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What is Sociology?

Chapter 1

Sociology and Society

Sociology as a distinct discipline of the scientific study of society emerged only

in the second half of the 19th century.

It is considered as the youngest of all Social Sciences.

The contributions of early thinkers including Saint Simon, Auguste Comte,

Herbert Spencer and Emile Durkheim are immense in the development of this

distinct discipline.

Auguste Comte is considered as the Father of Sociology.

This discipline has a scientific methodology that makes it different from other

Social Sciences and common sense knowledge.

Definition

Auguste Comte-Father of Sociology defines, “Sociology is the science of social

phenomena subject to natural and invariable laws, the discovery of which is

the object of investigation”

Max Weber: “Sociology is the science which attempts the interpretative

understanding of social action”

Kingsly Davis: “Sociology is a general science of society”

Why do you Learn Sociology?

Sociology is the study of human social relationships and institutions.

Sociology’s subject matter is diverse, ranging from crime to religion, the family

to the state, the divisions of race and social class to the shared beliefs of a

common culture, social stability to radical change.

Sociology aims at understanding:-

How human actions and consciousness both shape and are shaped by

surrounding cultural and social structures.

It analyzes and explains important matters in our personal lives, our

communities, and the world.

Sociological Imagination: The Personal Problems and the Public Issue

Sociological imagination is the concept coined by the American Sociologist - C.

Wright Mills in 1959 in his book ‘Sociological Imagination,’ which shows how

personal problems and public issues are inter linked.

Sociological imagination explains how individual and society are dialectically

linked

An individual is not the only person, who is responsible for the issue faced by

him, but we can see the role of society also.

Eg: Unemployment, homelessness

Pluralities and inequalities among societies

Individual in modern times belong to more than one society, why?

In contemporary world, people belong to more than one society

1 Alphonsa Joseph, HSST (Jr.) Sociology, GHVSS Payyoli, Kozhikode


When Indians are with foreigners, ‘our society’ may mean ‘Indian society’.

But when amongst fellow Indians, we may use the term ‘our society’ to denote

a linguistic or ethnic community, a religious, caste or tribal society.

This diversity makes us difficult to decide, which society we are talking about

Thus inequalities and pluralities are central to all societies.

Philosophical and religious thinking and Sociological perspectives about society

The sociological ideas of ‘society’ is different from philosophical reflections and

common sense knowledge

Philosophical and religious thinkers focus on moral or immoral in human

behavior

But Sociology is the study of human social life, groups and societies. Its subject

matter is our own behaviour as social beings.

Sociology concerns about norms and values and the way they function in actual

societies

Sociologists do empirical studies of society through observation and collect

findings

Sociology is considered as a science and bound by scientific procedures

So Sociology follow certain rules that can be checked upon by others

Sociology and Common Sense Knowledge

Common sense is based on naturalistic and individualistic explanation.

A naturalistic explanation of behavior rests on assumptions.

Sociology breaks away from both common sense observation and ideas as well

as from philosophical thought.

Sociology has a body of concepts, methods and data. This cannot be substituted

by commonsense.

Commonsense is unreflective, since it does not question its own origin

But sociology must be ready to answer any of our beliefs, of ourselves.

The systematic and questioning approach to sociology is derived from scientific

investigations

Sociology’s emphasis on scientific procedures can be understood only if we go

back in time

And understand the context or social situation within which the sociological

perspective emerged

Sociology was greatly influenced by the great developments in modern science

Eg: Poverty

Intellectual ideas that went into the making of Sociology

The scientific theories of natural evolution and findings about pre-modern

societies lead to the categorization of societies into different types. These types

distinguishes society based on social development.

The types of pre-modern societies includes hunters and gatherers, pastoral and

agrarian, agrarian and non-industrial civilisations and the types of modern

societies such as the industrialized societies.



On this basis, the western society was viewed as most advanced and civilized

and non-western societies are seen as barbaric and less developed.

The major intellectual ideas are:

1. Darwin’s ideas about organic evolution

2. Herbert Spencer’s ideas of Social Darwinism – Society was compared to living

organisms. Society is seen as a system of parts, each part playing a given

function in the society

3. The Enlightenment: An European intellectual movement of the late 17 th and

18 th centuries, emphasized reason and individualism

4. Advancement in scientific knowledge

5. Introduction of social surveys to study social problems

6. Ideas of western thinkers like Auguste Comte, who is considered to be the

founder of Sociology, believed that sociology would contribute to the welfare

of humanity

The Material Issues that went into the making of Sociology

The major material issues are:

1. The industrial revolution: It is based on capitalism, which is the driving force

behind the growth of industrial manufacturing.

Capitalism involves new attitudes and institutions

Entrepreneurs engaged in the systematic pursuit of profit

The market acted as the key instrument of productive life

Goods, services and labour became commodities

2. The agrarian based pre-industrial England was changed into an industrial

society characterized by degradation of labour and separation of work from

guild, village and family.

3. Urban centres expanded and grew with new factories, overcrowded slums of

the new working class and new kind of social interactions

4. New significance of clock-time as a basis of social organization

5. Factory production implied the synchronization of labour with punctual hours

of work time

Why should we study the beginning and growth of Sociology in Europe?

The issues and concerns of sociology date back to changes in European society

in the 18th and 19th centuries with the advent of capitalism and

industrialization.

The issues of urbanization or factory production, are pertinent to all modern

societies’ especially Indian society

Growth of Sociology in India:

Indians is closely linked to the history of British capitalism and colonialism

Capitalism in the west entailed a world-wide expansion



Eventhough Indian society and its colonial past is distinct, Sociology in India

reflects these changes

Western writings about Indian society and its changes also influenced Indians

but these writings were not always correct

The distinction between Sociology and Social Anthropology in India is also

minimal

Scope of Sociology

Sociology has a wider scope

It focus on the analysis of interactions between individuals

It focus on national issues like:-

Unemployment, Caste conflict, Effect of state policies on forest rights of the

tribal population, Rural indebtedness

It focus on global social processes such as:

The impact of new flexible labor regulations on the working class

Impact of electronic media on the young

The entry of foreign universities on the education system of the country

Sociology is one of a group of social sciences like other subjects such as

anthropology, economics, history, politics etc..

Sociology and other Social Sciences

Sociology is closely related to other social sciences

Sociology and Economics

Sociology and Political Science

Sociology and History

Sociology and Anthropology

Sociology and Psychology

Sociology and Economics

Economics:

Study of production and distribution of

goods and services

Studies the relations of price, demand and

supply; money flows; output and input ratios

Economics approaches an issue exclusively

with the interrelations of pure economic

variables such as:-

The relations of price

Demand and supply

Money flows

Sociology:

Sociological approach looks at the

issue in a broader context of norms,

values, practices and interests

Economics -highly focused, coherent

discipline

But they neglect individual behavior,

cultural norms and institutional

resistance which sociologists study

Economists suggests a technical

solution to the issue, but sociology



Output and input relations, etc

Objective of the economic analysis is to

formulate precise laws of economic

behaviour

encourages a questioning and critical

perspective

Sociology provides clearer

understanding of social situation

Sociology and Political Science

Political science:-

Focused on two elements:

Political theory and government

administration

The theory focuses on the ideas

about government from Plato to

Marx

But administration generally

deal with the formal structure of

government rather than its

actual operation.

Sociology is devoted to the study

of all aspects of society,

Political science restricted itself

mainly to the study of power as

embodied in formal organisation

Sociology:-

stresses the inter-relationships between

sets of institutions including government

Political science tends to turn attention

towards the processes within the

government

Sociology has similar interests of research

with politics

Max Weber -political sociology

It focus on the actual study of political

behavior

Eg: study of political patterns of voting

Studies have also been conducted in:-

Membership of political organization, Process of

decision-making in organizations, Sociological

reasons for support of political parties

Sociology and History

Historians:-

Study the past

Earlier were content to

delineate the actual events, to

establish how things actually

happened

Studies concrete realities

Historians today equally

involved in doing sociological

methods and concepts in their

analysis

Sociologists:-

Interested in the contemporary or recent

past

The focus was to seek to establish causal

relationships

More likely to abstract from concrete

reality, categorize and generalize

Studies history of changes in land relations

or gender relations within the family



Conventional history is about

the history of kings and war

Today history is far more sociological and

social history is the stuff of history

It looks at social patterns, gender relations,

mores, customs and important institutions

other than the acts of rulers, wars and

monarchy

Sociology and Anthropology: Similarities

Anthropology is the study of human race, its origin, development, customs and

beliefs

It is divided into Two:

Physical Anthropology: It studies biological origins of the human race

Social and Cultural Anthropology: It studies man’s behaviour in social

situations. It studies the behaviour of different societies

Sociology and Anthropology have interest in human relations and transactions

among people

Social scientist A.L.Kroeber called Sociology and Anthropology as ‘Twin

Sisters’

Sociology and Social Anthropology: Differences

Anthropology:-

It is the study of simple societies

It study traditional simple, non-literate

societies

It incorporates archaeology, physical

anthropology, cultural history,

branches of linguistics

Social anthropology and cultural

anthropology are close to the study of

sociology

It developed in the west

Western social anthropologists studied

non-European societies often thought

of as exotic, barbaric and uncivilized

In the past they documented the details

of simple societies in a neutral scientific

fashion

Sociology:-

It is deemed to be the study of modern,

complex societies

It study complex societies

It often focus on parts of society like the

bureaucracy or religion or caste or a

process such as social mobility

Sociologists have often relied on survey

method and quantitative data using

statistics and the questionnaire mode

Indian sociology studied Indian societies

that were both complex differentiated

societies of urban modern India as well

as the study of tribes in a holistic fashion

There is interchanges between the

sociology and social anthropology while

studying simple societies



They were comparing simple societies

with the western modern societies

It study society (simple societies) in all

their aspects, as wholes

Eg:- The Andaman Islands

It used long field work using

ethnographic research methods

Both subjects use methods and

techniques from both disciplines

Sociology uses quantitative and

qualitative techniques, macro and micro

approaches

In India, Sociology and Social

Anthropology have had a very close

relationship

Sociology and Psychology: Similarities

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and how it influences human

behavior

Both studies the individual in society and help each to study about the

behavior of man in social groups and social organizations

Psychology helps Sociology to analyze the interrelationship and interventions

between humans

It helps to study the psychology of social changes in society

Sociology and Psychology: Differences

Psychology:-

The science of behavior.

It involves itself primarily with the

individual.

It is interested in her/his intelligence

and learning, motivations and

memory, nervous system and reaction

time, hopes and fears.

Social psychology, which serves as a

bridge between psychology and

sociology

Its primary interest in the individual

but concerns itself with the way in

which the individual behaves in social

groups, collectively with other

individuals

Sociology:-

Attempts to understand behavior as it

is organized in society

Studies the way in which personality

is shaped by different aspects of

society

Eg:- economic and political system,

their family and kinship structure,

their culture, norms and values.

Durkheim’s study of suicide:

Deals individual intentions of those

who commit or try to commit suicide

and various social characteristics of

these individuals



Chapter 2

Terms, Concepts and their use in Sociology

Social Groups and Society

Sociology is the study of human social life

A defining feature of human life is that humans interact, communicate and

construct social collectivities

The comparative and historical perspective of sociology brings home two facts:

First, in every society whether ancient or feudal or modern, Asian or European

or African – human groups and collectivities exist

Second, the types of groups and collectivities are different in different societies

Aggregates

Any gathering of people does not necessarily constitute a social group

These are collections of people who are in the same place at the same time, but

share no definite connection with one another

Eg: passengers waiting at a railway station or airport or a cinema audience

Such aggregates are often termed as quasi groups

Quasi Group

An aggregate or combination

It lacks structure or organization

Whose members may be unaware, or less aware, of the existence of groupings

Eg: Social classes, status groups, age and gender groups, crowds

Quasi groups may become social groups in time and in specific circumstances

Eg: Caste and class given rise to political parties

Characteristics of Social Groups

1. Persistent interaction to provide continuity

2. A stable pattern of these interactions

3. A sense of belonging to identify with other members,

4. Shared interest

5. Acceptance of common norms and values

6. A definable structure

Social Structure:- refers to patterns of regular and repetitive interaction

between individuals or groups

A social group:- refers to a collection of continuously interacting persons who

share common interest, culture, values and norms within a given society

Types of Social Groups

Groups are of different types

There is difference between groups in traditional and small scale societies and

of modern and large scale societies



There is differences in groups between close, intimate, face-to-face interaction

in traditional societies and impersonal, detached, distant interaction in modern

societies

The groups are classified into:

a) Primary and Secondary Social Groups

b) Community and Society or Association

c) In-Groups and Out-Groups

d) Reference Group

e) Peer Groups

a).Primary Groups

It refers to a small group of people, connected by intimate and face-to-face

association and co-operation

The members of primary groups have a sense of belonging.

o Eg: Family, village and groups of friends

Primary groups are person-oriented

Secondary groups

It refers to those groups which are relatively large in size, maintain formal and

impersonal relationships.

Eg:- Schools, government offices, hospitals, students association etc.

The secondary groups are goal oriented

b).Community and Society or Association

The term ‘community’ refers to human relationships that are highly personal,

intimate and enduring

Eg: Example: family, with real friends or a close-knit group

‘Society’ or ‘association’ refers to everything opposite of ‘community’

It includes impersonal, superficial and transitory relationships of modern

urban life

c).In-groups and Out-groups

It denotes a sense of belongingness

This feeling separates ‘us’ or ‘we’ from ‘them’ or ‘they’

We feeling exists (we) in In-group

It has face to face relationship

The members have feeling of sacrifice and cooperation

Domestic and Perfect relationship

Eg: Children in a particular school

Out-Groups

It is the group in which the members of an in-group do not belong

The members of an out-group can face hostile reactions from the members of

the in-group



It is characterized by lack of We feeling (their), far relationship, lack the feeling

of sacrifice and cooperation among members. Eg: Migrants

d). Reference Group

The groups whose life styles are imitated are known as reference groups

We do not belong to our reference groups but we do identify ourselves with

that group

Reference groups are important sources of information about culture, life style,

aspiration and goal attainments.

Eg:- A person copies the life style of any film actor or artist.

e). Peer Groups

It is a kind of primary group, usually formed between individuals either of

same age, or professional group, status group, etc.

Eg: classmates, school mates etc.

Often peer group influence on children is greater than parental influence

Peer pressure refers to the social pressure exerted by one’s peers on what one

ought to do or not

Social Stratification

Social stratification refers to the existence of structured inequalities between

groups in society in terms of their access to material rewards

Stratification can be defined as ‘structural inequalities between different

groupings of people’

Society consists of ‘strata’ in a hierarchy with the more favored at top and less

privileged at bottom

Eg: Division on the basis of age, sex, occupation etc..

Inequality of power and advantage is central for sociology because

stratification has a crucial place in the organization of society

Every aspect of every individual and household is affected by stratification

Many things are unequally distributed in society like opportunities for health,

longevity, security, educational success, fulfillment in work, political influence

etc

Basic systems of stratification

Four basic systems of stratification existed in human societies:

Slavery Estate

Caste Class

Slavery

It is an extreme form of inequality and stratification existed in society

Individuals are literally owned by others. The slaves have no rights in their life

Eg: Ancient Greece and Rome



Estate System

Another system of stratification is estate system, which existed in Europe and

French society

In this system, society is categorized by three types- Clergy, Nobility,

Commoners

Caste System

It is particular to Indian society

The word ‘caste’ is derived from the Spanish word ‘casta’ which means ‘breed’

or ‘lineage’

Origin of Caste system:

Caste system has had its origin from Chaturvarna system

The Hindu society was divided into four varnas, namely:-Brhamanas,

Kshatriyas, Vyshyas and Shudras

Caste is an inseparable aspect of Indian society and it is a deep-rooted social

institution in India

In caste system, an individual’s position in society depends on the ascribed

status ie.the status is by birth

Different castes formed a hierarchy in society, which is based on the principle

of purity and pollution

The most pure caste are the Brahmins, the priestly caste are superior to all

others

The Panchamas or outcastes are inferior to all other castes

The caste system practiced Endogamy and ritual avoidance of contact with

lower caste members for maintaining purity by the upper castes

Characteristic features of caste system

1. Caste is determined by birth

2. Ascribed Status: Status by birth

3. Endogamy: It referred as marriage within one’s own caste

4. Hereditary occupation: Each caste has a particular hereditary occupation.

5. Restriction on food and social intercourse

6. A segmental division of society

Changes in caste system

There are some changes in caste system during these periods

These include, Urbanization, Industrialization, Implementation of laws,

Development in transport and communication, Democratic system, Universal

education

Class System

Social class is one of the major forms of social stratification. It is found in

modern civilized societies

There are two classes: Upper class and Lower class



Karl Marx defined a social class as ‘all those people who share a common

relationship to the means of production’

Karl Marx studied about class system based on the people’s relation with their

means of production

He divided social class into two: The bourgeoisie and proletariat i.e. the haves

and have nots

Max Weber defined Social classes based on life chances, which refers to the

rewards and advantages afforded by market capacity

Weber said, inequality, might be based on economic relations, but it also be

based on prestige or on political power

Characteristics of class system

a) Achieved status: Social Class is related to status. Status in class is not ascribed,

it is achieved

b) Universal: Class system can be seen in all over the world. It is a feature of

modern world

c) Open: It is open to all individuals.Any individual can change their class system

through their abilities

d) Competition: The members belonging to lower strata can move upward

through competition. Mobility is possible in class system

e) Goal oriented: Each individual can achieve their goals. Individuals are goal

oriented

f) Mode of living: A social class have its own mode of living, which is distinct

from other classes

g) Economic group: A social class is an economic group. It is based on income,

wealth, occupation etc.

Comparison between Caste and Class

Status and Role

Caste

Social hierarchy is

fixed

Caste system is rigid

Ascribed by birth

It is transmitted across

generations

It is based on religion

and existed in India

Class

It is open

It is flexible

Achievement based

It is based on

economic position in a

society

It is universal

Status refers to the social position with defined rights and duties assigned to

these positions

Status and role are twin concepts



Status

Status is simply a position in

society or in a group

Status is occupied

Every society, every group and

every individual has many

such positions

Status is an institutionalized

role

Status is not given and fixed

Role

Role is the dynamic or

behavioral aspect of status

Roles are played

Role is the expected action out

of these set of duties and

privileges

People perform their roles as

per social expectations

Roles are not given and fixed

Status is a set of privileges and

duties

Status can be two types: Ascribed status and achieved status

Ascribed status:

It is a social position, which a person occupies because of birth or assumes

involuntarily

The most common bases for ascribed status are age, caste, race and kinship

It has seen in simple and traditional societies

Achieved status:

It is a social position that a person occupies voluntarily by personal ability,

achievements, virtues and choices

The most common bases for achieved status are educational qualifications,

income, and professional expertise

Modern societies are characterized by achievements

Status set

In a modern society an individual occupies multiple status which is termed as

status set

Eg: a person as a student, a daughter, a passenger, a customer etc..

Status sequence

The status which is attained in succession or sequence at various stages of life

Eg: a son becomes father, grandfather, great grandfather etc.

Role conflict

It is the incompatibility among roles corresponding to one or more status

It occurs when contrary expectations arise from two or more roles

Eg: a working woman in her role as a mother, wife and a professional at work



Role stereotyping

It is a process of reinforcing some specific role for some member of the society

Eg: Men as breadwinner and women as homemaker

Society and Social Control

Social control refers to the social process, techniques and strategies by which

behaviors of individual or a group are regulated

It refers both to the use of force to regulate the behavior of the individual and

groups and also refers to the enforcing of values and patterns for maintaining

order in society

It includes the methods which are used to control the members of the society

and the roles and its functions

It is a collective term for those processes, planned or unplanned by which

individuals to conform to the usages and values of the group or society

According to Functionalist view…

Social control refers to the use of force to regulate the behavior of the individual

and groups

Enforcing of values and patterns for maintaining order in society

According to Conflict view…

Social control is the mechanism to impose the social control of the dominant

classes on the lower or downtrodden groups

According to Edward A Ross:

Social control refers to “the system of devices whereby society brings its

members into conformity with the accepted standard of behavior”

Through these methods, society tries to influence human behavior to maintain

order in society

Common Features of Social Control

In every society, there are certain accepted standards of behavior or norms

These norms are expected to be obeyed by the members

Some form of social pressure is exerted to meet the members to conform to the

norms and are highly valued by the culture

The scope of social control is vast.

It operates in a small area of family and extends upto the vast range of nation

Why social control is necessary?

1.To maintain social order

It is necessary for every group or member for creating its own order

This is possible only when its members behave in accordance with the social

order



2. It establishes social unity

Social control regulates the behavior in accordance with the established norms,

which brings unity among individuals

3. To regulate or control individual behavior

There are differences in ways of behavior and have possibility to have clash

between them

4. To provide social sanction

Social control provide social sanction to the social ways of behavior

Every individuals has to follow folkways, morales, customs prevalent in

society

If an individual violates the social norms, he is compelled through social

control

Types of Social Control

Social control can be broadly classified into two:

Formal social control

Informal social control

Formal Social Control

Formal social control refers to the codified, systematic and other formal

mechanism of control

In modern society, formal social control is used

Eg: Law, government, state etc..

Law:

Law is the most important formal means of social control

Law is a body of rules enacted by legally authorized body and enforced by an

authorized agencies

Eg: untouchability prohibition law, Motor-vehicle acts etc..

Education: It is a process of socialisation

Education inculcates values of discipline, cooperation, tolerance and spirit of

sacrifice

Coercion: It is the use of force to achieve a desired end

Eg: the barricades established by the police against the protestors etc.

Informal Social Control

The informal social control refers to individualistic, informal, unofficial and

uncodified methods

It includes smiles, making faces, body language, laughter etc.

It is used in day-to-day life

Eg: Family, religion, kinship etc.



Positive and Negative Social Control

Positive social control includes social rewards includes smiles, praises, touch

of any gesture of encouragement

Whereas negative social control includes punishment, especially it includes –

criticism, beating and even physical threat

Sanction

A sanction is a mode of reward or punishment that reinforces socially expected

forms of behavior

Deviance

Deviance refers to modes of action, which do not conform to the norms or

values held by most of the members of a group or society

Chapter 3

Understanding Social Institutions

What is social institution?

An institution is something that works according to rules established or at least

acknowledged by law or by custom. Its regular and continuous operation

cannot be understood without taking those rules into account

Institutions impose constraints on individuals. They also provide him/her with

opportunities. An institution can viewed as an end in itself. So people have

viewed family, religion, state or even education as an end in itself

Functionalist and Conflict Perspectives

These views see the same thing differently, for eg: stratification or social control

They have different forms of understandings on social institutions

Functionalist View

It understands social institutions as a complex set of social norms, beliefs,

values and role relationship that arise in response to the needs of society

Social institutions exist to satisfy social needs

As per functionalist view, there are informal and formal social institutions

exist in societies

Informal social institutions are - Family and Religion

Formal social institutions are - Law and Education

Conflict Perspective

This view holds that all individuals are not placed equally in society



All social institutions whether familial, religious, political, economic, legal or

educational will operate in the interest of the dominant sections of society

It may be class, caste, tribe or gender

The dominant section ensures that the ruling ideas becomes the ruling ideology

of the society

FAMILY

Family is a natural social entity in society. It is more universal and unchanging

Sociologists studied how the social institutions like family, marriage and

kinship are important in all societies. They also noted that their character is

different in different societies

They also studied how family is linked to economic, political, cultural and

educational spheres

Functionalist perspective on family

According to functionalists, the family performs important tasks, which

contribute to society’s basic needs and helps to perpetuate social order

They argue that modern industrial societies function best if women look after

the family and men earn the family livelihood

Nuclear family

Nuclear family is a form of family, which comprised husband, wife and their

unmarried children

The functionalists argues that nuclear family is the best unit, equipped to

handle the demands of industrial society

In such nuclear family, one adult can work outside home while the other adult

cares for the home and children

This specialization of roles within the nuclear family involves the husband

adopting the ‘instrumental’ role as breadwinner and the wife assuming the

‘affective’, emotional role in domestic settings

Shift from Nuclear family to Joint family

There is a debate in India about the shift from nuclear family to joint families

The nuclear families have always existed in India particularly among deprived

castes and classes

Sociologist A. M. Shah studied family system in India. He argued that, in postindependent

India, the joint family has steadily increased. The contributing

factor is the increasing life expectancy in India. The proportion of aged people

ie. 60 years and above has increased

He said, these elderly people live in joint families. So this argument cautions us

against the common sense impression that the joint family is fast eroding.



Diverse Family Forms

Based on rule of residence

Matrilocal and Patrilocal Families

Matrilocal means the newly married couple stays with the woman’s parents

Patrilocal means the couple lives with the man’s parents

Based on authority and dominance

Matriarchal and Patriarchal Families

In Patriarchal family, men exercise authority and dominance

In Matriarchal Families, women play a major role in decision making and

authority

Based on lineage

Matrilineal and Patrilineal Families

In Matrilineal family, the lineage is through the eldest female member in a

family

In Patrilineal family, the lineage is through the eldest male member in a family

Family of Orientation: The family in which a person is born is called family of

orientation

Family of Procreation: The family in which a person is married into a family is called

family of procreation

Families are linked to other social spheres and Families Change

The family, the household, its structure and norms are closely linked to the rest

of the society

Eg: the unintended consequences of the German unification

Family and kinship are thus subject to change and transformation due to

macro-economic processes. But the direction of change not always similar for

all countries and regions

These change does not mean the complete erosion of previous norms and

structure. Change and continuity co-exist

How Gendered is the Family?

The people believe that the male child will support the parents in the old age

and female child will leave on marriage. This attitude results in favoring male

child

Even female child have biological survival, infant mortality rate in females is

higher in India

The female foeticide has led to sudden decline in sex ratio. It declined from 934

per 1000 males in 1991 to 927 in 2001

The prosperous states like Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and Western Uttar

Pradesh have declining child sex ratio

In Punjab, child sex ratio has declined to 793 girls per 1000 boys



MARRIAGE

Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock

It is a socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract between

spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them

Marriage is a universal, socio-cultural institution that permits sexual

relationship between the partners

Definition: According to Mazumdar:-

“Marriage as a socially sanctioned union of male and female”.

Forms of Marriage

Marriage has various forms, which identified on the basis of the number of

partners and rules governing who can marry whom

In terms of number of partners into marriage, it can be divided into two-

Monogamy and Polygamy

1. Monogamy

Monogamy is a form of marriage in which one man marries one woman

It is the most common form of marriage, which allowed only one spouse

2. Polygamy

One person marries more than one person of opposite sex at one time.

Man can marry more than one woman and a woman can marry more than one

man at the same time

Polygamy is again divided into two types: Polygyny and Polyandry

(a).Polygyny

It is the form of marriage in which one man marries more than one woman

Polygyny means one husband with two or more wives

Eg: Muslim community, Tribal communities

(b).Polyandry

It is the form of marriage in which one woman marries more than one man

Polyandry means one wife with two or more husbands

Eg: Tibetans, tribes like Todas, Kotas etc

Serial Monogamy

In many societies, individuals are permitted to marry again on the death of first

spouse or after divorce. But they cannot have more than one spouse at one and

the same time

These monogamous marriages are termed as serial monogamy



Arranged Marriage

In some societies, decisions regarding mate selection are made by parents or

relatives. The girl and boy has no choice. But in some other societies individuals

are free to choose their own mates

Rules of Endogamy and Exogamy

Every society has its own rules and regulations for marriage. Along with rules,

there are several obligations which the partners are bound to obey

Forms of marriage based on rules governing eligibility/ineligibility of mates is

classified as endogamy and exogamy

(a). Endogamy

Endogamy is a rule of marriage in which life partners can be selected only from

within their group

Endogamy is marrying a person from within one’s own group

Eg: (caste endogamy, class endogamy, religion, tribe, village etc.)

(b). Exogamy

Exogamy is a rule of marriage in which someone marries from outside the

group

It is not allowed marriage within one’s own group. It is opposite of endogamy

Marriage between close blood-relation is not permitted

In India, village exogamy is practised, which ensures the daughters were

married into families away from their home

KINSHIP

Kinship is related concept with family and marriage.

It is relatedness or connection by blood or marriage or adoption

Kinship is ‘the bond of blood or marriage which binds people together in

groups’

Kinship ties are connections between individuals, established either through

marriage or through the lines of descent that connect blood relatives (mothers,

fathers, siblings, offspring etc)

Kinship bonds are very strong in tribal societies and rural communities

Types of Kinship

There are two types of kinship

Affinal Kinship

Consanguineous Kinship

1. Affinal Kinship

It referred as kinship by Marriage



When a man marries, he establishes a relationship not only with the women

he marries but also with a number of other people in her family.

The relatives linked by marital bond is referred as affinal kinship

Eg: Husband and Wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law etc…

2. Consanguineous Kinship

Relation by blood or common ancestry is known as Consanguineous Kinship

The bond between parents and their children and between siblings is

Consanguineous Kinship

Eg: son, brother, sister, uncle etc..

ECONOMIC INSTITUTIONS

What is work?

Work refers to ‘paid employment’

But many types of work in the informal economy do not conform to the idea of

paid employment

The term informal economy refers to transactions outside the sphere of regular

employment, which involving the exchange of cash for services provided, but

also often involving the direct exchange of goods or services

Define work – ‘whether paid or unpaid, as the carrying out of tasks requiring

the expenditure of mental and physical effort, which aims at production of

goods and services for human needs’

Modern Forms of Work and Division of Labour

In pre-modern forms of society, most people worked in the caring of livestock

But in industrially developed society, only small proportion of the population

works in agriculture

There are various changes happened in the modern forms of work. These include:

1. Farming become industrialized. It is carried by means of machines rather than

by human hand. In India, the larger share of the population continues to be

rural and agricultural or involved in other rural based occupations

2. In India, the service sector has been expanded

3. One of the most distinctive characteristics of the economic system of modern

society is highly complex division of labour

4. Work has been divided into different occupations and specialized

5. Modern society characterized by shift in the location of work. It leads to

separation of work and home. Production carried out in machine based

factories instead of household

6. People seeking jobs in factories were trained to perform a specialized task and

they will receive a wage for this work

7. Managers supervised the work to enhance productivity and discipline



8. One of the main features of modern societies is an enormous expansion of

economic interdependence. People are depending on others for products and

services across the world

Transformation of work

There are various transformations in the field of work. It includes:

a. Industrial processes were broken down into simple operations

b. It could be precisely timed, organized and monitored

c. Mass production demands mass markets

d. One of the most significant innovations was the construction of a moving

assembly line

e. Modern industrial production needed expensive equipment and ccontinuous

monitoring of employees through monitoring or surveillance system

f. The shift to ‘Flexible Production’ and ‘Decentralization of Work’ gained

importance

g. For meeting the growing competition between firms and countries, the firms

organize production suiting the changing market conditions

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS

Political institutions are concerned with the distribution of power in society

There are two concepts which is essential to understand about political

institutions– power and authority

Power:

It is the ability of individuals or groups to carry out their will even when

opposed by others.

When a person uses his influence over another person, irrespective of his will,

it is called power

It implies that those who hold power do so at the cost of others

There is a fixed amount of power in a society, some has power, but others do

not enjoy power

The individuals or groups does not hold power in isolation. They hold it in

relation to others

Eg: Elders in family assign domestic duties to their children

The principal of a school enforcing discipline among students

An individual or group has power to the extent to which others abide by their

will

Thus, political activities or politics is concerned with ‘power’

But how this power applied to achieve its aim. It can be understood with

reference to the concept of ‘authority’



Authority:

Power is exercised through authority

When a person uses his influence over another who willingly accepts it, we call

it authority

Authority is that form of power, which is accepted as legitimate, ie. as right and

just

It is institutionalized, because it is based on legitimacy

People accept the power of those in authority as they consider their control to

be fair and justified. The existing Ideologies will help this process of

legitimation of authority in society

Stateless societies

The states existed before the formation of ‘modern state’ are referred as

stateless societies

There were no mechanisms for maintaining social order in these states

Social Anthropologists were studied those societies and demonstrated how

order is maintained without a modern governmental apparatus

There was a balanced opposition existed between parts, cross-cutting alliances,

based on kinship, marriage and residence, rites and ceremonies involving the

participation of friends and foes (enemies)

The modern state has a fixed structure and formal procedures

The concept of the State

The state is the most fundamental institution of a political system.

A state exists where there is a political apparatus of government (institutions

like a parliament or congress, civil service officials) ruling over a given territory

Government authority is backed by a legal system and by the capacity to use

military force to implement its policies

The functionalist perspective sees the ‘state as representing the interests of all

sections of society’

The conflict perspective sees the ‘state as representing the dominant sections of

society’

The characteristics of modern State

Modern states are different from traditional states

The modern states are nation states, in which majority of citizens consider

themselves as part of a particular nation

These states are defined and characterized by:-

1. Sovereignty

2. Citizenship

3. Ideas of nationalism

4. Government



(a).Sovereignty

It refers to the undisputed political rule of a state over a given territorial area

The sovereign state is one in which citizenship carried with it rights of political

participation

These were achieved largely through struggles, which limited the power of

monarchs, or actively overthrew them

Eg: French revolution and Indian Independence movement

(b).Citizenship

Citizenship rights include civil, political and social rights

Civil rights involve:-

The freedom of individuals to live where they choose

Freedom of speech and religion

The right to own property

Right to equal justice before the law

Political rights includes:-

The right to participate in elections

To stand for public office

Universal adult franchise

Social rights includes:-

A minimum standard of economic welfare and security like health benefits,

unemployment allowance, minimum wages etc..

Welfare state

The broadening of social or welfare rights led to the welfare state. It was

established in western societies since second world war

States of the erstwhile socialist countries had provisions for the welfare state

But in most developing countries this was non-existent

All over the world, today these social rights are being attacked as liabilities on

the state and hindrances to economic growth

©. Nationalism

It can be defined as a set of symbols and beliefs providing the sense of being

part of a single political community

Thus individuals feel a sense of pride and belonging, in being ‘British’, ‘Indian’

etc..

People have always felt some kind of identity with social groups of one form

or another

Eg: family, clan or religious community

Nationalism appeared with the development of the modern state



RELIGION

Sociological study of religion is important as it is a social institution

The sociological study of religion is different from a religious or theological

study of religion. It includes:

1. Sociology conducts empirical studies of how religions actually function in

society and its relationship to other institutions

2. Sociology uses a comparative method

3. It investigates religious beliefs, practices and institutions in relation to other

aspects of society and culture

Methods to study about religion

The empirical method:- It means that the sociologist does not have a

judgemental approach to religious phenomena

The Comparative method: It brings all societies on level with each other. It

helps to study without bias and prejudice

The sociological perspective: It means that religious life can be made

intelligible only by relating it to domestic life, economic life and political life

Characteristics of religion

Religion exists in all known societies, although religious beliefs and practices

vary from culture to culture

The common characteristics of all religions are:

It is a universal, permanent, pervasive and perennial interest of man

It includes set of symbols, invoking feelings of reverence or awe

Rituals or ceremonies

A community of believers

Rituals:

The rituals associated with religion are diverse

Ritual acts include praying, chanting, singing, eating certain kinds of food (or

refraining from food), fasting on certain days etc..

Ritual acts are oriented towards religious symbols. They are quite distinct from

the habits and procedures of ordinary life

Features of religious rituals

Religious rituals are often carried out by an individual in his/her personal life

But all religions involve ceremonials practiced collectively by believers

Regular ceremonials occur in special places – churches, mosques, temples,

shrines etc..

Religion is about the sacred realm

Members of different religions will do certain things before entering a sacred

realm



Eg: covering one’s head, or not covering one’s head, taking off shoes, wearing

particular kind of clothes etc.

The common thing among all those people are-feeling of awe, recognition and

respect for sacred places or situations

Origin of Religion

There are various interpretations regarding the origin of religion

E.B. Tylor:

His ‘Theory of Animism’ elaborates the origin of religion

He says, religion came out of the idea of soul

Herbert Spencer:

He believes that origin of religion came from fear of ghosts. They believed that

ancestral ghosts tried to interfere with human affairs

His theory is also known as ‘Ancestral worship or animism’

James Frazer:

His theory is known as ‘Naturalism’

When nature defeated primitive man in his struggle for existence, he started

worship nature

Emile Durkhiem:

He rejects all these theories and gave a sociological theory of religion

He says, all religious beliefs are totally social.

Emile Durkhiem on Religion

Emile Durkhiem, considered religion has two realms-sacred and profane

Durkhiem studied the sacred realm of religion which distinguishes from the

profane

The sacred includes an element of supernatural

Eg: the sacredness given to a tree or temple or animal

Religion is associated with the sacred. The sacredness of a thing is not inherent

in itself but it gets it from another source

Elements of religion

Polytheism:

Some people believe in several supernatural powers and worship all of them.

They are called as Polytheists. It means belief in more than one God

Monotheism:

Some people believe in only one God. They are called as Monotheists. It means

belief in one God



Relationship of religion with other social institutions

Religion has had a very close relationship with power and politics

For eg: there have been religious movements for social change, like anti-caste

movements or movements against gender discrimination

Religion is not just a matter of private life of an individual but it also has a

public character. This public character of religion has importance on other

institutions of society

Sociology took interest in the relationship between political and religious

spheres

Classical sociologists believed that ‘as societies modernized, religion would

become less influential over various spheres of life’

But the contemporary events shows a persisting role of religion in various

aspects of society

Max Weber on Religion

Max Weber’s theory: The Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism

Weber demonstrates how sociology looks at religion in its relationship to other

aspects of social and economic behavior

Weber gives his theory of religion based on the relationship between religion

and capitalism

The major assumptions of Weber are:-

1. Calvinism (a branch of Protestant Christianity) exerted an important influence

on the emergence and growth of capitalism as a mode of economic organization

2. The Calvinists believed that the world was created for the glory of god. Any

work in this world had to be done for his glory, making even mundane works

acts of worship

3. The Calvinists believed in the concept of predestination, meant that whether

one will go to heaven or hell was pre-ordained

4. There was no way of knowing whether one has been assigned heaven or hell,

people sought to look for signs of God’s will in this world, through their own

occupations

5. A person doing whatever profession, was consistent and successful in his or

her work, it was interpreted as a sign of God’s happiness

6. The money earned was not to be used for worldly consumption

7. Investment is treated like a holy creed

8. At the heart of capitalism is the concept of investment, investing capital to make

more goods, create more profit, which in turn creates more capital

Weber argues in this theory that religion, in the case of Calvinism, does have an

influence on economic development

Religion as a social institution

Religion cannot be studied as a separate entity. Social forces always and

invariably influence religious institutions



Political debates, economic situations and gender norms will always influence

religious behavior

Religious norms influence and sometimes even determine social

understanding

Religion is an important part of society and is inextricably tied to other parts

The task of sociologist is to unravel these various interconnections

In traditional society, religion usually plays a central part in social life.

Religious symbols and rituals are often integrated with the material and artistic

culture of society

EDUCATION

Education is a life-long process involving both formal and informal institutions

of learning

School education is a step towards higher education and employment

It means acquiring some necessary social skills

So there is a felt need for education in society

Sociology understand this need as a process of transmission/ communication

of group heritage ie. common to all societies

There is a qualitative distinction between simple societies and complex,

modern societies

In simple societies, there was no need for formal schooling

Children learnt customs and the broader way of life by participating in

activities with their adults

Formal education

In complex societies:-

There is an increasing economic division of labour

Separation of work from home

Need for specialized learning and skill attainment

Rise of state systems, nations and complex sets of symbols and ideas

In this social context, education has to be formal and explicit

Modern complex societies rest on abstract universalistic values

This distinguishes it from a simple society that depends on particularistic

values based on family, kin, tribe, caste or religion

Schools in modern societies are designed to promote uniformity, standardized

aspirations and universalistic values

Emile Durkheim on Education

No society can survive without a ‘common base-a certain number of ideas,

sentiments and practices which education must inculcate in all children

indiscriminately, to whatever social category they belong’

Education should prepare the child for a special occupation, and enable the

child to internalize the core values of society



Functionalist Sociologists

They speak in terms of general social needs and social norms

For them, education maintains and renews the social structure, transmits and

develops culture

The educational system is an important mechanism for the selection and

allocation of individuals in their future roles in the society

It is also regarded as the ground for proving one’s ability and hence selective

agency for different status according to their abilities

Need for education

The sociologists who perceive society as unequally differentiated, education

functions as a main stratifying agent

At the same time, the inequality of educational opportunity is also a product of

social stratification

Some argue that schooling ‘intensifies the existing divide between the elite and

the masses’

Children going to privileged schools learn to be confident while children

deprived of that may feel the opposite

But there are many children who simply cannot attend school or drop out

The gender and caste discrimination also threaten the chances of education

Chapter 4

Culture and Socialisation

What is CULTURE???

In everyday life, culture includes arts, or alludes to the way of life of certain classes

Culture is a way of behaving oneself in society

Culture is the common understanding, which is learnt and developed through

social interaction with others in society.

Cultures are never finished products. They are always changing and evolving

Culture is dynamic a functioning units in which its elements are constantly being

added, deleted, expanded, shrunk and rearranged

Culture distinguishes humans from animals

Culture enables:-

The capacity of individuals to develop a common understanding with others

To draw the same meanings from signs and symbols

Creating meaning by learn it with the company of others in families, groups and

communities

We learn the use of tools and techniques and non-material signs and symbols

through interaction with others

This learning prepares us for carrying out our roles and responsibilities in society



DIVERSE SETTINGS, DIFFERENT CULTURES

People live in variety of natural settings and social set up. In different

environments, people adapt different strategies to cope with the natural and social

conditions

This leads to the emergence of diverse ways of life or cultures

Based on their natural settings, their coping mechanisms towards the

environmental and social conditions are also differ

It is evident during tsunami of 26 December 2004, which affected some parts of

the Tamil Nadu and Kerala coast as well as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

in India

Coping Mechanisms

The people who are living in the mainland and islands are integrated into a

modern way of life and have access to science and technology

But the fisherfolk and the service personnel in the islands were unaware about the

tsunami and suffered large scale devastation and loss of life

Instead, the ‘Primitive’ tribal communities in the islands like the Onges, Jarawas,

Great Andamanese or Shompens were foresaw the calamity based on their

experience and saved themselves

Thus it is clear that having access to modern science and technology does not

make modern cultures superior to the tribal cultures of the islands.

Cultures cannot be ranked but can be judged adequate or inadequate in terms of

their ability to cope with the calamities

Defining Culture

According to E.B. Tylor:

Culture is "that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals,

law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a

member of society”

According to Malinowski:

“Culture comprises inherited artifacts, goods, technical process, ideas, habits

and values”

He is the Founder of the “functional school” of anthropology

According Clifford Geertz:

“…Man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun. I

take culture to be those webs…”

According to Leslie White:

“Culture as a means of adding meaning to objective reality”

Eg: people regarding water from a particular source as holy

According to Ralph Linton:

“The culture of a society is the way of life of its members, the collection of ideas

and habits, which they learn, share and transmit from generation to

generation”



Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn (Book): “Culture: A critical review of

concepts and definitions” in 1952

Characteristics of culture

CULTURE is:-

A way of thinking, feeling, believing

The total way of life of a people

An Abstraction from behavior

Learned behaviour

A storehouse of pooled learning

The social legacy the individual acquires from his group

A set of standardized orientations to recurrent problems

A mechanism for the normative regulation of behavior

Three Aspects / Dimensions of Culture

Cognitive: How we learn to process what we hear and see and give it some meaning

Eg: Identifying the ring of a cell-phone as ours

Recognizing the cartoon of a politician

Normative: It refers to rules of conduct

Eg: Not opening other people’s letters

Performing rituals at death

Material: Any activity with the help of materials like tools or machines

Eg: Internet chatting

Using rice-flour paste to design kolam on floors

(a). Cognitive aspects of culture

Cognitive means Knowing, perceiving or conceiving an act.

Cognition refers to understanding, how we make sense of all the information

coming to us from our environment

The cognitive aspects of culture is difficult to recognize than its material

aspects.

Because material culture are tangible, visible or audible. But cognitive aspects

are explicitly stated

When we read something we understand the meaning of these words

Only literate people can read and write but non-literates have their own oral

ways of transmitting ideas

In ‘Orality and Literacy’, Walter Ong cites a study of 1971, that states that only

78 out of the 3000 languages possess a literature.



Ong suggest that the material culture that is not written down has certain

specific characteristics

(b). Normative aspect of Culture

The normative dimension consists of folkways, mores, customs, conventions

and laws

These values or rules that guide social behaviour of the individuals in different

contexts

We follow social norms because we are used to doing it, as a result of

socialization

All social norms are accompanied by sanctions that promote conformity

Difference between Law and Norms

Law

Norms are implicit rules, laws are explicit rules.

Implicit:- Frequently, unrecognized by people but that give direction of

behaviour.

Explicit:- Being aware of rules, customs. Regulations within the culture and

learning these consciously.

Pierre Bourdieu, the French Sociologist says, when we try to understand

another culture’s norms, we must remember that there are certain implicit

understandings

Eg: If a person wants to show gratitude for something he has been given, he

should not offer a return gift too quickly

Law is a formal sanction defined by government as a rule or principle that the

people must follow.

Laws are applicable to the whole society and violation of the law attracts

penalties and punishment

Laws are universally accepted and derive from authority of the State

Norms

Norms are varying according to status

Dominant sections of society apply dominant norms, but these are often

discriminating people from different sections

Eg: Dalits did not allow to draw drinking water from a common vessel

©. Material aspect of Culture

It refers to tools, technologies, machines, buildings and modes of

transportation, as well as instruments of production and communication.

Eg: Mobile phone, music systems, cars and buses, ATMs, computers etc

It indicates the dependence on technology in everyday life



Material and Non-material Culture

There are two principal dimensions of culture: Material and Non-Material

Culture

While cognitive and normative aspects are non-material, the material

dimension is crucial to increase production and enhance the quality of life

Material culture includes all physical things that people create and attach

meaning

Eg:- Clothing, food, tools, architecture etc.

Non- Material Culture include non-physical things such as rules, mores, beliefs

For proper functioning of culture, we need a joint functioning of material

and non-material aspects of culture.

Cultural lag

When material or technological dimensions change rapidly, the non-material

aspects can lag behind in terms of values and norms

This is called CULTURAL LAG

The term Cultural lag was propounded by William F. Ogburn

It is the gap between material and non-material culture

The non-material dimensions are unable to match the advances of technology

and change slowly than material culture

Culture and Identity

Identities are not inherited but fashioned both by the individual and the group

through their relationship with others.

The social roles that played by an individual imparts identity

Every person in modern society plays multiple roles

Each person has particular role, combined with responsibilities and powers

The roles have to be recognized and acknowledged

This can done through the recognition of the particular language used among

role players

Eg: Students in school refer their teachers in a code language

Women have their own code language when they meet near river side or ponds

Subculture

In a culture there can be many subcultures, like elite and working class youth

Sub-cultures are marked by style, taste and association

Particular sub-cultures are identifiable by their speech, dress codes, preference

for particular kind of music or the manner in which they interact with their

group members

Sub-cultural groups can also function as cohesive units which imparts an

identity to all group members

Within such groups there can be leaders and followers but they work together

to achieve their objectives

Eg: sports club members engaging in constructive activities



Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is the application of one’s own cultural values in evaluating the

behaviour and beliefs of people from other cultures

The cultural values projected as the standard or norm are considered superior

to that of the beliefs and values of other cultures

Evaluation of other culture according to preconceptions originating in the

standards and customs of one’s own culture.

Eg. Macaulay’s Minute on Education (1835)

Cosmopolitanism

It is the opposite of Ethnocentrism

A Cosmopolitan will not evaluate the values and beliefs of other people on the

basis of his own beliefs.

In Cosmopolitanism other cultures are valued for their difference as they are.

He will encourage cultural exchange and enrich his culture by borrowing from

other cultures.

Eg:- English language for international communication, Hindi Film Music

borrowed from Western Pop music, Indian folk music etc.

A modern society appreciates cultural difference and accepts cultural

influences from abroad. These influences are incorporated and combine with

elements of indigenous culture

The absorption of diverse styles, forms, sounds and artifacts provides an

identity to a cosmopolitan culture

Cosmopolitan outlook allows diverse influence to enrich one’s own culture

Cultural Change

Cultural change is the way in which societies change their patterns of culture

Sources of change can be internal and external.

Internal Factors:-

New methods of farming boosting agricultural production, which transform

the nature of food consumption and quality of life of agrarian community

External Factors:-

War, Colonisation affect changes in the cultural practices and behaviour of a

society

Changes in Environment

Cultural change can occur through changes in the natural environment, contact

with other cultures or processes of adaptation

Changes in ecology drastically alter the way of life of people

Eg: forest dwelling tribes are deprived of using forest due to legal restrictions

Tribal communities in North East and Middle India were worst affected by the

loss of forest resources



Revolutionary changes

Cultural change is evolutionary as well as revolutionary

When a culture is transformed rapidly and its values and meaning systems

undergo a radical change, then revolutionary change takes place

Revolutionary change can be initiated through political intervention,

technological innovation or ecological transformation

Eg: French Revolution (1789)

It transformed French society by:

Destroying the estate system of ranking

Abolishing the monarchy

Inculcating the values of liberty, equality and fraternity among citizens

Thus when a different understanding comes to prevail, culture change occurs

The fast development of electronic and print media also bring changes in

culture

SOCIALISATION

• When a child born and grows up, he keeps learning not just the physical world,

but the child knows what kind of behavior will be applauded and what will be

disapproved

• Socialisation can be defined as the process whereby “the helpless infant

gradually becomes a self-aware, knowledgeable person, skilled in the ways of

the culture into which he is born”

• It is the process by which we become human being

• It is the process by which a child gradually become aware about himself, turns

in to a person with different knowledge and skills

• The newborn child grows up in society and learning different ways in which

the people around him behave

Eg: ‘Wolf-children of Midnapore’

• Socialisation is a life-long process

There are two stages in socialization

• Primary socialization and Secondary socialization

Primary Socialisation: It happens in the early years of child birth

Secondary socialisation: It extends over the entire life span of a person

Why it is important?

• The concepts of status, role, social control, social groups, social stratification,

culture, values etc. will help to understand the process of socialization and how

it will takes place

• A child born into a family and become a member of a large kin-group

• A child may be born in a nuclear family or an extended family



• The family into which one is born is a member of a larger society like a caste or

a tribe, religious or linguistics group

• Membership of these groups and institutions imposes certain behavioural

norms and values on each member

• The membership also required some roles to play and it also involve

responsibilities and duties. There are multiple roles

• The process of learning the norms, attitudes, values or behavioural patterns of

these groups begins early in life and continues throughout one’s life.

Agencies of Socialisation

1. Family

Every child is born into a family, which is either nuclear or extended family

Nuclear family:

Parents are the key socializing agents

Joint & extended family:

Grandparents, parents, uncle, cousin plays significant role in socialisation

• In traditional society, the family into which one is born, determines the

individual’s social position in his life

• The region and social class of the family into which an individual is born affect

patterns of socialization

• Children learn behaviour characteristics of their parents or others in their

neighbourhood or community

2. Peer Groups

• Peer groups are friendship groups of children of a similar age

• Children in the age of four or five spend a lot of time with their fiends of the

same age

• The word ‘peer’ means ‘equal’

• There is a greater give and take will happen among peer group

• Peer relationship remain important throughout a person’s life

• It shapes child’s attitudes and behaviour

• Informal groups of people of similar ages at work and in other contexts, are of

enduring importance in shaping individuals attitude

3. Schools

• Schooling is a formal organisation

• It has formal curriculum and also a hidden curriculum, which conditioning

children’s learning

• Schools are agencies of socialisation in more subtle manner

• Schools also teach gender roles among students



4. Mass Media

• It is an essential part of our everyday lives.

• Both electronic and print media have great importance

• The media can make the access to information more democratic

• The extent of influence, in terms of both information and exposure to areas of

experience distant from one’s own

Eg: Sakthiman serial, Internet, television, Films etc.

Other socialising agencies

• There are other groups or social contexts, in which individuals spend large

parts of their lives

• Work is an important setting within which socialisation process operate

• Other agencies include religion, caste, class, clubs, organizations etc.

Socialisation and individual freedom

• Normally socialization will not make people conform to the norms

• Conflicts are there between different socializing agencies-between school and

home, peer group and home etc.

• But the cultural settings we are born and brought influence our behavior

• Some argue that, it might rob our free will. But this is not true

• The fact that from birth to death we are involved into interaction with others.

It certainly influences our personality, the values we hold and the behavior in

which we engage

• Socialisation is also at the origin of our individuality and freedom

• In the course of socialization, everyone develops a sense of self-identity, and

the capacity for independent thought and action

What is Research?

Chapter 5

Doing Sociology: Research Methods

Research is an attempt to know new facts, information etc. in a scientific

manner

Research consists of Discovery of new facts, Verification and testing of old facts,

Analysis of interrelationships, Explanations and development of new tools,

concepts and theories

According to Wallace and Wallace, “Sociological research refers to the

structural observation of social behavior”

Importance of social science research

Sociology studied the lived experiences of the people through research.

Sociologists try to adopt the point of view of the people they studied to see the

world through their eyes



The different purposes of research, including….

1. Social research helps to find the information for the governmental programs

Eg: To find out the true beneficiaries of welfare programs of government

2. To find out the reasons for social problems

Eg: Poverty, illiteracy, crimes etc.

3. To study the demands of the modern industrial developed society

Eg: Market survey

4. Environment impact studies. Social and environmental consequences of the

construction of huge developmental plants like dams, express highways,

airports, harbors etc..

METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH

The word Methodology actually refers to the study of method

Methodological issues or questions address the general problems of scientific

knowledge gathering that go beyond any one particular method, technique or

procedure

Objectivity and Subjectivity

The word objective means unbiased, neutral or based on facts alone

To be objective about something, we must ignore our own feelings or attitude

about it

The word subjective means something that is based on individual values and

preferences

Every science is expected to be objective, to produce unbiased knowledge

based on facts

Eg: When a Botanist studies plants or Geologist studies rocks, the personal bias

or preferences may not affect their work

Self-Reflexivity

To solve the problems of prejudices or bias in research, the sociologists use

several methods

One method is to rigorously and continuously examine one’s own ideas and

feelings about the subject of research

The sociologist tries to take an outsiders perspective on her/his own work

She/he tries to look at herself/himself and her/his research through the eyes

of others

It is called self-reflexivity

The sociologist will constantly subjects her own attitudes and opinions to selfexamination

and adapt a point of view of others



Documentation

Another method to solve the problem of prejudice and bias is ‘Documentation’

It is the practical aspect of reflexivity to carefully documenting whatever one is

doing

Documenting of all the procedures and the formal citing of all sources of

evidence ensure that others can retrace the steps we have taken to arrive at a

particular conclusion

It also helps us to check and re-check our own thinking or line of argument

Multiple Methods and Choice of Methods

There are multiple truths and multiple perspectives in sociology

There are multiple methods in social science research. Different methods are

more or less suited to tackle different types of research questions

Every method has its own strengths and weaknesses

Eg: If one is interested in finding out whether most Indian families are still ‘joint

families’, then a census or survey is the best method

If one wishes to compare the status of women in joint and nuclear families, then

interviews, case studies or participant observation may be suitable

Various methods in social science research

There are different ways of classifying the various methods used by Sociologists

1. Quantitative and Qualitative methods

Quantitative: It deals in countable or measurable variables like proportions,

averages etc..

Qualitative: It deals with more abstract and hard to measure phenomena like

attitudes, emotions etc..

2. Methods on the basis of data

Primary data: It is collected by the researcher himself. It is designed to produce

fresh data.

Secondary data: It collected from the already existing data in the form of

documents or other records and artefacts

3. Micro and Macro Method

Micro methods: It is designed to work in small intimate settings usually with

a single researcher

Eg: Interview and participant observation.

Macro methods: It is able to tackle large scale research involving large numbers

of respondents and investigators.

Eg: Survey research



4. Observable and Non-observable

This is another way of classifying methods.

Observable method: It study observable behaviour of people

Non-Observable: It study non-observable meaning, values and interpretations

Triangulation

The choice of method is usually based on the nature of research question

Now the researchers use multiple methods on the same research problems

from different vantage points

This is called triangulation

It is the process of reiterating or pinpointing something from different

directions

In this way different methods can be used to complement each other

It produced a much better result than what might have been possible with

each method by itself

Social research uses multiple methods to focus on the same research

problem and study it from different vantage points. This is known as

Triangulation.

Different Social Research Methods

A researcher can use any one or multiple methods of research to collect primary

and fundamental sources of data based on field work

The most important methods are:

Participant observation

Survey

Interview

Participant Observation

Like all other sciences, the basic form of investigation in social research is

observation

It is highly used where interviews or other methods are not suitable

It is a particular method by which the sociologist studies society, culture and

people.

It can be participant or non-participant observation

It refers to a particular method by which sociologist learns about society,

culture and people that he/she is studying

It is often called field work, which involves a long period of interaction with

the subjects of research

The researcher spends a long time living with the people he studies



As an ‘outsider’, he/she immerse herself/himself in the culture of the natives

by learning their language and participating in their everyday life

Through this, the researcher can acquire all the explicit and implicit knowledge

and skills of the people

Bronislaw Malinowski is regarded as the Father of field work

He lived with the natives and learned their language and culture of Trobriand

Island as a participant observer and write a book based on his field work –

‘Trobriand Island’

Field Work in Anthropology

Researcher

Bronislaw

Malinowski

Study Area

Trobriand Island

Radcliffe Brown Andaman Nicobar

Islands

Evans Pritchard

Frans Boas

Margarett Mead

Clifford Geertz

Nuer in Sudan

American Tribes

Samoa Island

Bali Island

Field Work in Social Anthropology

Social anthropology developed as a result of extensive field work

Towards the end of the 19 th century and the end of the 20 th century, many

anthropologists began to carry out systematic surveys on tribal languages,

rituals and beliefs

The various stages in field work are the following…

1. The researcher begin by doing a census of the community he/she was

studying

2. To map the physical layout of the village or settlement, including location of

each house, relevant common place etc.

3. To prepare a genealogy of the community and create a family tree for

individual members

4. The information obtained from one person is cross checked by asking other

relatives the same questions and after confirmation, a very detailed family tree

could be prepared



Field Work in Sociology

Anthropologists studies primitive simple societies, while sociologists focus on

the modern complex societies

Sociologists did their field work among all sorts of communities

William Foote Whyte, the American Sociologist did his first field work among

the street gang in an Italian American Slum in a large city and wrote a famous

book “Street Corner Society”

He lived there in three and half years and spending time together with the gang

members

Michael Burawoy, the American Sociologist worked for several months as a

mechanist in a Chicago Factory and wrote about his experience

In Indian Sociology also, the field work method is widely used in its village

studies after 1950s

The famous Indian sociologists are M.N. Srinivas and S.C Dubey

Field work in Sociology

Researcher

Book and Study Area

M.N. Srinivas The Remembered Village

(Rampura, Mysore)

S.C. Dubey Indian Village (Shamirpet,

Secunderabad)

William and

Charlotte Wiser

Behind Mud Walls

William Wiser Jajmani System

William Foote

Whyte

Street Corner Society

(Italian-American Slum)

Michael

Burawoy

Manufacturing Consent

(Chicago factory)

Limitations of Participant Observation

1. The field work involves very long time

2. All the works have been done by the researcher alone in a small group and the

findings were not applicable to other large communities

3. It can cover only small part of a village or community. So it is difficult to

understand whether the information collected from that place is common in the

larger community. This is a biggest disadvantage of field work

4. We could not make sure the accuracy of data presented by the researcher,

whether it is the voice of the researcher or the people being studied

5. There may be chance of bias or error in the study



6. The researcher asks the questions and presents the answers and speaks for the

people. So it is criticized because of the one sided relationship they are based

on.

Dialogue Format

Dialogue format is the way of presenting field work results where the

respondents and people can be directly involved

To counter the drawbacks of field work, dialogue format is used by some

scholars

It involves translating the work of the scholar into the language of the

community, asking their opinions and recording their responses

This allowing many more people to participate in producing and critically

engaging with the ‘knowledge’

Surveys

Survey is the best known sociological method. There is an increasing use of

surveys in non-academic purposes like exit poll, market surveys etc.

It is eliciting popular opinions on a wide variety of subjects

It is a comprehensive or wide ranging perspective on some subject based on

information obtained from a carefully chosen representative set of people

Such people are referred to as ‘respondents’-they respond to questions asked

of them by the researchers

Stages in Survey

1. Identification of a problem

2. Definition or interpretation of research problem

3. Scope and limitation of research

4. Prepare tools of research like questionnaire etc.

5. Collection of data

6. Editing of data

7. Tabulation of data

8. Analysis

9. Interpretation of result or findings

10. Presentation of findings in graphical format

The survey questions may be asked and answered in various forms

1. They are asked orally during personal visits

2. Through telephone conversation

3. Questionnaires brought by investigators or sent through the post

4. Electronically through computers or internet

Sample survey

It is able to provide a generalizable result

We can select a sample from a given population through enabling

‘representativeness’ of the sample



The sample selection process depends on two principles:

1. All the relevant sub-groups in the population should be recognized and

represented in the sample.

Most population are not homogenous. They belongs to sub-categories. This is

called stratification

Stratified Sampling

To study the heterogeneous population, which involving various categories of

people based on class, caste, gender, age, religion etc..

So the representativeness of the sample depends on its being able to reflect the

characteristics of all the relevant strata in a given population

Eg: when doing a research on attitudes towards religion, it will be important to

include members of all religion. Otherwise the result may be false

2. The second principle of sample selection is that the actual unit-ie. Person or

village or household should be based on chance.

Random Sampling

The actual unit of the population should be selected based on chance. It may be

a person or village or household. This is referred to as randomization

It depend on the concept of probability or chance of happening

Eg: When we toss a coin, it can fall with the ‘head’ side up or the ‘tail’ side up, with

the chance of 50% each

Being chosen to be a sample is a matter of luck, like winning a lottery

The success of research relies on that the sample will be a representative sample

A sample is carefully selected which have to represent the entire population

Margin of Error

The properties of a scientifically selected sample should ensure the

characteristics of the population it is drawn from

But there may be small differences. That is known as ‘margin of error’ or

sampling error

It is not due to a mistake by the researcher but because selecting a small sample

to stand for a large population

Limitations of Survey

Even it offers the possibility of wide coverage, this is at the cost of depth of

coverage

It is not possible to get in-depth information from respondents

Due to large respondents, the time spent on each must be limited

Difference in the way questions are asked or answers recorded could introduce

errors into the survey



The most important limitation of survey is that, in order to be successful, it

must depend on a tightly structured inflexible questionnaire

Non-sampling error

Errors due not to the sampling process but to faults or shortcoming of the

research design or the manner in which it was implemented is known as nonsampling

error

Some of these errors are difficult to foresee. It may misleading the study or

given false estimates of the characteristics of the population

Interview

An interview is a guided conversation between the researcher and the

respondent

It is classified into two:

Structured interview and unstructured interview

Structured interview

Structured interview is a very formal system

Everything is pre-planned and the interviewer ask the question to the

interviewee in an order to all the respondents

It can be conducted through a structured questionnaire method

Unstructured interview

It can be open-ended interactions. It has extreme flexibility of the format. The

questions can be re-phrased or even stated differently

The order of the subjects or questions can be changed according to the progress

of conversation

How interviews recorded can also differ according to circumstances and

preferences ranging from note-taking to audio, video recording

Interview is often used along with or as a supplement to other methods like

participant observation and surveys



Chapter 6

Social Structure, Stratification and Social Processes in Society

One of the central concerns of sociological perspectives is to understand the dialectical

relationship between the individual and society. For this, we need to discuss the three

central concepts of structure, stratification and social processes

Social Structure and Stratification

The term social structure points that society is structured ie.-organized or

arranged in particular ways

There are underlying regularities, or patterns, in how people behave and in the

relationships they have with one another

Social structures are made up of human actions and relationships

Eg: Structure of the school and family structure

School: -In a school, certain ways of behaving are repeated like- Admission, code of

conduct, annual functions, daily assembly, school anthem etc. over the years and

become institutions

Family:- Certain ways of behaving, Marriage practices, Notions of relationships,

Duties and expectations are existed

Views of Emile Durkheim

Society exert social constraints over the actions of their members

He argued that society has primacy over the individual person

Society is the sum of individual acts

Durkhiem argues that, Social structure constraints our activities in a parallel

way, setting limits to what we can do as individuals. It is external to the

individuals.

The structure of the society limits or controls the action of the individual

Views of Karl Marx

Karl Marx emphasize the constraints of social structure

But he stress Human creativity or agency that reproduces and changes social

structure.

Marx said that human beings make history, but not as they wish to or in

conditions of their choice, but within the constraints and possibilities of the

historical and structural situation that they are in

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION-Definition

Social stratification refers to “the existence of structured inequalities between

groups in society, in terms of their access to material or symbolic rewards”

All societies involve some forms of social stratification but modern societies are

often marked by wide differences in wealth and power

The most evident forms of stratification include-class divisions



Bases of social stratification

Race, caste, region, community, tribe, gender are the bases of stratification

Social stratification- Pattern of Inequality

Social Stratification as part of a social structure is characterized by a certain

pattern of inequality

Inequality is not randomly distributed but it is systematically linked to

membership in different kinds of social groups

Members of a given group will have common features and if they are in

superior position, they will placed as a privileged group and this position is

passed on to their children

The concept of social stratification, refers to the idea that society is divided into

a patterned structure of unequal groups, and this structure tends to persist

across generations

Advantages of privileged group

There are three basic advantages which privileged groups may enjoy ie. Life

chances, Social status and Political influence

1. Life Chances

All material advantages which improve the quality of life of the recipient

It include Wealth and Income, Health, Job Security and Recreation.

2. Social Status

Prestige or high standing in the eyes of other members of the society

Privileged group enjoy high social status

3. Political Influence

The ability of one group to dominate others or take advantages in decision

making

They take advantages and benefit from decisions

Two Ways of Understanding Social Processes in Sociology

The sociological perspective questions everything and accepts nothing as a

given

So sociology seeks to explain these processes of cooperation, competition and

conflict in terms of the actual social structure of society

Functionalist and Conflict Perspective

Functionalist and conflict perspectives varied in their understanding of

different institutions like family, economy, social stratification and social

control

These two perspectives seek to understand the social processes of cooperation,

competition and conflict differently



But both Karl Marx (conflict perspective) and Emile Durkheim (functionalist

perspective) presume that human beings have to cooperate to meet their basic

needs, and to produce and reproduce themselves and their world.

Conflict Perspective

The conflict perspective emphasizes how these forms of cooperation changed

from one historical society to another

In simple societies, no surplus was produced and there was Cooperation

between individuals. They are not divided on class or caste or race lines

But in societies where surplus is produced, the dominant class appropriates the

surplus and cooperation would necessarily involve potential conflict and

competition

The conflict view thus emphasizes that groups and individuals are placed

differentially and unequally within the system of production relations.

In societies divided by caste, or class or patriarchy, some groups are

disadvantaged and discriminated against

The dominant groups sustain this unequal order by a series of cultural norms

and often coercion or even violence

Functionalist Perspective

The functionalist perspective is mainly concerned with the ‘system

requirements’ of society

These are often called as functional imperatives, which refer to the fulfilment

of the conditions which are necessary for a system’s existence

These include three aspects:

Socialization of new members

Shared system of communication

Methods of assigning individuals to roles

Functionalist perspective and social system

The functionalist perspective rests on the assumption that different parts or

organs of society have a function or role to play for the broader maintenance

and functioning of the whole society

Cooperation, competition and conflict can be seen as universal features of all

societies

To focus on system maintenance, competition and conflict tend to get resolved

without too much distress

The relationship between cooperation, competition and conflict is often

complex and not easily separable

Cooperation may entail conflict. There are difference between ‘enforced’ and

‘voluntary’ cooperation

o Eg: The issue of women’s right to property in their parental family



The cooperative behavior can also be seen as a product of deep conflicts in

society

When these conflicts are not expressed openly or challenged, the impression

remains that there is no conflict, but only cooperation

A functionalist view often uses the term accommodation. It is an effort to

compromise and co-exist despite conflict

Co-operation and Division of Labor

Without human cooperation, it would be difficult for human life to survive

The functionalist and conflict theorists discusses the relation between

cooperation and division of labor

For Emile Durkhiem, solidarity, the moral force of society, is fundamental for

our understanding of cooperation and functioning of society

In his famous book, ‘The Division of Labor in Society’ he discusses the role of

division of labor which implies cooperation is precisely to fulfill certain needs

of society

The division of labor is at the same time a law of nature and also a moral rule

of human conduct

Emile Durkheim-Mechanical and Organic Solidarity

Emile Durkheim classified the social solidarity into two broad categories,

namely Mechanical Solidarity and Organic Solidarity

Mechanical Solidarity

Seen in the pre-industrial simple

societies

It is based on ‘sameness’

Members live very similar lives,

with little specialization or

division of labor beyond that

associated with age and sex

They feel bonded together

through their shared beliefs and

sentiments

They have common conscience

and consciousness (collective

conscience)

Organic Solidarity

It is visible in the complex

industrial societies

It is based on ‘differences’

Social unity is based in

division of labor and the

resulting interdependence of

members

As people become more

specialized, they also become

more dependent upon each

other.

Eg: factory workers

Durkhiem, emphasized altruism and solidarity as distinctive of the human world..

What is Altruism: It is the principle of acting to benefit others without any

selfishness or self interest



Karl Marx on cooperation and division of labor

Karl Marx emphasized Consciousness

Humans not only adjust and accommodate but also alter or change society in

the process of cooperation

Various technologies over time, not only transform human life but in the same

way transform the nature

They change the natural or social world

o Example: emergence of ‘Hinglish’ Language

For Marx, cooperation is not voluntary in a society where class exists

He argues, the productive force arises through cooperation of different

individuals due to division of labor

This is not voluntary cooperation but come naturally among the individuals as

an alien force

Alienation

Marx use the term alienation to refer to the loss of control on the part of workers

over the labor or the products of their labor

Workers lose control over how to organize their own work; and they lose

control over the fruits of their labor

Thus alienation means the separation of an individual from four aspects:

From the product

From the co-workers

From the labor

From the society

Competition as an Idea and Practice

Competition is universal and natural

Competition becomes dominant in society from the historical period of

capitalism onwards

In the contemporary world however, competition is the dominant norm and

practice

It stress on greater efficiency and greater profit maximization

It became important as a result of capitalist economy

Assumptions of capitalism

Capitalism is based on…

Expansion of trade

Division of labor

Specialization

Rising productivity

These processes are the central theme of capitalism, based on Maximum Profit

and efficiency

The ideology of competition is the dominant ideology in capitalism



Conflict and Cooperation

The term Conflict implies clash of interests

Conflict theorists believe that the scarcity of resources in society produces

conflict as groups struggle to gain access to and control over those resources

Bases of conflict

Class, Caste, Tribe, Gender, Ethnicity, Religion, Community

Developing countries are today arenas for conflict between the old and the new

Conflicts change in nature and form at different stages of social development

and been part of any society

Social change and assertion of democratic rights by disadvantaged groups

make visible conflicts

Conflict is an overt expression of a deep-rooted clash only when it is openly

expressed. Eg: The existence of peasant movement

Relationship between Competition, Cooperation and Conflict

There is a close relationship that exist between competition, cooperation and

conflict

We can understand about these relations with two examples: (a). family and

household, (b). land based conflict

(a). Traditionally family and household were seen as harmonious units. But this is

questioned by feminist thinkers

Scholars like Amartya Sen noted it as ‘enforced cooperation’

The members in family overtly cooperative, even when conflicts exist between

family members

(b). The land based conflict is another example which shows the conflict and

cooperation happened in the context of development of new technologies and

production processes. Eg: Bhoodan-Gramdan movement in India

Covert Conflict and Overt Cooperation

• Covert conflict and Overt cooperation is common

Eg: Son preference

• Maternal altruism in northern India

• Gender ideologies of Purdah and motherhood

Thus sociologically, these processes of cooperation, competition and conflict

are not ‘natural’

These are related to other social developments like technology, economic

arrangements and social changes

These three social processes are different but they often co-exist and overlap

These are operate for social groups that are differentially located in the social

structure and the stratification system



Chapter 7

Social change and social order in rural and urban society

Social Change

Social change refers to changes that are significant-that is, changes which alter

the ‘underlying structure of an object or situation over a period of time’

It includes those big changes which transform things fundamentally

The ‘bigness’ of change is measured by the scale of change ie. how large a

section of society it affects

Changes may be intensive and extensive and have a big impact spread over a

large sector of society

Types of Social Change

There are four types of social changes:

a. Evolutionary changes

b. Revolutionary changes

c. Structural changes

d. Changes in values and beliefs

a).Evolutionary changes

It is a kind of change that takes place slowly over a long period of time.

Charles Darwin proposed the theory of Evolution, which emphasised how

living organisms evolve or change

When Darwin’s theory adapted to the social world, it was known as Social

Darwinism (social Evolution), which emphasized the importance of adaptive

change

b). Revolutionary changes

Change that took place quickly and even suddenly is called revolutionary

change

It occurs in the political context, when the power structure of society changes

very quickly through the overthrow of the former rulers

Eg: French Revolution, Russian Revolution

This change also refer to sharp, sudden and total transformations of other kinds

as well

Eg: Industrial Revolution, Telecommunications Revolution

c). Structural changes

It refer to the transformations in the structure of society, to its institutions or

the rules by which they are run.

Eg: advent of paper money in financial markets and transactions

This leading to credit market and contributed to the structural change in

banking and finance



d). Changes in values and beliefs

Change in values and beliefs also lead to social change

Eg: change in the ideas and belief about children and childhood have brought

many changes

Eg: System of child labour in 19 th century

Emergence of compulsory education for children and abolition of child labour

in 20 th century

Sources or causes of Social Change

The Sources and Causes of social change includes:

Environmental changes

Technological and Economical changes

Political changes

Cultural changes

a). Environmental Changes

Nature and physical environment have influence on the structure and shape of

society

The cultivation pattern, food habits, way of dressing, way of earning a

livelihood and pattern of social interaction-all are based on the environment in

which people live

But influence of environment on society decreased with increase in

technological resources

Technology allows to overcome the problems by nature

Technology also alters nature and our relationship to it

The environment may shape the society and also play a role in social change

It may seen in natural disasters. Sudden and catastrophic events such as

earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods or tidal waves like tsunami can change

societies drastically

These are irreversible changes ie. they are permanent

Natural disasters often leads to total transformation/destruction of societies

Environment factors are found to be constructive rather than destructive

Eg: Discovery of oil in the desert region

b). Technological and Economical Changes

Combination of technological and economical change has been responsible for

social change in modern world

Technology affects society in a wide variety of ways

In combination with market, technological change can be impressive in its

social impact

The industrial revolution is the most visible and immense example of the

change brought about by technology-economy combination

The inventions of steam power, steam engine, steam ship and railways lead to

developments and change economy as well as social, cultural and demographic

dimensions of world society



Sometimes changes in economic organization that are not directly

technological can also change society. Eg: plantation agriculture

c). Political Changes

Political forces are most important causes of social change

Eg: Warfare between countries

When one country conquered another, social change was an immediate result

Eg: Second World War between USA and Japan

Political changes can be international, national or regional

Indian independence movement decisively changed Indian society

Political changes bring social change through redistribution of power across

different social groups and classes

Eg: Universal Adult franchise ‘One person – One vote’

It is the single biggest political change in history

d). Cultural Changes

Culture includes ideas, values and beliefs that are important and shape the life

of the people

Changes in values and beliefs naturally lead to changes in social life.

Eg: changes in religion

Religious beliefs and norms have helped to organise and transform society

Religious changes are also contextual. It is able to produce effects in some

contexts and not in others

Eg: Weber’s theory of Protestant Ethics

It is a famous example of the impact of cultural values on economic and social

change

In India impact of Buddhism and Bhakti Movement on medieval social

structure had an impact on society

Another cultural change leading to social change is seen in the evolution of

ideas about the place of women in society

Eg: women’s struggles to equality, women started work in factories, position

of women in consumer advertising etc..

Another aspect of cultural change is seen in the sports and games

Eg: Social importance of cricket

Thus social change is happened not based on a single factor but the causes of

social changes are often interrelated.

Economic and technological changes have a cultural component, politics may

be influenced by the environment.

Social Order

Social order refers to the active maintenance and reproduction of particular

pattern of social relations and of values and norms

Social order can be achieved in two ways:



1. When people wish to abide by a set of rules and norms

2. When people are compelled in various ways to obey such norms

The consent to social order are internalised by people through the process of

socialisation

Power

Power is usually defined as the ability to make others do what you want

regardless of what they themselves want.

Domination

When a social entity (a person, institution or group) is routinely or habitually

in a position of power, it is said to be dominant.

Domination works through power, but much of this power is legitimate power

or authority, a large part of which is codified in law

So it is a mix of legitimate, lawful authority and other kinds of power

determines the nature of a social system and its dynamics

Legitimation

Legitimacy refers to the degree of acceptance that is involved in power relations

If something is accepted as proper, just and fitting, it will be legitimate

Legitimacy implies conformity to existing norms of right, propriety and justice

To maintain cooperation and exert power, it is necessary to have legitimation

Authority

Law

Authority is defined by Max Weber as legitimate power-that is power

considered to be justified or proper

Some type of authority is automatically implies that members of the society

must obey the authority

Eg: The judge in a court room, The policeman on duty

This authority is explicitly provided to them through written documents

Another type of authority, that are not so strictly defined, but are nevertheless

effective in eliciting consent and cooperation

Eg: Authority by a religious leader, leader of a sect etc..

This authority is not formally specified

A law is an explicitly codified norm or rule

It is usually written down

There are laws that specify how laws are to be made or changed, or what is to

be done if someone violates them

In modern democratic society, law is enacted by legislature, consist of elected

representatives. Laws apply to all citizens

Contestation

Contestation refers to broad forms of insistent disagreement

Protest, disagreement, competition, conflict etc are the different forms of

contestation in society



Eg: ‘Counter cultures’ among youth or youth rebellion

These are protests against or refusal to conform to prevalent social norms

Another contestation is seen in elections-a form of political competition

Crime

• The notion of crime is strictly derived from the law

• A crime is an act that violates an existing law

• The moral worth of the act is not determined solely by the fact that it violate

existing law

• If the existing law is believed to be unjust, a person may claim to be breaking it

for the highest moral reasons

Eg: Civil Disobedience Movement

Violence

• The term violence relates at the broadest level to the basic definition of the state

• The state have a monopoly over the use of legitimate violence within its

jurisdiction

• Only the state may lawfully use violence. All other violence are considered as

illegal

• Every act of violence is seen as being directed against the state

• Violence is the enemy of social order and an extreme form of contestation that

violate law and social norms

• It is the product of social tensions and indicate the presence of serious problems

• It is also a challenge to the authority of the state

Social order and change in village, town and city

Emergence of villages

• Societies are divided into rural and urban sectors

• The conditions of life and forms of social organization in these sectors are

different

• Villages emerged due to changes brought about by the transition from nomadic

life to settled life

When people started settled agriculture, the social structure changed

Through settled agriculture, the people have surplus production, accumulation

of wealth, division of labor and specialization

All these changes shaped the emergence of the village as a population

settlement based on particular form of social organization

Social order and change in cities

The distinction between rural and urban settlements is based on two factors:

1. Population density

2. Proportion of agriculture related economic activities

The cities and towns have a much higher density of population than villages

Villages have a large share of agricultural activities in their economic profile

In villages, majority people are engaged in agriculture and got income from

agricultural products



Town and city

• The distinction between town and city is based on administrative definition

• A town and city are basically the same sort of settlement, differentiated by size

Urban Agglomeration: It refers to a city along with its surrounding sub-urban

areas and satellite settlements

Metropolitan Area: It includes more than one city, or a continuous urban

settlement many times the size of a single city

Urbanization

The process of urbanization is increasing due to modern developments

This is the process by which a progressively larger proportion of the country’s

population lives in urban rather than rural areas

This is a major social change in the cities as well as in villages

Social order and social change in rural areas

• The nature of social order and social change is different in villages

• Villages are small in size and have more personalized relationships

• The social structure of a village follow a traditional pattern

• Institutions like caste, religion and other traditional social practices are

stronger in villages

• Due to these reasons, change is slower in villages than in towns

• There are other reasons also for this slow change in villages.

It includes:

(a).The lower section in a village cannot express their dissent due to lack of

anonymity and distance

(b). The power of dominant sections is more and they control the employment,

resources and political power. So the lower sections have to depend on dominant

sections

©. The strong power structure in a village is a hurdle for social change in villages

So change is slow in villages because the social order is stronger and more resilient.

Change is slow in other aspects also. It includes..

1. Villages are scattered and not well connected to the rest of the world

• The new modes of communication-telephone and TV have changed this

problem

• So the cultural lag between towns and villages are much shorter

2. Changes associated with agriculture or agrarian social relations

• Measures of land reform alter the structure of land ownership

• It took away proprietary rights from absentee landlords and given to the

groups actually managing the land

• So these rights went to intermediate class, having increased social status and

political power and become a vote bank in elections

• M.N Srinivas called them as-‘Dominant castes’-they become very powerful in

economic and political terms



3. Changes in the technological organization of agriculture has a major impact on

rural society

• The introduction of new labor saving machinery or cropping pattern-alter the

demand for labor

• It can change the economic power of different groups and this leads to many

changes

• Sudden fluctuation in agricultural prices, droughts or floods can cause

problems in rural society

• Eg: Farmer suicides in India

4. Large scale development programmes for the rural poor an also have an

enormous impact

Eg: National Rural Employment Guarantee Act-2005

All these aspects are the major components of changes in rural society

Social order and social change in urban areas

• Urbanism as a way of life for large segments of the population now

• Before the modern era trade, religion and warfare were some of the major

factors that decided the location and importance of cities

• Cities that were located on major trade routes, or had suitable harbors and ports

• Religious places also attracted large numbers of pilgrims and thus supported

an urban economy

Issues and Problems of Social Order in Towns and Cities

• Cities houses large and very dense population. It is site of mass politics and is

the domain of modern individual

• The anonymity and the amenities and institutions in cities offers boundless

possibilities for fulfillment. Unlike village, the city nurtures the individual

• But only some individuals enjoy the true freedom and opportunity in cities

• The socially and economically privileged groups enjoy the luxury of cities

• The city fosters the development of group identities-based on race, religion,

ethnicity, caste, region, class etc.

Problem of Space

• The important issue of social order in cities is the problem of space

• High population density creates complex problems

• It is the primary task of the urban social order to ensure the spatial viability of

the city

It includes the management of things like:

1. Housing and residential patterns

2. Mass transit systems for transporting large numbers of workers to and fro for work

3. Arranging for the coexistence of residential, public and industrial land use zones

4. Public health, sanitation, policing, public safety and monitoring needs of urban

governance

• But execution of these programmes facing challenges of planning,

implementation and maintenance



• The complexity is that, all these have to be executed in the context of class

divisions, ethnicity, religion, caste and other issues

Problem of Urban Housing

• Urban housing is another major problem

• Shortage of housing for the poor leads to homelessness and the phenomenon

of ‘street people’, who live and survive on streets and footpaths, under bridges

and flyovers, abandoned buildings and other empty spaces

• It leading to the emergence of slums

Slum

• A slum is a congested, overcrowded neighborhood with no proper civic

facilities (sanitation, water supply, electricity) and homes made of all kinds of

building materials ranging from plastic sheets and cardboard to multi-storeyed

concrete structures

• Slums are the natural breeding ground for ‘dadas’ and strongmen who impose

their authority on the people who live there

• It is a ground for extra-legal activities, criminal and real estate gangs

Ghettoization

It refers to any neighbourhood with a concentration of people of a particular

religion, ethnicity, caste or other common identity

Ghettoization is the process of creation of ghettoes through the conversion of

mixed composition neighbourhoods into single community neighbourhoods

The communal tension between different religious groups leads to mixed

neighborhoods into a single community ones

This leads to ghettoization process. Eg: In Gujarat riots of 2002

In such communities, a single religious community will live

Gated Communities

Gated community refers to “the creation of affluent neighborhoods that are

separated from their surroundings by walls and gates, with controlled entry

and exit”

These communities have their own parallel civic facilities like water and

electricity supply, policing and security

In urban localities usually upper class or affluent people live within the walls

of safety and security and provided with ‘gates in’ and ‘gates out’.

Gentrification

Gentrification is a feature in urban societies

Refers to “the conversion of a previously lower class neighborhood into a

middle and upper class one”

As real estate prices rise, it becomes more and more profitable for developers

to try and effect such a conversion



Problem in urban transportation

• The urban transport system affected the location of residential areas to

industrial workplaces

• Commuting becomes a way of life in city

• The transport system also impacted on the ‘quality of life’ of working people

• Road transport leads to traffic congestion and vehicular pollution

• The form and content of social change in urban areas is related to the question

of space

• Changes in modes of mass transport also bring significant social change in

cities. Eg: Metro Rail in Delhi

What is environment?

Chapter 8

Environment and Society

It is the surroundings or conditions in which the person, animal or plant lives

or operates

The source of each material we have used lies in nature or natural resources

Environment includes all the biological and non-biological factors

Ecology

The term ‘Ecology’ denotes the web of physical and biological systems and

processes of which humans are one element

It include mountains, rivers, plains, oceans, flora and fauna

The ecology of a place is also affected by the interaction between its geography

and hydrology

Ecological factors limit and shape human beings and their lives

Social Environment

Social environments emerge from the interaction between biophysical ecology

and human interventions

This is a Two-way process

As nature shapes society, society shapes nature

The fertile Indo-Gangetic plain have intensive agriculture and have complex

hierarchical societies and states allows dense population settlements

But in the desert of Rajasthan can only support pastoralists who move from

place to place in order to keep their livestock supplied with fodder

This shows how ecology shapes the form of human life and culture

Social Organisation

The interaction between environment and society is shaped by social

organisation

The social organisation of capitalism has shaped nature across the world.

Eg:- automobile industry caused air pollution, traffic congestion etc.

Human interventions have the power to alter environments



Property relations also determine how and by whom natural resources can be

used

Eg: private and govt. ownership of forests, difference between men and women

in the control of resources etc..

Social organization influences how different social groups relate to their

environment

Social Values and Norms

The relationship between environment and society reflect different social

values and norms as well as knowledge systems

The values of capitalism have supported the commodification of nature

Eg:- The multiple cultural meanings of a river

Socialist values of equality and justice have led to the redistribution of land to

landless peasants

Religious values have led to protect and conserve sacred groves and species as

well as environment

Different Perspectives on the Environment

The ‘nature-nurture’ debate

• There are many different perspectives on the environment and its relationship

to society

• These differences include the ‘nature-nurture’ debate and whether individual

characteristics are innate or are influenced by environmental factors

• Eg: are people poor because they are innately less talented or hard-working or

because they are born into a situation of disadvantage and lack of

opportunity?

• Theories and data about environment and society are influenced by the social

conditions under which they emerge

• Thus the notions that women are intrinsically less able than men, Blacks

naturally less able than Whites, were challenged as ideas of equality during

French and American Revolution in 18 th century

Environmental Management

• Environmental management is a very difficult task. Not enough is known

about biophysical processes to predict and control them

• Human relations with the environment have become increasingly complex

• With the spread of industrialization, resource extraction has expanded and

accelerated, affecting ecosystems in unprecedented ways

• Complex industrial technologies and modes of organization require

sophisticated management systems which are often fragile and vulnerable to

error



Risk Societies

With the increasing industrialization and resource extraction the ecosystems

are affected and human relations with the environment have become

increasingly complex

Complex industrial technologies and modes of organization are often fragile

and vulnerable to error

So we live in ‘Risk Societies’, which using technologies and industries that we

do not fully understand

Eg: Chernobyl and Bhopal disasters, Mad cow disease in Europe

Environmental Racism

• Environmental racism refers to the way in which minority group of low socioeconomic

are burdened with a disproportionate number of hazards

• It includes toxic waste, garbage waste and other sources of environmental

pollution

Major Environmental Problems and Risks:

a). Resource depletion

The over use of renewable and non-renewable natural resources leads to

resource depletion

The sources of Fossil fuels and petroleum are depleted

The depletion of water and land especially decline of ground water is a serious

issue in India

The problems of soil erosion, water logging and salination and destruction of

biodiversity habitats were facing rapid depletion

b). Pollution (air, water, noise)

Air Pollution:

It is one of the most dangerous and major environmental pollution, causing

respiratory and other health problems

It is contamination of atmospheric air by accumulation of harmful or toxic

substances

Any change in the qualitative and quantitative composition of air which

adversely affect the life system is called air pollution

The sources of air pollution include emissions from industries and vehicles,

burning of wood and coal for domestic use

Water Pollution

It is also a very serious issue affecting surface and ground water

Water is polluted when its quality of composition is changed directly or

indirectly as a result of human activities

Water becomes unsuitable or harmful for human consumption

Sources of water pollution are Sewage, domestic waste, industrial effluents,

agricultural discharges, industrial waste



Noise Pollution

When the sound is unpleasant and unwanted, it is noise

The sources of noise pollution are means of transportation, Industrial

operations, construction activities, celebrations etc..

c). Global Warming

The release of gases like Methane, hydrofluorocarbons and nitrous oxide

creates greenhouse effect by trapping the sun’s heat and not allowing it to

dissipate

This caused a rise in the global temperatures

It lead to melting of ice at the poles and raise sea water level

It result in changes in climate and ecological balance

d). Genetically Modified Organisms

It is a new technique of gene-splicing which import genes from one species

into another, thereby introducing new characteristics

It is used for shorten the period of growth, increase or decrease the size and to

increase the shell life of crops

Genetic Modification provides different uses in agriculture, but not sure about

the after-effects in the long-run

e). Natural and man-made disasters

Natural disasters cause faster, larger and widespread death, destruction and

disturbance to social system

Man-made disaster: Bhopal disaster, 1984 killed 4000 people

Natural disaster: Tsunami of 2004 killed thousands of people

People have little or no control over such unfortunate occurrences

Environmental Problems are also Social Problems: Social Inequality

The environmental problems affect different groups in an unequal manner

Social status and power decides the impact of environmental crises to the

people

The rich will benefit from some environmental problems but poor will suffer

Some environment problems are universal, which is not particular to specific

social groups

So creating a public interest to reduce air pollution or protecting biodiversity is

necessary

But the public interest will serve the politically and economically powerful

groups and hurt the interests of the poor and politically weak

Social Ecology-Murray Bookchin

Murray Bookchin is the founder of the Institute for Social Ecology

It suggest that all our ecological problems arise from deep-seated social

problems

It also suggest that, the social relations, the organisation of property and

production shape the environmental perceptions and practices

Different social groups stand in different relationships to the environment



So addressing environmental problems requires changing environment –

society relations

It also requires effort to change relations between different social groups

Changed social relations will lead to different knowledge systems and

managing the environment

Sustainable Development

“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present

without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own

needs”

It contains two concepts:

(a). The concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor

(b). the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social

organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs”

The Context of Sociology

Chapter 9

Western Sociologists

Sociology was born in 19 th century Western Europe and called as the ‘child of

the age of revolution’

Three Historical Developments that paved the way for the Emergence of

Sociology

a. The Enlightenment or dawning of the ‘age of reason’

b. The French Revolution

c. The Industrial Revolution

a). The Enlightenment

During the late 17th and 18th centuries, Western Europe saw the emergence of

radically new ways of thinking about the world. It is known as

‘Enlightenment’ or ‘age of reason’

This philosophy placed human being at the centre of the universe

It considered rational thought as the central feature of the humans

Only persons who could think and reason could be considered as fully human

The Enlightenment was helped to develop scientific, secular and humanistic

attitudes of mind and a new understanding of the world

Science and reason came to be considered more important than religion and

tradition

b). The French Revolution

The French revolution of 1789 paved the arrival of political sovereignty to

individuals as well as nation-states

The Declaration of Human Rights asserted the equality of all citizens and

emancipation of individual from the oppressive rule of the religious and feudal

institutions



The peasants or serfs were freed and taxes paid by the peasants to the feudal

lords and church were cancelled

French revolution asserted the freedom of citizens

The sovereign individuals were invested with rights and were equal before the

law and other institutions of the state

The state had to respect the privacy of the individual

The laws could not intrude upon the domestic life of the people

A separation was built between the public and private realm of the household

New ideas about what was appropriate to the public and private spheres

developed

Eg: religion and family became more ‘private’, education became ‘public’

The nation-state was re-defined as a sovereign entity with a centralized

government

The ideals of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity were spread as the watchwords

of the modern state

c). The Industrial Revolution

It began in Britain in late 18 th and early 19 th Century

There are two main aspects:

a) Systematic application of science and technology to industrial productioninvention

of new machines, new sources of power etc.

b) New ways of organizing labor and market on a large scale

New machines like Spinning Jenny, Steam Engine are facilitated the production

process and the products were circulated all over the world after industrial

revolution

Changes in production system resulted in social changes also

The factories were set up in urban areas. Rural people were migrated to urban

centres for work in factories

Low wages at factory, long working hours, hazardous working conditions

were major features of factory production

Cities and towns became the dominant forms of human settlement

The rich and powerful lived in the cities, but working classes were lived in

slums with poverty

Modern forms of governance developed with the state control of health,

sanitation, crime control and general development created the demand for new

kinds of knowledge

The social sciences and especially Sociology emerged as a response to this need

Sociological thought was concerned with scientific analysis of developments

and was looked as the ‘science of the new industrial society’

Karl Marx: Born in Germany

Major Works:

The Communist Manifesto (with Engels)-1948

A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy-1859



Das capital -1867

He was a social thinker who aimed to end oppression and exploitation

He believed in scientific socialism

He engaged in a critical analysis of capitalist society to expose weaknesses and

bring about its downfall

He argued that human society had progressed through 4 stages: Primitive

communism, Slavery, Feudalism, Capitalism, Socialism

Capitalist Society - Process of Alienation

Marx argued that capitalist society was marked by the process of alienation at several

levels:

1. In modern capitalist society, humans are alienated from nature than ever before

2. Humans are alienated from each other as capitalism individualizes social

organization

3. The large mass of working people is alienated from the fruits of its labor

because workers do not own the products they produce. They have no control

over the work process itself

4. Humans are also alienated from themselves and struggle to make their lives

meaningful in a system

Capitalism: An exploitative and oppressive system

• Marx believed that capitalism was not a necessary and progressive stage of

human history. Because it created the preconditions for an egalitarian future

free from both exploitation and poverty

• Capitalist society would be transformed by its victims, ie. the working class

• They would unite to collectively bring about a revolution to overthrow it and

establish a free and equal socialist society

• To understand the working of capitalism, he studied its political, social and

economic aspects

Mode of production

Marx’s idea of economy was based on the concept of a mode of production

It defined as a broad system of production associated with a historical period.

Primitive communism, Slavery, Feudalism and Capitalism were all modes of

production

It defines an entire way of life characteristic of an era

It has a base and super-structure like a building

The base –economic base –is primarily economic and includes the productive

forces and production relations

Productive forces

It refers to all means or factors of production such as land, labour, technology,

sources of energy etc.



Production relations

It refers to all the economic relationships and forms of labour organization

which are involved in production

These are also property relations, or relationships based on the ownership or

control of the means of production

Eg: In Primitive Communism- Productive forces consisted of nature, forests,

land, animals etc…and simple stone tools and hunting weapons

Economic Base

It includes productive forces and relations of production

Based on this economic base, all other Social, Cultural, Political institutions

were existed

Institutions like religion, art, law, literature or beliefs and ideas were part of

‘superstructure’ which built on top of the base

Marx placed great emphasis on economic structures and processes as they

formed the foundations of every social system throughout human history

The Class Struggle

Most important method of classifying people into social groups was based on

the production process rather than religion, language, nationality

The people who occupy the same position in the production process will

eventually form a class

Based on their location in the production process and property relations, they

share the same interests and objective

Classes are formed through historical processes and have consequent conflicts

between the existing groups

As the mode of production changes, conflicts develop between different

classes which result in struggles

Eg: capitalist mode of production creates the working class

This production process makes workers into a class, who are the oppressed

group under capitalist system

Marx was a proponent of class struggle. Marx believed that class struggle was

the major driving force of change in society and oppression of working class

In the Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels declare that, “the history of all

hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggle”

In capitalism, there were two classes

(a).Bourgeoisie or capitalists who owns all means of production (capital, machine,

land) (b).Proletariat or working class lost all the means of production that it

owned in the past

Thus in the capitalist system, workers had no choice but to sell their labor for

wages in order to survive, because they had nothing else



Class Consciousness and revolution

• The conflict occur when the working class subjectively conscious of their class

interests and identities and form a ‘class consciousness’

• Only after this kind of ‘class consciousness’ is developed through political

mobilisation that class conflicts occur

• Such conflicts can lead to the overthrow of a dominant class by subordinated

classes

• This is called a revolution

• In Marx’s theory, economic processes created contradictions and generated

class conflict

• But economic processes did not automatically lead to revolution-social and

political processes were also needed to bring about a total transformation of

society

Emile Durkheim (1858-1917): Born in France

Major Works:

Division of Labor in Society- 1893

Rules of Sociological Method -1895

Suicide-1897

The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life- 1912

He founds Anne Sociologique-first social science journal in 1897

Emile Durkheim may be considered as the founder of sociology as a formal

discipline

Social Fact (Sui Generis)

Society is a Social Fact which existed as a moral community over and above the

individual, which bound the people together

These ties or social solidarities exerted pressure on individuals to conform to

the norms and expectations of the group

This constrained the individual’s behavior pattern, limiting variation within a

small range

He argued that the subject matter of Sociology is the study of social facts and

Sociology have to be an empirical discipline

Characteristics of social facts

a). Social facts are like things

b). It is external to the individual

c). It constrain the behaviour of humans - institutions like law, education, religion

d). these are collective representations, not particular to a person

e). It is independent of the individual. Eg: beliefs, feelings etc.



Durkheim's Vision of Sociology

Durkheim’s vision of Sociology as a new scientific discipline was characterized by two

defining features..

1.The subject matter of Sociology is the study of social facts- which is different from

the other sciences

• Sociology concerned itself exclusively with what he called the ‘emergent’ level,

ie. the level of complex collective life where social phenomena can emerge

• These phenomena like-religion or the family were only possible in a complex

whole that was larger than its constituent parts. It is composed entirely of

individuals. It is this ‘emergent’ level that sociology studies

2.The second feature of Durkheim’s vision of sociology was that, like most of the

natural sciences, it was to be an empirical discipline

• Eventhough the social phenomena is abstract, his most significant

achievements is his demonstration that, Sociology –a discipline that dealt with

abstract entities like social facts

• It could nevertheless be a science founded on observable empirically verifiable

evidence

• Although not directly observable, social facts were indirectly observable

through patterns of behavior

• Eg. of his use of new kind of empirical data is his study of Suicide

• Thus social facts could be observed via social behavior, and specially

aggregated patterns of social behavior

Division of Labor in Society

In his first book, ‘The Division of Labor in Society’, he demonstrated his

method of analysis to explain the evolution of society from the primitive to the

modern

He classified a society with the nature of social solidarity which existed in that

society

He argued that a primitive society was organized according to ‘mechanical’

solidarity and modern society was based on ‘organic’ solidarity

He said, social solidarity existed in society as a social fact

Difference between mechanical and organic solidarity

Mechanical Solidarity

• Existed in primitive society

• Having traditional cultures

• Exist low division of labor

• It is founded on the similarity of its

members

Organic Solidarity

• Existed in modern society

• Having modern culture

• Exist high division of labor

• It is based on the heterogeneity of its

members



• It is found in societies with small

populations

• It is found in societies with large

populations

• The solidarity between people are

based on similarity and personal

relationships

• It involves a collection of selfsufficient

groups

• Each person in a particular group is

engaged in similar activities or

functions

• Most social relationships are

impersonal

• Interdependence is the essence of

organic solidarity

• It celebrates individuals and allows

for their need to be different from

each other, and recognizes their

multiple roles and organic ties

• The laws are ‘repressive’ in nature

• Individual and the community

were so tightly integrated

• The laws of modern society are

‘restitutive’ in nature

• Individual was given some autonomy

Characteristics of Modern Society

• A characteristic feature of modern societies is that individuals with similar

goals come together voluntarily to form groups or associations

• They oriented towards specific goals and remain distinct from each other.

Individuals have different identities in different contexts

• This help individuals to establish their distinct identity in terms of the functions

they perform and the roles they play

• Since all individuals depend on others for the fulfilment of basic needs, their

intensity of interaction with others increases

• Impersonal rules and regulations are required to govern social relations in such

societies

Max Weber (1864-1920): Born in Germany

Major Works:

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism -1904

Social Action

Economy and Society -1968

The city

His main focus was on:

1. Developing an interpretive sociology of social action and of power and

domination

2. The process of rationalization in modern society and the relationship of the

various religions of the world with this process

He believed that social action is the main subject matter of sociology



Max Weber and Interpretive Sociology

• Weber emphasized that the overall objective of the social sciences was to

develop an ‘interpretive understanding of social action’

• These sciences were aimed to discover the objective ‘laws of nature’ governing

the physical world

• So the central concern with social sciences was social action. The methods of

enquiry of social science is different from the methods of natural science

Social action

• ‘Social action’ included all human behavior that was meaningful, ie. action to

which actors attached a meaning

• In studying social action, the Sociologist’s task was to recover the meanings

attributed by the actor

• To accomplish this task, the sociologist had to put themselves in the actor’s

place, and imagine what these meanings were or could have been

• Sociology was thus a systematic form of ‘empathetic understanding’ ie.an

understanding based not on ‘feeling for’ (sympathy) but ‘feeling with’

(empathy)

Objectivity and Subjectivity

• Weber was the first to discuss about ‘objectivity’ in social sciences

• The social world was founded on subjective human meanings, values, feelings,

prejudices, ideals etc..

• In studying this world, the social sciences had to deal with these subjective

meanings

• In order to capture these meanings, social scientist had to practice ‘empathetic

understanding’ by putting themselves in the place of the people whose actions

they are studying

• But this investigation had to be done objectively, even though it was concerned

with subjective matters

• Thus empathetic understanding helps to faithfully record the subjective

meanings and motivations of social actors without allowing his/her personal

beliefs and opinions to influence this process

Value Neutrality

• Sociologists were meant to describe, not judge the subjective feelings of others

• Weber called this kind of objectivity as ‘value neutrality’

• The sociologist must neutrally record subjective values without being affected

by her/his own feelings/opinions about these values

• Because social scientists were also members of society and had their own

subjective beliefs and prejudices

• However they had to practice great self-discipline –exercise an ‘iron will’ as

he puts it-in order to remain ‘value neutral’ when describing the values and

world views of others



Ideal Type

Weber suggested it as a methodological tool for doing sociology

An ideal type is a logically consistent model of a social phenomenon that

highlights its most significant characteristics

Ideal type should correspond to reality in a broad sense, but its main job is to

assist analysis by bringing out important features and connections of the social

phenomenon being studied

An ideal type is to be judged by how helpful it is for analysis and

understanding

Weber used Ideal type to analyse the relationship between the ethics of world

religions and rationalization of the social world

Weber also used ideal type to illustrate three types of authority –traditional,

charismatic and rational-legal

Among this, he cited an example of the Rational-legal authority which was

based on legal demarcation of authority, can see in modern bureaucracy.

Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy was a mode of organization which was premised on the

separation of the public from the domestic world

This means the behavior in the public domain was regulated by explicit rules

and regulations

It restricted the power of officials to their responsibilities only

Bureaucratic authority is characterized by some features:

1. Functioning of officials

2. Hierarchical Ordering of Positions

3. Reliance on Written Document

4. Office Management

5. Conduct in Office

1. Functioning of officials:

The officials have fixed areas of ‘official jurisdiction’ governed by rules, laws

and administrative regulations

The regular activities of the bureaucratic organization are distributed in a fixed

way as official duty

Commands are issued by higher authorities and the responsibilities of officials

are strictly delimited by the authority

Only those who have the required qualifications are employed

2. Hierarchical ordering of positions:

Authority and office are placed on a graded hierarchy where the higher officials

supervise the lower ones



3. Reliance on Written Document:

The management of a bureaucratic organization is carried out on the basis of

written documents which are preserved as records

4. Office Management:

As office management is a specialized and modern activity it requires trained

and skilled personnel to conduct operations

5. Conduct in Office:

• An officials conduct in office is governed by exhaustive rules and regulations

• These separate her/his public conduct from her/his behavior in the private

domain

• These rules have legal recognition, officials can be held accountable

Sociology in India

Chapter 10

Indian Sociologists

• In India, formal university teaching of sociology began in 1919 at the University

of Bombay

• In the 1920s, the Universities of Calcutta and Lucknow began programmes of

teaching and research in sociology and anthropology

L.K. Ananthakrishna Iyer (1861-1937)

• The pioneers of Indian sociology made questions to study society based on the

Indian context

• In the beginning, Indians became sociologists and anthropologists mostly by

accident

• L.K. Ananthakrishna Iyer is one of the pioneers of social anthropology in India

• He began his career as a teacher and later a college lecturer in Cochin state in

present Kerala state

• In 1902, he assisted with an ethnographic survey of the state

• The British government wanted similar surveys done in all the princely states

as well as the presidency areas directly under its control

• Ananthakrishna Iyer did this work on a purely voluntary basis and his work

was much appreciated by British anthropologists and administrators of the

time

• He was the first self-taught anthropologist to receive national and international

recognition as a scholar and an academician

• He was invited to lecture at the University of Madras and was appointed as

Reader at the University of Calcutta

• In Calcutta, he helped to set up the first post-graduate anthropology

department in India



• He was elected President of the Ethnology section of the Indian Science

Congress

• He was awarded an honorary doctorate by a German university

• He was also conferred the titles of Rao Bahadur and Dewan Bahadur by Cochin

State

Sarat Chandra Roy (1871-1942)

• He was also an ‘accidental anthropologist’

• After his degree in law, he went to Ranchi in 1898 to take up a job as an English

teacher at a Christian Missionary school

• He remained in Ranchi for 44 years and became the leading authority on the

culture and society of the tribal peoples of Chhotanagpur region

• His interest in Anthropology began when he practiced law at Ranchi courts as

official interpreter in the court

• He travelled among tribal communities and did intensive field work

• He published more than 100 articles in leading Indian and British academic

journals

• His famous monographs are about Oraon, the Mundas and the Kharias

• He became very well-known anthropologist in India and Britain and was

recognized as an authority on Chhotanagpur

• He founded the journal ‘Man in India’ in 1922

G.S.Ghurye (1893-1983)

He is considered as the founder of institutionalized sociology in India

Major Works:

Caste and Race in India -1923

He headed India’s first PG department of Sociology at Bombay University

He founded the Indian Sociological Society - 1951

Started the journal Sociological Bulletin -1952

His writings includes areas of tribes, kinship, family and marriage, culture,

civilization and the historic role of cities, religion and the sociology of conflict

and integration

Ghurye’s Major Themes

• One of his major themes was ‘tribal or aboriginal’ cultures

• His debate with well-known anthropologist, Verrier Elwin –the author of the

book ‘A Philosophy for Nefa’-made him known outside sociology

• In 1930s and 1940s there was debate on the place of tribal societies within India

and how the state should respond to them

• Many administrator-anthropologists believed that the tribes were primitive

people with a distinctive culture far from mainstream Hinduism

• The tribes suffer exploitation and cultural degradation through contact with

Hindu culture and society. So they think that the state had a duty to protect the

tribes



• The nationalist Indians believed that attempts to preserve tribal culture were

misguided and results in maintaining tribal groups as museums of primitive

culture

• So Ghurye, the exponent of nationalist view, insisting on characterizing the

tribes in India as ‘Backward Hindus’ rather than the distinctive cultural groups.

He argued that tribals were in constant interactions with Hinduism over a long

period

• They were in the process of assimilation, which resulted in severe exploitation

and cultural extinction of the tribals

• He said, these ill effects were not specific to tribals but common to all the

backward and downtrodden sections of Indian society

Ghurye on Caste and Race in India

In his book ‘Caste and Race in India’ (1932), he criticized the dominant theories

about the relationship between caste and race

This dominant view held by Herbert Risley is that human beings can be divided

into distinct and separate features on the basis of their physical features like..

Circumference of the skull, The length of the nose, The volume (size) of the

cranium and the part of the skull where the brain is located

Risley’s main argument was, the caste have originated in race

The upper castes were similar to Indo-Aryan racial and the lower castes seemed

to belong to Non-Aryan-aboriginal or Mongoloid

Risley suggested that the lower castes were the original aboriginal inhabitants

of India

But Ghurye believed that Risley’s argument was partially correct and only

applicable to Northern India

Except in Indo-Gangetic plain, different racial groups had been mixing with

each other for a very long time

Ghurye’s Definition of Caste

Ghurye is offering a comprehensive definition of caste

His definition emphasizes six features:

1. Caste is based on segmental division:

This means, caste is divided into a number of closed, mutually exclusive

segments or compartments

It is closed because caste is decided by birth

2. Caste is based on hierarchical division:

Each caste is strictly unequal to every other caste

No two castes are ever equal

3. Restrictions on social interaction and sharing of food:

There are rules regarding the kind of food may be shared between which

groups based on purity and pollution



The rules include restrictions on social interaction and the institution of

untouchability

4. Caste involves differential rights and duties for different castes:

These rights and duties pertain not only to religious practices but extend to the

secular world

5. Restrictions on occupation, it is decided by birth and is hereditary:

Caste functions as a rigid form of division of labor with specific occupations

being allocated to specific castes

6. Caste involves strict restrictions on marriage:

Caste ‘endogamy’, or marriage within the caste is only allowed

D.P. Mukerji (1894-1961)

Major Works:

‘Introduction to Indian Music’

D.P. on Tradition and Change: Living Tradition

His main interest was tradition and change in India

He argued that, it became the first duty of an Indian sociologist to study and to

know the social traditions of India

This study of tradition was not oriented only towards the past, but also

included sensitivity to change

Thus tradition was a living tradition, maintaining its links with the past but

adapting to the present and thus evolving over time

He said, Indian sociologists must be an Indian first

He has to share in the folk-ways, mores, customs and traditions for

understanding its social system

The root meaning of the word tradition is to ‘transmit’

Traditions are rooted in the past that is kept alive through the repeated

recalling and retelling of stories and myths

Sources of Change

D.P. said, there are internal and external sources of change are always present

in every society

The most commonly cited internal source of change in western societies is the

economy. But this source has not been as effective in India

He believed that the first task for a dynamic Indian sociology would be to

provide an account of the internal, non-economic causes of change

Three Principles of Change

Shruti, Smriti and Anubhava, were three principles of change

Smriti and Shruti:

The high traditions of India were centred in it.



But they were challenged by the collective experience of groups and sects like

Bhakti movement, Sufism etc.

Anubhava:

Anubhava or personal experience is the revolutionary principle

The personal experience soon transformed into collective experience

This meant that the most important principle of change in Indian society was

generalized anubhava, or the collective experience of groups

In Indian context, anubhava and prem (experience and love) have been

historically superior agents of change

Tradition and Modernity

• Conflict and rebellion in the Indian context have tended to work through

collective experiences

• The resilience of tradition ensures that the pressure of conflict produces change

in the tradition without breaking it

• The dominant orthodoxy being challenged by popular revolts which succeed

in transforming orthodoxy but reabsorbed into this transformed tradition. This

process of change is typical of a caste society

• Tradition was neither to be worshipped nor ignored, just as modernity was

needed but not to be blindly adopted

• D.P was a proud but critical inheritor of tradition, as well as an admiring critic

of the modernity

A.R. Desai (1915-1994)

A.R. Desai was a life-long Marxist and sociologist who studied on Indian

nationalism

Major Works:

‘The Social Background of Indian Nationalism’-1948

‘Peasant Struggles in India’ - 1979

The major themes were peasant movements, rural sociology, forms of the state

and human rights

He was elected President of the Indian Sociological Society

The Social Background of Indian Nationalism

In this book, Desai give a Marxist analysis of Indian nationalism, which gave

importance to economic processes and divisions under the specific conditions

of British colonialism

A.R.Desai on the Welfare State

His main area of study is modern capitalist state



In an Essay –”The Myth of the Welfare State”, Desai provides a detailed

critique of this notion and shortcomings

Desai identifies the following unique features of the welfare state:

a).A Welfare State is a Positive State:

The Welfare state must actively uses its powers to design and implement social

policies for the betterment of society

b).The Welfare State is a Democratic State:

Democracy was considered an essential condition for the welfare state

Formal democratic institutions like multi-party elections are the feature of the

welfare state

c).A Welfare State involves a Mixed Economy:

A ‘mixed economy’ means an economy where both private capitalist

enterprises and state enterprises co-exist

The state sector manufactures basic goods and social infrastructure and the

private industry dominates the consumer goods sector

Criteria for a Welfare State

1. To ensure freedom from poverty, social discrimination and security for all

citizens

2. To remove inequalities of income

3. To transform the economy to the real needs of the community

4. To ensure stable development free from the cycle of the economic booms and

depressions

5. To provide employment for all

Is Welfare State, A Myth?

Desai examines that, even the most developed countries fail to provide

minimum levels of economic and social security, reduce economic inequality,

stable development free from market fluctuations and to provide employment

to all citizens

Based on these arguments, Desai concludes that the notion of the welfare state

is something of a myth

M.N.Srinivas (1916-1999)

Major Works:

“Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India”

In this book, he detailed an ethnographic application of structural-functional

perspective in Sociology

His Major Themes includes: Caste, Modernization, Processes of social change,

Village society



Srinivas’s Major Themes

• Srinivas produced a significant body of work on themes like-Caste,

Modernization, Processes of social change, Village society

• He helped to establish Indian sociology on the world map through his contacts

and associations with Radcliffe Brown, Evans Pritchard etc.

• He was succeeded in training a new generation of sociologists

M.N.Srinivas on the Village

The Indian village society was a focus of interest for him

He did a field work for a year at a village near Mysore and acquired first-hand

knowledge of village society and published a book “Religion and Society

among the Coorgs of South India”

He encouraged others to conduct detailed ethnographic surveys in villages

during 1950s and 60s

Along with other scholars like S.C.Dube and D.N. Majumdar, Srinivas was

instrumental in making village studies the dominant field in Indian sociology

Two Visions of Village Studies

There are two types of writings on village

1. Ethnographic accounts of field work done in villages

2. Historical and conceptual discussions about Indian village as a unit of social

analysis

Debate with Louis Dumont

Considering village as a unit of analysis, he was debated with Louis Dumont,

who thought that social institutions like caste were more important than village

The village was a collection of people living in a particular place

Villages may live or die, and people may move from one village to another

But their social institutions like caste or religion, follow them and go with them

wherever they go

So Dumont believed that it would be misleading to give much importance to

the village as a category

Srinivas criticized Dumont’s ideas of Indian Village as ‘unchanging, selfsufficient

little republics’

Srinivas believed that the village was a relevant social entity

Historical evidence showed that villages had served as a unifying identity and

that village unity was quite significant in rural social life

Using historical and sociological evidence, Srinivas showed that the village

had, in fact, experienced considerable change

Moreover, villages were never self-sufficient, and had been involved in various

kinds of economic, social and political relationships at the regional level



Village Studies in Sociology

The village as a focus of research offered many advantages to Indian

Sociologists.

1. It provided an opportunity to illustrate the importance of ethnographic

research methods

2. It result in rapid social change due to planned development programmes in

independent India

3. These vivid descriptions of village India were greatly appreciated at the time

4. Village studies thus provided a new role for a discipline like sociology in the

context of an independent nation


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