Biography and Background

David Morgan (1937–2020) was a British sociologist who made a major contribution to the sociology of family and personal life. Unlike the New Right, who were concerned with promoting the nuclear family as an ideal, Morgan’s work emphasised the diversity and fluidity of family relationships.

Morgan worked as a professor of sociology at Manchester University and later at Keele University. He served as president of the British Sociological Association and was regarded as one of the UK’s most important family sociologists. His key works include Family Connections (1996), Family Practices (1996), and Acquaintances (2009). His research continues to influence debates about family diversity and the changing meanings of personal life.

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Methodology

Morgan was not a theorist in the same way as functionalists or Marxists, who developed “grand narratives” about the family’s role in society. Instead, his approach was empirical and interpretivist.

• He preferred to use qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews and case studies, exploring how individuals themselves understood their family lives.
• His methodology focused on everyday interactions and meanings rather than structural functions.
• He argued that sociologists should avoid treating “the family” as a single institution and should instead look at how people ‘do’ family in practice.

This interpretivist, micro-level focus makes his work a useful contrast with structural perspectives like Functionalism, Marxism, and the New Right.

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Family Practices

Morgan’s most influential contribution is the concept of “family practices.”

• Rather than seeing the family as a fixed structure (e.g., the nuclear family), he argued that family life is created through routine activities, interactions, and relationships.
• Family is therefore not just about legal ties or household membership, but about what people do together—such as sharing meals, caring for children, celebrating birthdays, or maintaining contact through phone calls.

For Morgan, family life is an active process, constantly being made and remade through everyday practices. This challenges the idea that families can be neatly categorised into types (nuclear, lone-parent, reconstituted). Instead, he shows how people “do” family in diverse and often overlapping ways.

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Beyond “The Family”

A key argument Morgan made is that we should stop talking about “the family” in the singular and instead talk about “families” or “family practices.”

• This is because the idea of one dominant family form is outdated in modern, postmodern, and late-modern societies.
• The rise of divorce, cohabitation, stepfamilies, same-sex couples, and chosen families means that people’s personal lives are far more varied.
• By focusing on practices rather than rigid definitions, sociologists can better understand the lived realities of family life.

For example, two households may both identify as families, but the way they “do family” (sharing housework, showing care, managing finances) may look very different.

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Links to Other Theories

Morgan’s ideas link well to broader debates in sociology:

1. Postmodernism – Like postmodernists such as Stacey, Morgan rejects the idea of one dominant family form. He focuses on diversity, choice, and the fluidity of personal relationships.
2. Late Modernity – His work resonates with Giddens and Beck, who also emphasise reflexivity, choice, and negotiation in modern relationships.
3. Contrast with Functionalism/New Right – Whereas functionalists and New Right thinkers like Murray and Marsland see the nuclear family as the norm, Morgan challenges this, arguing that family life is multiple, diverse, and cannot be reduced to a single model.

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Applications to AQA and OCR A Level Sociology

• AQA Families and Households: Morgan’s work is directly relevant to topics on family diversity, the decline of the nuclear family, and the idea of the family as a social construct. He provides a useful evaluation point against structural perspectives.
• OCR Family Life: Morgan’s emphasis on family practices is particularly relevant for discussions of family change, personal life, and the shift from “the family” to “families.” His ideas also support the study of interpretivist approaches and micro-level sociology.

Students can use Morgan’s work to demonstrate an understanding of late-modern and interpretivist perspectives, contrasting them with functionalist or New Right arguments.

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Criticisms of Morgan

1. Lack of structure – Critics argue that Morgan’s focus on micro-level practices ignores the influence of wider social structures such as class, gender, and ethnicity on family life.
2. Overemphasis on diversity – Some say Morgan exaggerates change and fluidity, overlooking the fact that the nuclear family remains a common household form.
3. Limited generalisation – His qualitative, small-scale research may not provide representative evidence of family life across society.
4. Comparison with other perspectives – Whereas Giddens and Beck link family diversity to broader changes in late modernity (e.g., reflexivity, risk society), Morgan is less interested in theorising these wider transformations.

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Conclusion

David Morgan’s work represents a significant shift in the sociology of the family. Moving away from structuralist and normative definitions, he emphasised that family life is something people actively create through everyday practices. His concept of family practices highlights diversity and resists the idea that there is one “true” family form.

While his interpretivist, micro-level approach can be criticised for underplaying social structures, Morgan’s work is invaluable for understanding the lived realities of family life in a diverse and changing society. For A level sociology, his ideas provide a strong counterbalance to functionalist and New Right perspectives, making him an essential figure for understanding contemporary debates about family diversity and personal life.

A teaching PPT on Morgan’s work on family practices can be downloaded below: