Americans as a whole. The changes taking place in society, whether economic or moral, have resulted in married couples becoming the minority in the United States. This decrease demonstrates that there is a need for reform, and that couples need to be provided with new options that will incentivize them to choose this union over cohabitation. This Note will discuss how expanding prenuptial agreements to allow couples to contract to the length of their marriage may help to accomplish that goal. This expansion will give couples the ability to tailor their relationship to fit their individual expectations and quell the reservations commonly associated with formalized relationships. Furthermore, such an expansion would be consistent with current law regulating premarital agreements and would still allow state governments to remain involved in regulation, making it less drastic of a reform than privatization.     

Gender in the Context of Same‐Sex Divorce and Relationship Dissolution

This article identifies ways that judges, lawyers, researchers, and policy makers may attend to the role of gender and gender dynamics facing same‐sex couples upon divorce or other relationship dissolution. When same‐sex couples marry, the legal system and society at large may project conceptions of gender onto same‐sex couples, often in a manner that conflicts with couples' intentions and practices. Gender and gender dynamics may affect the bases for dissolution, the financial aspects of dissolution, and the determination of child custody. The article also suggests directions for future research on the impact of gender on the dissolution of same‐sex relationships.     

Societal openness during the urban crisis. Partner selection in the 19th-century Belgian textile cities Ghent and Verviers

This paper examines the partner selection of the lower classes during an urban crisis period in early industrial Belgian cities. It was found that in this period characterized by an economic transition, overpopulation, migration and a low standard of living, social heterogamy was high, whereas social homogamy increased, or was ‘restored’, in the subsequent period. The urban crisis effect on partner selection contradicts the claims of modernization theory that there was a gradual increase in societal openness and that societal openness was typically modern, but it fits the idea of the informalization of marriage, a process marked by an increase in unmarried cohabitation and illegitimacy.