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Understanding tradition: marital name change in Britain and Norway
Duncan, Simon Ellingsæter, A.L. Carter, J.
Duncan, Simon
Ellingsæter, A.L.
Carter, J.
Publication Date
2020-09
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The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in Sociological Research Online, vol 25/issue 3 by SAGE Publications Ltd, All rights reserved. ©The Author(s) 2019
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Accepted for publication
2019-11-07
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Abstract
Marital surname change is a striking example of the survival of tradition.
A practice emerging from patriarchal history has become embedded in
an age of de-traditionalisation and women’s emancipation. Is the
tradition of women’s marital name change just some sort of inertia or
drag, which will slowly disappear as modernity progresses, or does this
tradition fulfil more contemporary roles? Are women and men just
dupes to tradition, or alternatively do they use tradition to further their
aims? We examine how different approaches - individualisation theory,
new institutionalism and bricolage - might tackle these questions. This
examination is set within a comparative analysis of marital surname
change in Britain and Norway, using small qualitative samples. We find
that while individualisation and new institutionalism offer partial
explanations, bricolage offers a more adaptable viewpoint.
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Accepted manuscript
Citation
Duncan S, Ellingsæter AL and Carter J (2020) Understanding tradition: marital name change in Britain and Norway. Sociological Research Online. 25(3): 438-455.
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