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build-a-picture-frame-from-moulding-unity Perhaps it is a neighbor, a school friend, a workmate, or a business associate. Rinehart and Winston, London. There is only one Retrieved June 20, However we attribute rights to infants, idiots and even animals. The politicians. The concept of culture also includes tools, techniques, ideas, values and all life Kroeber,

Monogamy, the marriage of one man to one woman at a time, has been and is the leading type of marriage. The advantages of monogamy are well recognized universally, as it is understood that it creates clearly defined and stronger family ties than any other form of marriage. It alone produces the highest type of affection tolerance and devotion and secures the superior care of children. The cohesive power of the family is greatest in monogamy. A monogamous family is more stable and lasts longer.

Marriage Institution Marriage is a socially approved way of establishing a family by procreation. As an institution it involves certain reciprocal rights and duties. The specific patterns of rights and duties distinguish the marriage institution in one society from the other. There is some clearly acknowledged social ritual in recognition of the social significance of marriage in every society.

Thus, marriage is the institution concerned with the reciprocal social relations and cultural behaviour of a man and a woman who publicly signify their union for the implied purpose, among other possible objectives. Of founding a family of procreation. The actual cultural components of the marriage institution, as is the case with all institutions, vary in detail from one society to another and to some degree also among sub-groups and classes in our own society.

These variations arise out of the differences in the objectives of the marriage institution and the extent of emphasis laid on them. Some universal characteristics that can be observed are as follows; sexual activity between husband and wife; trust and loyalty between the members; care and support for each other. Societies everywhere recognize the importance of marriage by the ceremonial rites they establish in this connection. Marriage and Family 3 The Wedding A marriage actually begin with legal or religious ceremonies or both.

The wedding is recognition of the public significance of marriage. The pageantry impress upon the couple the importance of the commitment they are undertaking. The Licensing and Ceremony The formal permission to marry usually required by societies is expressed through the issue of a license which then makes it mandatory for persons to meet age and health regulations.

The wedding must occur before witnesses so that proper certification and registration are effected. A legally sanctioned and publicly admitted marriage is important because of property and other rights and obligations that are immediately effective when the marriage is a fact.

Thus the permanence of the obligations of the contract is established beyond question and these obligations cannot be freely discarded. Public sanction and public acceptance make them binding. The wedding also indicates that two persons are fused in a new life. The exchange of gold rings, drinking from the same vessel, or eating a common piece of food are all symbolic of the union. The ceremony also expresses the good wishes of relatives and friends.

Religious Rites The marriage ceremony is a religious rite in many societies which consider marriage a sacred institution. The possibility of dissolving a marriage was unthinkable in most of the societies until recently.

Even though some societies are fairly liberal in this respect, they emphasize the sacred character of the relationship which is reinforced through the religious rites. These views when accepted serve as supportive social controls. Mate Selection Mates for marriage are obtained through two methods generally through arrangement or through freedom of choice. The selection of mates must obviously preceed marriage. Mating of course was carried on in the early associations of people long before ceremonial marriage appeared.

Marriage developed in human societies in part as a means of controlling mating. Arrangements for procuring mates in societies is done by parents or some other person with authority. Sometimes in modem society and the assistance of matrimonial agencies is sort. The professional matchmaker has long been a part of the marriage system among many societies.

Two important factors are predominant where mate selection is done by arrangement. Firstly, the social and economic position of the families to be united is an important matter for consideration.

They are usually marriages of social and economic convenience, binding families together as coalitions with a common interest. Secondly, the desires of the partners and their feelings of affection and future happiness may get completely ignored: However, it is believed that love develops after the marriage, when this couple gets to know each other. The second method where freedom of choice is exercised and the selection of the mate is largely the result of personal choice and is based on association and the development of romantic love.

Hasty decisions based on physiological and emotional reactions that supercede sound thinking are quite common especially where there is a strong desire for marriage accompanied by fear of losing the desired person.

A common problem in a society that depends upon free choice and romantic love as the basis for marriage is the danger that the choice will result from temporary sentimental attraction rather than from a considered mature decision.

Several factors condition the actual selection of a mate. The sex drive operates as a strong force in human societies pressing people toward sexually attractive possible mates.

Marriages would hardly take place without this drive. The choice of a specific mate is also controlled or influenced by conditions. Some of the restrictions that societies sets are selection within the race, within definite age limits, within the same class, and the prohibition of incest.

Propinquity or the nearness of residence is an other influencing condition situation. Those with similar characteristics live in similar areas and this proximity is favorable to meeting and choosing partners of like ideals and purposes. Purposefully created contact situations for young men and women in large cities creates opportunities and possibilities of acquaintanceship.

This often means participating in purposeful groups and organisations which can provide a favorable setting for people to meet. All these aspects of an interwoven set of personal relationships constitute a pattern for the choice of a mate. Family Institution The institution of family is a consequence of marriage in several societies.

A family is defined as a group d people related by blood, marriage, or adoption who form an economic unit are responsible for the care of children, and often live in the same household.

It is considered as the primary unit of society which is responsible for several functions of the individual as well as society. It is responsible for socialization of its members and for teaching cultural norms, for provision of the basic needs of its members as well as preparing them for their careers and future family lives.

Its importance lies in the fact that no individual can exist without a family and no society can perpetuate itself without enlisting members into families.

It aids societies in serving as a significant controlling agent to achieve orderly social relations and social control. Relationship within the Family The family is a procreative, child-bearing, child-rearing and a status-giving group. Its fundamental principle is the bond of kinship, which shows the network of social relationships among the family members.

This relationship can be elaborated in many ways which differentiate families from each other in their form and structure in different societies. Basically there are two types of relationships in the immediate family, which are quite apparent: these are the marriage relationship and the relationship of biological kinship.

If we examine the family structure of different societies we see that. Thus we see two general types of families: the conjugal family in which the dominant relationship is that of the spouses and the consanguine family in which the dominant relationships are those of blood, that is, the bond between the blood kinsmen involves more obligations and activity than that between spouses.

The conjugal family often gives the individual member more freedom in the sense that he or she can ,remove himself or herself from the group if the person finds it uncongenial, unlike the consanguine family in which he or she is bound for life. During the course of a normal life, an individual, belongs to two types of families, namely: a the family of orientation which is the family into which he or she is born consisting of parents and siblings brothers and sisters , and b the family of procreation consisting of the spouse and children.

In the societies, which place emphasis on conjugal families on the basis of social life, the sibling relationships of the family of orientation are loosened and importance is given to the relationship between the spouses. The family group was the first human school and despite its weaknesses it has often been considered the best school. The informal education of an individual begins in the family, where the most effective teaching is done in and through it. It is in the family that the children can be best educated to learn the basic lessons of health and personal and sex hygiene.

The institution of family is also considered the cradle of personality. The siblings in a family have special social relationships among themselves. They can be effective teachers of each other too, give emotional satisfaction and help each other in times of problems. It is in the family that individuals acquire, early and effectively the idea that marriages and the family have superior connotations as social institutions. Individuals also learn that the family needs to be considered not lightly, but as socially necessary and sacred institution, not as a temporary contract which can be assumed carelessly, but as involving human feelings and intimate relationships that have a lifelong effects upon personality.

General Characteristics of Family In their normal functioning, families everywhere show the following characteristics: 1 A family characterized by the existence of a marriage bond between a man and a woman or between more than one man and more than one woman.

Marriage and Family 9 3 The family groups are distinguished by the possession of a residence or series of residences which are jointly occupied at least occasionally by the members. Some of them which are most commonly found are the following: a Protection to family members from bodily harm and illness and care of the invalid and ill members of the family. The control of property usually also involves inheritance.

The use of a family name is not universal but where it is prevalent, it serves to symbolise family status and helps in identification of individuals from their point of view. It is widely prevalent in India where the individuals identity is very often solely based on the family name.

Another important function of social care is the protection of its members. Within the general framework of kinship, two main types of family structure are. The nuclear family consists of adult parents and their dependents like children. The extended family includes the nuclear family and many of its relatives such as grand parents, grand children, uncles, aunts, and cousins.

In the Indian context such families are also called as joint families, as they consist basically of the nuclear family and its relatives. However several other forms have also been observed.

Polygamy is the marriage of one person to several others. Where the marriage of one man to several women is called polygamy marriage of one woman to many men is called polyandry. Due to the shortage of women, sharing a common wife among several men became a necessity and where brothers took one common wife it was known as fraternal polyandry. Certain factors encourage one form of marriage rather than the other. Economic forces, which are usually prominent in specific societies, explain the need for polygamy or polyandry.

It is not divided among them individually as it may not be sufficient to support the family. Therefore brothers share the land and the wife.

Marriage and Family 11 Patterns of Authority In most of the societies in which extended families are a norm. Patriarchal pattern of authority exists. In patriarchal families, males are dominant over other family members.

The common pattern of authority is patriarchal. Sometimes in patriarchal societies women may informally dominate in many families, but this does not become the universal norm. As more women have joined the workforce, we find a shift in the pattern of authority. Norms for Selection of a Partner Societies prescribe rules that pertain to the selection of a marriage partner. A system where people marry outside their family or clan is called exogamy.

Parallel to ,this is endogamy, where marriage within the group is permitted. The most common rule of exogamy is the incest taboo, where marriage or sexual relations between individuals having a close biological relationship is not permitted.

The choice of partner often is restricted by the rules of exogamy and endogamy people. The rule of incest taboo is universal. This rule prohibits sexual relations between two close relatives like between child and parent and brother and sister. Some societies extend this rule to first cousins and close blood relations too. However incest was not a taboo in the royal family of ancient Egypt. For instance, some have suggested that humans have an innate aversion to incest while others say that people in the distant.

Patterns of Matrimonial Residence Residential patterns of married couples are varied in different societies. In recent years we see more and more couples set up their own houses, which is called neo-local residence. In all human groups, the family is an important agent of socialization.

It has a flexible human relationships in which family members interact informally and deal with common concerns in mutual respect and love. It creates feelings of social responsibility and teaches the importance of cooperation and mutual respect. The human child possesses a tendency towards imitation and the family provides informal conditions where customs and traditions can be learnt through imitation. The child finds much to learn in the behaviour of his family members, parents, relatives, and friends.

He imitates them in their mannerisms, behaviour, cliches, etc. He tries to avoid such activities which result in punishment or which are considered bad in the family. It is the family environment that forms his good habits and it is in the family that he acquires criminal tendencies.

Need for Socialization The question why is socialization necessary for the development of an individual is best answered by the example of the human beings who were for some reason, nurtured outside society. In , in India two,children were found in a wolf den, of which one was eight years old and the other a couple of years younger.

The second died after the lapse of only a few months while the first continued to live for six years. She walked on all fours, growled like a wolf and could not speak. She became nervous at the sight of human beings as any undomesticated animals are bound to be. In this way, due to the absence of socialization she possesed none of the characteristics of human beings save for her bodily structure. She was taught to speak, wear clothes and eat.

In this way, she could learn some human behaviour due to the influence of socialization after a period of some years. The self of the individual develops primarily because of socialization. Every social relationship of the individual contributes to this process of socialization. Stability in Family Patterns The institution of family is a stable system and this makes the Indian society well integrated. However a number of factors have contributed in making the family unstable.

The effects of modernization have shaken the family and made it w1stable. This leads to severdl problems of maladjustmcnt, misunderstanding and infidelity, which make the family unstable. Individuals marry for personal convenience, forgetting that manied life requires preparation and training. A successful married life requires a lot of sacrifice and adjustment as two distinctly different individuals are sharing their life.

The attitudes and actions of both partner and the other member may Build A Picture Frame From Moulding Set produce an environment which is highly favorable for the proper functioning of the family.

The creation of a pleasant atmosphere is a responsibility of both partners. Such an atmosphere fosters adjustment and whenever the atmosphere is destroyed by any one adjustments become difficult. An exaggerated spirit of individualism leads a person to find the guide to his actions in his own wishes and whims.

This produces an attitude of carelessness towards the family. This attitude which is often expressed in irresponsibility tends to make the family unstable, as the family thrives on attitudes of personal responsibility.

A sound family life depends to a large extent on a single or the same standard of behaviour and responsibility for both men and women. Double standards, or one standard for men and one for women, destroys personal happiness and social values in the family. Adjustments in Marriage Adjustment in marriage relates to the following areas - sex relations, managing family income, social activities and mutual friends and families.

It is important to distinguish marital adjustment from two other terms which are sometimes used more or less interchangeably with it, that is, marital success and marital happiness.

Marital success refers to the achievement of one or more goals of marriage. It is at least conceivable that one marital partner could be very happy while the other may be at the nadir of despair.

Marital happiness refers to the tone of the subjective response of the individual spouse to his or her marriage. The family today is in a transitional stage.

The institutionalized family has been ignored sometimes giving room for tandem marriages and free love. The growth of individualism has given more freedom to everyone in the family. The trend is undoubtedly in the direction of families as a form across of companionship.

The patriarchal family of the past had been too rigid. It did not allow individualistic attitudes in the family. Over decades, the changes occurring in the family have led to a democratic family which is built on respect for each others opinions, for age, on consideration for the personalities, and on cooperation all around.

In order to change the family from one in which autocracy and ignorance predominate to one in which rational and mutual give and take rule applies, requires education in democratic relationships, sex relationships parent- child relationships, and in an appreciation of the family group as a training center for social life.

It is a group whose life is based not primarily on the fear and force of authority but on the drawing power of mutual respect and affection. Rational love rules in the family. The democratic family rests on the principle of mutual self-sacrifice. A home cannot be a home one if a child cannot find it in the attitudes of a cooperative and companionable father and mother.

It should exist as a distinct and strongly functional group in every known form of society. Marriage and Family 17 Change in Family Patterns The structure and functions of families today remain no longer the same as in the past.

The forces of development have affected changes in every aspect of society and family, as an institution does not exist in isolation. The consequences of changes in non-domestic institutions have had repercussions on the domestic front. An analysis of some of the factors that have changed over the last few decades will help us understand the changes occurring in the family in its present form.

Economic changes and their effects on the family are significant. In the primitive and early medieval times, the family or the home was an economic center. With the advent of new and highly specialized division of labor and mass production of goods, changes in economic life have affected family life.

The growth of education and economic opportunities have offered women a chance to make their own living. This has, to an extent, impaired the economic unity of the family as a group, because each member of the family maintains his or her own share of the expenses and lives an independent economic life.

Moreover, even as affecting the men of the family, have been affected by modem industry with serious results for the family and the home. It has often taken them away where they can no longer help to rear the family. The husband is no longer an important social factor in the family.

Once children also contributed to the support of the family by working with the parents. Now if they share in the economic burden of the family they have to leave home and its care and engage in occupations outside the home. The effect of other social changes on the family has also been significant. The growth of liberal thought has its effect upon family ideals. Individual freedom and expression Build A Picture Frame From Moulding Github of thought have far reaching effects on the family.

Certain other factors, like decreasing size of family and the propagation of a small family, late marriages, rising socioeconomic aspirations and unwillingness to procreate, single parent families, are also responsible for bringing about a change in the family patterns. Family Disorganisation and Divorce Divorce is an indicator of the extent of family disorganisation.

Disorganisation in the family refers to a breakdown in the conjugal family life. The problems in the family arise from circumstances frequently associated with such a breakdown. William J. Goode points out that families become disorganised due to different reasons. The number of people living in such empty shells may be quite large in society.

Sometimes these marriages can lead to divorce and desertion. Another reason which may bring about family disorganisation is a catastrophe, either as a result of internal factors like an illness or disability or external factors such as floods, wars etc. These tendencies could affect families in such a way that the members are scattered or are in emotional and mental turmoil. Laws have been changed to shorten the time necessary to acquire a divorce. The current laws provide several different grounds for divorce and even sustain no fault divorces.

In the West one of the most telling causes is the extreme cultural freedom of choice. Freedom to choose a partner means freedom to continue to choose and freedom to replace the choice with another. Divorce results in the creation of single parent families. Single Parent Families There is a distinction between family households and non family households. A family household consists of people related by birth, marriage or adoption and non family household includes two or more unrelated people of either sex as well as people who live alone.

Although the family household is still the dominant form, it appears to be giving ground to other forms. They indicate that changes in family structure, parent-child relations, and intimate relations in general, are taking place universally in every society. For both divorced and never married women with children, the most serious problem appears to be economic. Most of the divorced or single parents must seek work to support their families, and this often turns out to be low paying work.

However, money worries are not the only problems of single parent households. Single parents often feel stigmatized in a society that places a high value on marriage.

In the absence of another parent in the home to raise children many single parents feel isolated and unequal to the task. There is however no solid evidence that children who grow up in single parent families are damaged as a result. A number of studies have concluded that whether or not both parents are present makes little difference in the quality of child rearing or the socialization of children. Some studies have found that delinquency is more frequent in unhappy two parent homes than in single parent homes.

Functional Approach to the Family Sociologists have used several approaches to the study of the family. The functional approach gives emphasis to the functions of the family in society. The contribution made by the family to the maintenance of the social system forms the core of analysis by the functionalists.

It is assumed that society has certain functional prerequisites or basic needs that must be met if it is to survive and operate efficiently. The family is one of the agencies to meet those functional prerequisites.

It is assumed that there must be a certain degree of integration, and harmony between the parts of the social system if society is going to function efficiently. Apart from these functions performed by the subsystem for larger society, its functions for the individual are analyzed. In the case of the family the functions of the family for its individual members are to be considered. Murdock states that the family performs four basic functions - sexual, reproductive, economic, and educational.

They are essential for social life since without the sexual and reproductive there would be no members of society, without the economic functions, like provision and preparation of food, life cannot exist and without education, which forms a major part of socialization, there would be no culture.

Human society without culture will not function. The family cannot perform these functions exclusively. It makes important contributions to all of them and no other institution can match its efficiency in this aspect. The family is seen as a multi-functional institution, which is indispensable to society.

Murdock, however, does not consider whether these functions could be performed by other social institutions. These are, the primary socialization of children and the stabilization of adult personalities of the population of society.

He argues that families are factories which produce human personalities and believes they are essential for the purpose of primary socialization and provides warmth, security, and mutual support. The family acts as a counterweight to the stresses and strains of everyday life, which tend to make the personalities unstable. Like Murdock, Parsons also fails to explore functional alternatives to the family.

Vogel and Bell present a functional analysis of certain families that avoids the tendency of many functionalists to concentrate solely on the positive aspects of the family. They examined the functions and dysfunctions of the family and indicated that what is dysfunctional for children can be seen as functional for the parents, for the family unit, and for the society as a whole.

They argue that the cost to the child is low relative to the functional gains of the whole family. While dealing with the family both its positive and negative aspects should be considered. It should also be kept in mind that what is good for a member may be at the cost of another member. Conclusion This chapter has dealt with the concepts of marriage and family and aspects relating to individuals and societies.

You have learnt about the importance of marriage as an institution, its forms and its functions. You, have also read about instability in families, adjustments, reconstruction of families, single parent families, and divorce. Also in this chapter you have been made aware of the functionalist approach to the study of family referring to some of the leading functionalist theorists in sociology.

References Haralambos, Michael , Sociological. Perspectives, Edison Press, London. Schulz, A. Smelser, J. Chaudhary Introduction Cultural man is considered to have existed on earth for about 1. Evidence of humans leading a social and cultural life are available from this period.

Thus, human heings were the first of species in the animal kingdom, capable of producing culture. Once this capacity for building culture was attained, its exercise led to a secure adaptation to their environment. This exercise generated a need and prompted man to live in the company of others. Man not only started experimenting with his environment, he also started sharing his experiences with fellow human beings, sometimes in their original form and at other times in an improvised and improved form.

The beginning of human beings living in aggregates gave rise to the concept of society. This constituted his culture. Both the rise and formation of society and culture went hand in hand. Biological evolution in man a process of struggle for survival accompanied cultural evolution. The activities ofhwnan beings, their behaviour and livillg together, and moving in groups from one place to another in search of food and shetter helped them to develop a common way of life. The family, e.

A society is considered to be a group of people who share a common habitat and who are dependent upon one another for their survival and well-being. Large societies of today are made up of classes, castes, ethnic groups etc. Concept of Society Socrates said, man is a social animal and being social for man is both natural as well as necessary.

There are other animals, who also have an organised life, but the social life of man is different from, them. Behaviour among animals is instinctive and dies with the animal but among men, behaviour is learned and, passed on from one generation to another. This aspect is distinctive of man and distinguishes him from other animals.

This characteristic binds all men together to behave in a similar manner. They form an aggregate of people who lead a similar way of life and there is also a similarity in their behaviour and other activities.

Man studies himself as a member of this aggregate of people that we call society. Likewise the evolution of religion. The question may arise why is it necessary for a man to live in society or why is society necessary for man? The answer to these queries can briefly be given as under: 1 Man has his needs and he chooses to meet or fulfill these needs by himself; He can meet them while beirtg a member of society or while living in society.

The meeting of those needs is conditioned by the. This variation makes one society different and unique from other societies. His overall growth and development is provided within and by the organised social life. This is where the society has its basic relevance. Though the society extends and plays this role throughout the life of man, in the initial phase of his life he needs itthe most. It is in society that man learn to behave, to act, to respond and to play his requisite tole for his environment and for the society of which he is a member.

All these factors do not work independent of each other. They have a cumulative effect. However, each factor has its own significance. Further, there are some basic elements of social organisation and ideology. These elements contribute towards continuity and change and proper functioning of the society. Some other animals and insects too are considered to have their culture, but it dies with them but the culture created by man distinguishes man from other animals.

There are a number of definitions of culture: One of the best, and most acceptable, early definitions of culture was given by E.

Rather it is a complex one and is constituted by a large number of aspects of life which range, as shown in the definition, from knowledge to law to customs. This also includes habits acquired by man while living and interacting in society with other members. Though constituted by a large number of units, called traits, culture has to be understood in totality, the whole. All the traits are so well integrated that each one gets almost assimilated into the other.

Culture, when seen holistically, is unqerstood as a complex whole. The following are some of the characteristics of culture: 1 Culture is a complex whole: All the elements and traits of culture are to be understood in relationship to one another. All of them, in this respect, constitute, a whole, called culture, and is complex in nature. It is composed of habits, i. A dog can be trained to learn many tricks, but it cannot pass them on to its puppies.

However, man is capable of transmitting all his learning and habits to his offspring. It also helps in gratifying human interaction with the external world of nature and fellowmen. The process of change appears to be an adaptive one, comparable to evolution in the organic realm but is of a different order. Over a period of time culture adjusts to the geographical environment and to the biological and socio-psychological demands of the human organism.

It adjusts through borrowing and organisation. Some anthropologists consider that culture is actually an integrated system which has most of its elements in perfect equilibrium with one another. Without language man cannot transmit the culture from one period of time to another and from one place to another.

This helps man in acquiring knowledge, skills and other aspects of culture from the remote past and hand them over to the future generations.

The concept of culture also includes tools, techniques, ideas, values and all life Kroeber, All such aspects, arts and artifacts and the patterns of human behaivor acquired an transmitted, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups, including- their embodiments in artifacts Kroeber and Kluckhohn, It becomes clear that culture is more than a biological phenomenon.

It is that aspect that can be seen, touched and observed. The elements of material culture can be created, built, destroyed and rebuilt, and improved upon deliberately according to the needs and desires of man. Certain aspects, like medicines, are invented, discovered and put to use to fight diseases, improve health and quality of life.

Some aspects of material culture are created and built to fulfill the desires and needs arising out of changes in non-material culture, i. Variations in material culture are wider and more wide spread as compared to non-material culture. The definition clearly identifies the areas that fall under material and nonmaterial culture. Therefore, ideas constitute culture and people constitute society. In reality we study man himself. Thus, it is difficult to separate man as a social being from man as a creature who has culture.

It can be said that both society and culture are not mutually exclusive. In society, comprising of individuals, the individual members may die and be replaced by others. Therefore, society has a structural aspect.

Its structure and continuation is based on the birth, death and replacement by other members. Culture, on the other and, is independent of individual members. Birth, death or replacement of individual members is not of much consequence to the culture. Society falls in the realm oj. Thus culture and social structure are different aspects of the same phenomenon. Some consider ways of life as the intangibles and as the inferences drawn from the behavior of people.

Therefore, to study society is important for us because it essentially allows us to. Relations between individuals, in all societies, change with age, with strength, with obligations assumed, and with status achieved. Among all societies, social life of an individual begins by identification with a group. It is the cultural training by the group that makes an individual fit to live according to the expectations of the group, or society.

It is through the learning experience that a man achieves competence in his culture. The necessity of society for human beings has been explained by many scholars.

This necessity is explained partly in terms of physcial and mental make up of man and partly in terms of his cultural conditioning. Why should man live in society? Some of the reasons are explain : Primarily a man needs to fulfill and satisfy his biological and other needs in society.

As a member of society, man can express his choices to satisfy his needs and the process of this satisfaction takes the form of cultural expressions. To meet his requirements of shelter and food, man uses his cultural capabilities.

It is a fact that at the time of birth the child is most helpless physically and mentally, to face the environment around him to meet his needs. It takes a lot of time for him to gain maturity and self-reliance. He needs the sustained support of others in the process of his upbringing.

The whole process of his growth and development takes place under the care of other members of society or members of his group. This is carried on in the organised life of the group. It is during this process that a child inculcates values and norms tel develop his personality. He develops skills and capabilities and equips himself to face the world around him. It is for the above reasons to be self-reliant and competent to respond to the expectations others basic of him that he must live in society, and live as a member of it in continuous interaction with other members.

Relationship of Culture, Society and Individual The social and cultural aspects of life are interrelated. The behaviour of members of a society is altogether a matter of social relationships. Membership to this relationship is constituted by individuals who are units of a society.

At least two individuals constitute a social relationship. The significance of an individuals in society lies in the promotion of his culture.

Individuals also interact with their environment, construct ideas, and build their culture - both material and non-material. To build adequate and positive relationships, individuals must adjust to other individuals. The constructive interplay between social, cultural factors and individuals makes society a civilised place to live in. All these factors jointly work and reinforce each other The absence of any one could mean the non-existence of others. The behaviour of a single individual can be called his personality, the behaviour of a group of individuals is also called culture.

Culture can also be termed as the total behaviour of individuals. In society individuals learn the forms of conduct or behaviour which is acceptable to group.

This process of learning acceptable behaviour is called acculftJation. Thus, this process works as a bridge between culture as it exists and culture as presented by the individuals in their behaviour. It is during this process of acculturation that individuals are moulded into persons as desired by society.

While individuals have a small life span, culture persists from one generation to another. It is more than any individual who lives in it. Similarly, no society is made up of thl. Births and deaths constantly change its members. When a whole generation of individuals in society has passed away, it is the pattern of behaviour culture that links the members to the past. This pattern of behaviour is passed to the individuals in society who comprise it now.

This alsohelps us to understand how culture helps individuals to it integrated to his society. Such a country is culhrrally plural. Cultural pluralism is a pattern or a system in which people of different faiths, religions, castes, creeds can all work and live together, retaining proudly their own faith and identity and sharing the common bond of being, either by birth or choice.

Plural culture means the co-existence of several sub-cultures within a given society on equal terms. In such a pluralistic culture, the validity of various sub-cultures is recognized. The people living in different sub-culhrres follow different ways of life, live differently and think according to cultural patterns adopted by them. Thus cultural pluralism also gives rise to the concept of cultural diversity.

Cultural differences set apart one group of people with one culture from another. Each group may be characterized by their own language, history or ancestry, religion, style of dress or adornment.

The cultural characteristics of plural groups are socially inherited socially transmitted from one generation to another rather than being learnt in one generation alone. Structurally, plural groups presenting one culhrre may be small or large in size, but all of them display a sense of solidarity among themselves. Generally, the membership to such plural groups is closed, i. Also no group can force anyone to follow or adopt its way of life.

Society and Culture: Plurality of Culture in India 37 Each group falling under a plural sub-culture has a collective opinion and shares a responsibility which is distinct and separate from the desires and intentions of other groups. Members of each group have common beliefs, common rights and common duties towards the group and they make efforts to maintain and integrate it.

Rural Build A Picture Frame From Moulding Ltd and urban areas ofIndia present a plurality of cultures. It has tribal, rural and urban populations. Urban areas present a complex and variety of sub-cultures. Conclusion In this chapter we have attempted to learn what is culture and what is society.

Culture is the way of life we live and society is the interacting aggregate of people Culture has been defined in a number of ways.

The definition by E. Tylor is the most acceptable. However other definitions present different aspects of culture and society. All of them lead us to think about ourselves as social being as well as cultural being, i. In this unit we have also tried to establish a relationship between society, culture and the individual.

We find that how they are inter-related and inter-twined. One has no meaning in the absence of the other. Both social and cultural factors guide and determine social growth and development of an individual and help him to integrate into his group according to its group desires and expectations. The individual in turn enriches culture by extending the inter-personal relationships.

The concept of cultural pluralism has been shown to present different sub-cultures living together on equal terms and maintaining their identities. References Bottomore, T.

Herskovits, M. Keesing, Roger M. Rinehart and Winston, London. Kroeber, A. Majumdar, D. N and T. Smelser, Neil l. The indicators of development devised by national and international organisations show that inequalities have, in fact, increased within countries and between the countries during the last century.

A number of agencies at different levels are engaged in reducing economic and social equalities. The modem state has taken the major responsibility for reducing social inequalities.

International organisations like UNDP, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank also playa major role in policy formulation and mobilization of resources to reduce poverty.

Voluntary organisations are increasingly involved in the implementation of development programmes whose major purpose is to reduce poverty and empower people. Needless to say these efforts have been only partially successful. Social workers have a special interest in social stratification. Social work aims at improving social functioning of individuals, groups and communities.

For example, a caseworker will have to deal with an individual who fears loss of status after a series of business losses. Information on the class and caste status is this important to understand the social background of the individual. Similarly groups for doing group work are often formed on the basis of these criteria.

In community organisation the need is even more as opportunities for development in Indian society depend on the class and caste position of the respective community. Social Stratification: Theoretical Understanding Social stratification can be defined as the arrangement of groups of individuals in hierarchical positions on the basis of criteria like wealth, prestige, ethnicity, gender and power.

Because of the similarity of their positions in the social structure they develop a common consciousness of who they are, what their common problems are and what should be done to remove these problems. Social stratification is a major form of social inequality. Sociologists point out that in complex industrial countries like U. Lists have been prepared to show the public perceptions of the relative prestige attached to various occupations. One such list shows the medical doctor on the top with the sweeper the bottom.

The social worker has a middle rank. The quick mobility of individuals disturbs the arrangement of status in the hierarchy and this prevents the development of group consciousness. In India class and caste are the main factors of social stratification, about which we will now learn. There are two prominent social thinkers who have enriched our understanding of the nature, types and consequences of social stratification: Karl Marx and Max Weber.

According to his theory of class, a class consists of a group of people who have similar relations to the forces of production. For example, in modem societies, all individuals who own factories are capitalists and all individuals who work in these factories for wages are workers. Similarly in an agrarian society individuals who own land can be called feudal lords and those who work for them are serfs or labourers.

He also believed that the interests of these different groups were irreconcilable, which means that one gains at the expense of others. The result was that the workers, laborers or slaves were always exploited by the capitalists, feudal lords or slave owners in their respective societies. All other institutions in society, religious, political or educational, helped the process of exploitation through various means.

For example, religion preaches fatalism, which convinces people that their suffering cannot be prevented and that passive suffering can bring them heavenly rewards after their deaths. Similarly the government puts down with coercion, attempts by the poorer sections to demand justice in economic opportunities by calling it a law and order problem or rebellion.

In the Indian context a Marxist analysis would interpret caste and the kanna theory associated with it as justifYing the exploitative relations between the landlord and serfs. Thus Marx places before us the theory of economic basis of social inequality. Max Weber, another prominent thinker, agreed with many ideas of Marx but differed on others issues. He agreed with Marx that the most important dimension of stratification is economic which results in formation of the hierarchical system of class but he points out that there are other factors which determine social stratification.

According to him there are three dimensions of stratification: wealth, status and power. Weber also asserted that class formation did not depend solely on ownership of productive forces. It depended on the market situation by which an individual could realize his potential in competition with others. For example, a reputed lawyer or a doctor may not own a field or an industry but he has specialized skills, which not many others have. That is why these professionals are paid lucrative salaries.

Status is the second dimension of stratification and it is a measure of prestige the society gives to an individual and that depends on the lifestyle of the person. A person who occupies a high office would be respected because of his status and not because of his economic position.

The third dimension is power which is the ability of the individual to influence the actions of others against their own will. For example a village community leader may neither be rich nor occupying a high office but his position as leader of the community gives him power.

Weber agrees that in most cases, all three dimensions, wealth, status and power are interrelated. This is however true of most cases but not in all cases. Weber by adding these dimensions of stratification, has enabled a broader understanding of social stratification. Concept of Class A social class is a group of individuals who have more or less a similar wealth. The possession of wealth enables the individual to obtain those goods and services that are scarce and are valued by others.

These goods and services differ from society to society. In traditional society, the wealthy person may buy land and gold while in modem society he may invest in the stock market or buy luxurious cars or go abroad aboard for vacations.

Wealth allows the person to create more wealth the invests it prudently. Concept of Class and its Characteristics Most modem societies have class-based stratification. However many features of traditional stratification may be observed in modem societies such as elements of caste system and feudalism found in India. But with economic development, class based stratification is becoming increasingly important.

Some of the major characteristics of the class system are as follows- Class is a Relatively Open Stratification System Any society is said to be relatively open or closed depending on the number of opportunities available to its members for upward social mobility. Equally important, is attitude of the society towards the mobility of its members. Along with development the system of stratification becomes open and achievement oriented.

The class system is a form of open stratification system. An individual with his achievements can gain entry to a higher class and acquire prestige. There are examples of individuals who by their hard work and achievements rose from poverty and became millionaires.

Modem society appreciates such individuals as they are seen as models for others. Social mobility in modem societies is based on intelligence, merit, competence and achievement of individuals. However, in every society, inspite of the openness, factors like socio-economic background, parental status and resources, social networks and various ascribed factors play an important role in determining individual motivation, achievement and the availability of opportunities.

Since these factors are not in control of the individual and cannot be easily modified to his advantage it cannot be said that modem societies are fully achievement oriented and open. That is why we have said class based societies are relatively open, that is, in relation to other societies. We will shortly study shortly the caste system, which is a relatively closed stratification system.

Social hierarchy in traditional societies is formed by ascription while in class based societies achievement plays an important role. Traditional social hierarchies are based on ascribed states, while modem social hierarchies are based on achieved status. The level of competition in modem society is high and only the fittest can survive.

Social workers have to remember two consequences of an achievement based society. Since achievement is stressed, failures of an individual are look down upon by others and they lose their self-esteem.

You may have read in newspapers about school children committing suicide after failing in school exams. It is the desire for high achievement and fulfilling the high expectations of others that pressurize vulnerable students to take this extreme step.

In countries like India. This makes the social situation unfair to these people. The government and voluntary organisations implement welfare and development programmes to enable disadvantaged people to enter the mainstream of society. Impact of Class System in India Membership of particular class groups influences the behaviour of its members. A statement that the information in the notice is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

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