Chapter 2

24 INTRODUCING SOCIOLOGY

CHAPTER 2

TERMS, CONCEPTS AND THEIR USE IN SOCIOLOGY

terms and concepts to understand this.
I
Why does sociology need to have a
special set of terms when we use terms
INTRODUCTION like status and roles or social control
The previous chapter introduced us to anyway in our everyday life?
an idea both about society as well as For a discipline such as, say,
sociology. We saw that a central task of nuclear physics that deals with matters
sociology is to explore the interplay of unknown to most people and for which
society and the individual. We also saw no word exists in common speech, it
that individuals do not float freely in seems obvious that a discipline must
society but are part of collective bodies develop a terminology. However,
like the family, tribe, caste, class, clan, terminology is possibly even more
nation. In this chapter, we move further important for sociology, just because
its subject matter is familiar and just
to understand the kinds of groups
because words do exist to denote it. We
individuals form, the kinds of unequal
are so well acquainted with the social
orders, stratification systems within
institutions that surround us that we
which, individuals and groups are
cannot see them clearly and precisely
placed, the way social control operates,
(Berger 1976:25).
the roles that individuals have and play, For example we may feel that since
and the status they occupy. we live in families we know all about
In other words we start exploring families. This would be conflating or
how society itself functions. Is it equating sociological knowledge
harmonious or conflict ridden? Are with common sense knowledge or
status and roles fixed? How is social naturalistic explanation, which we have
control exercised? What kinds of discussed in Chapter 1.
inequalities exist? The question however We also found in the previous
remains as to why do we need specific chapter how sociology as a discipline

TERMS, CONCEPTS AND THEIR USE IN SOCIOLOGY 25

has a biography or history. We saw how essentially harmonious. They found it
certain material and intellectual useful to compare society to an
developments shaped the sociological organism where different parts have a
perspective as well as its concerns. function to play for the maintenance of
Likewise sociological concepts too have the whole. Others, in particular the
a story to tell. Many of the concepts conflict theorists influenced by Marxism
reflect the concern of social thinkers to saw society as essentially conflict
understand and map the social ridden.
changes that the shift from pre-modern Within sociology some tried to
to modern entailed. For instance understand human behaviour by
sociologists observed that simple, small starting with the individual, i.e. micro
scale and traditional societies were interaction. Others began with macro
more marked by close, often face-to- structures such as class, caste, market,
face interaction. And modern, large state or even community. Concepts
scale societies by formal interaction. such as status and role begin with the
They therefore distinguished primary individual. Concepts such as social
from secondary groups, community control or stratification begin from a
from society or association. Other larger context within which individuals
concepts like stratification reflect the are already placed.
concern that sociologists had in The important point is that these
understanding the structured classifications and types that we
inequalities between groups in society. discuss in sociology help us and are the
Concepts arise in society. However tools through which we can
just as there are different kinds of understand reality. They are keys to
individuals and groups in society so open locks to understand society. They
there are different kinds of concepts and are entry points in our understanding,
ideas. And sociology itself is marked by not the final answer. But what if the key
different ways of understanding society becomes rusted or bent or does not fit
and looking at dramatic social changes the lock, or fits in with effort? In such
that the modern period brought about. situations we need to change or modify
We have seen how even in the early the key. In sociology we both use and
stage of sociology’s emergence there also constantly interrogate or question
were contrary and contesting the concepts and categories.
understandings of society. If for Karl Very often there is considerable
Marx class and conflict were key unease about the coexistence of
concepts to understand society, social different kinds of definitions or concepts
solidarity and collective conscience or even just different views about the
were key terms for Emile Durkheim. In same social entity. For example conflict
the Post-World War II period sociology theory versus the functionalist theory.
was greatly influenced by the structural This multiplicity of approaches is
functionalists who found society particularly acute in sociology. And it


cannot but be otherwise. For society
II
itself is diverse.
SOCIAL GROUPS AND SOCIETY
Activity 1 Sociology is the study of human social
Choose any one of the following life. A defining feature of human life is
topics for class discussion : that humans interact, communicate
´ democracy is a help or hind- and construct social collectivities. The
rance to development comparative and historical perspective
of sociology brings home two appa-
´ gender equality makes for a
rently innocuous facts. The first that in
more harmonious or more
divisive society
every society whether ancient or feudal
or modern, Asian or European or
´ punishments or greater dis- African human groups and collectivities
cussion are the best way to
exist. The second that the types of
resolve conflicts.
groups and collectivities are different in
Think of other topics. different societies.
What kind of differences emerged? Any gathering of people does not
Do they reflect different visions of necessarily constitute a social group.
what a good society ought to be like? Aggregates are simply collections of
Do they reflect different notions of people who are in the same place at the
the human being? same time, but share no definite
connection with one another.
In our discussion on the various Passengers waiting at a railway station
terms you will notice how there is or airport or bus stop or a cinema
divergence of views. And how this very audience are examples of aggregates.
debate and discussion of differences Such aggregates are often termed as
helps us understand society. quasi groups.

What kind of groups are these?


A quasi group is an aggregate or attention to how social groups emerge,
combination, which lacks structure or change and get modified.
organisation, and whose members A social group can be said to have
may be unaware, or less aware, of the at least the following characteristics :
existence of groupings. Social classes, (i) persistent interaction to provide
status groups, age and gender groups, continuity;
crowds can be seen as examples of (ii) a stable pattern of these inter-
quasi groups. As these examples
actions;
suggest quasi groups may well
(iii) a sense of belonging to identify
become social groups in time and in
with other members, i.e. each
specific circumstances. For example,
individual is conscious of the
individuals belonging to a particular
group itself and its own set of
social class or caste or community may
rules, rituals and symbols;
not be organised as a collective body.
They may be yet to be infused with a (iv) shared interest;
sense of “we” feeling. But class and (v) acceptance of common norms and
caste have over a period of time given values;
rise to political parties. Likewise (vi) a definable structure.
people of different communities in Social structure here refers to
India have over the long anti-colonial patterns of regular and repetitive
struggle developed an identity as a interaction between individuals or
collectivity and group — a nation with groups. A social group thus refers to a
a shared past and a common future. collection of continuously interacting
The women’s movement brought about persons who share common interest,
the idea of women’s groups and culture, values and norms within a
organisation. All these examples draw given society.

Activity 2

Find out a name that is relevant under each heading.
Caste An anti caste movement A caste based political party
Class A class based movement A class based political party
Women A women’s movement A women’s organisation
Tribe A tribal movement A tribe/tribes based political party
Villagers An environmental movement An environmental organisation
Discuss whether they were all social groups to start with and if some were not,
then at what point can one apply the term social group to them, using the term
as sociologically understood.


Activity 3
Discuss the age group of teenagers. Is it a quasi group or social group? Were
ideas about ‘teenage’ and ‘teenagers’ as a special phase in life always there? In
traditional societies how was the entry of children into adulthood marked? In
contemporary times do marketing strategies and advertisement have anything
to do with the strengthening or weakening of this group/quasi group? Identify
an advertisement that targets teenagers or pre-teens? Read the section on
stratification and discuss how teenage may mean very different life experiences
for the poor and rich, for the upper and lower class, for the discriminated and
privileged caste.

TYPES OF GROUPS However a complete contrast is
As you read through this section on probably not an accurate description
of reality.
groups you will find that different
sociologists and social anthropologists
Primary and Secondary
have categorised groups into different
Social Groups
types. What you will be struck with
however is that there is a pattern in the The groups to which we belong are not
typology. In most cases they contrast all of equal importance to us. Some
the manner in which people form groups tend to influence many aspects
groups in traditional and small scale of our lives and bring us into personal
societies to that of modern and large association with others. The term
scale societies. As mentioned earlier, primary group is used to refer to a
they were struck by the difference small group of people connected by
between close, intimate, face-to-face intimate and face-to-face association
interaction in traditional societies and and co-operation. The members of
impersonal, detached, distant primary groups have a sense of
interaction in modern societies. belonging. Family, village and groups

Contrast the two types of group


of friends are examples of primary
groups. Activity 4
Secondary groups are relatively
Collect a copy of a memorandum of
large in size, maintain formal and
any association that you know of or
impersonal relationships. The primary
can find out about for example a
groups are person-oriented, whereas
Resident Welfare Association, a
the secondary groups are goal oriented.
women’s association (Mahila
Schools, government offices, hospitals,
Samiti), a Sports Club. You will find
students’ association etc. are examples
of secondary groups. clear information about its goals,
objectives, membership and other
Community and Society rules that govern it. Contrast this
or Association with a large family gathering.

The idea of comparing and contrasting You may find that many a times
the old traditional and agrarian way of that interaction among members of
life with the new modern and urban one a formal group over time becomes
in terms of their different and more close and ‘just like family and
contrasting social relationships and friends.’ This brings home the point
lifestyles, dates back to the writings of that concepts are not fixed, frozen
classical sociologists. entities. They are indeed keys or
The term ‘community’ refers to tools for understanding society and
human relationships that are highly its changes.
personal, intimate and enduring, those
where a person’s involvement is
considerable if not total, as in the
family, with real friends or a close-knit In-Groups and Out-Groups
group. A sense of belonging marks an in-
‘Society’ or ‘association’ refers to group. This feeling separates ‘us’ or ‘we’
everything opposite of ‘community’, in from ‘them’ or ‘they’. Children
particular the apparently impersonal, belonging to a particular school may
superficial and transitory relationships form an ‘in-group’ as against those who
of modern urban life. Commerce and do not belong to the school. Can you
industry require a more calculating, think of other such groups?
rational and self-interesting approach An out-group on the other hand is
to one’s dealings with others. We make one to which the members of an in-
contracts or agreements rather than group do not belong. The members of
getting to know one another. You may an out-group can face hostile reactions
draw a parallel between the community from the members of the in-group.
with the primary group and the Migrants are often considered as an
association with the secondary group. out-group. However, even here the


actual definition of who belongs and but we do identify ourselves with that
who does not, changes with time and group. Reference groups are
social contexts. important sources of information
The well known sociologist M.N. about culture, life style, aspiration
Srinivas observed while he was carrying and goal attainments.
out a census in Rampura in 1948 how In the colonial period many middle
distinctions were made between recent class Indians aspired to behave like
and later migrants. He writes: proper Englishman. In that sense they
could be seen as a reference group for
I heard villagers use two expressions the aspiring section. But this process
which I came to realise were was gendered, i.e. it had different
significant: the recent immigrants implications for men and women. Often
were almost contemptuously des-
Indian men wanted to dress and dine
cribed as nenne monne’ bandavartu
(‘came yesterday or the day before;)
like the British men but wanted the
while old immigrants were des- Indian women to remain ‘Indian’ in
cribed as arsheyinda bandavaru their ways. Or aspire to be a bit like the
(‘came long ago’) or khadeem proper English woman but also not
kulagalu (‘old lineages’), (Srinivas quite like her. Do you still find this valid
1996:33). today?

Activity 5 Peer Groups
This is a kind of primary group,
Find out about the experience of
usually formed between individuals
immigrants in other countries. Or
who are either of similar age or who are
may be even from different parts of
in a common professional group. Peer
our own country.
pressure refers to the social pressure
You will find that relationships exerted by one’s peers on what one
between groups change and modify. ought to do or not.
People once considered members of
an out-group become in-group
members. Can you find out about Activity 6
such processes in history?
Do your friends or others of your
age group influence you? Are you
Reference Group concerned with their approval or
disapproval about the way you
For any group of people there are
dress, behave, the kind of music
always other groups whom they look
you like to listen to or the kind of
up to and aspire to be like. The
groups whose life styles are emulated films you prefer? Do you consider
are known as reference groups. We do it to be social pressure? Discuss.
not belong to our reference groups


SOCIAL STRATIFICATION enter into details about estates here but
very briefly touch upon caste and class
Social stratification refers to the as systems of social stratification. We
existence of structured inequalities shall be dealing in greater detail with
between groups in society, in terms of class, caste, gender as bases of social
their access to material or symbolic stratification in the book, Under-
rewards. Thus stratification can most standing Society (NCERT, 2006).
simply be defined as structural
inequalities between different Caste
groupings of people. Often social
stratification is compared to the In a caste stratification system an
geological layering of rock in the earth’s individual’s position totally depends on
surface. Society can be seen as the status attributes ascribed by birth
consisting of ‘strata’ in a hierarchy, with rather than on any which are achieved
the more favoured at the top and the during the course of one’s life. This is
less privileged near the bottom. not to say that in a class society there
Inequality of power and advantage is no systematic constraint on
is central for sociology, because of the achievement imposed by status
crucial place of stratification in the attributes such as race and gender.
organisation of society. Every aspect of However, status attributes ascribed by
the life of every individual and house- birth in a caste society define an
hold is affected by stratification. individual’s position more completely
Opportunities for health, longevity, than they do in class society.
security, educational success, fulfillment In traditional India different castes
in work and political influence are all formed a hierarchy of social precedence.
unequally distributed in systematic ways. Each position in the caste structure was
Historically four basic systems of defined in terms of its purity or
stratification have existed in human pollution relative to others. The
societies: slavery, caste, estate and underlying belief was that those who
class. Slavery is an extreme form of are most pure, the Brahmin priestly
inequality in which some individuals castes, are superior to all others and
are literally owned by others. It has the Panchamas, sometimes called the
existed sporadically at many times and ‘outcastes’ are inferior to all other
places, but there are two major castes. The traditional system is
examples of a system of slavery; ancient generally conceptualised in terms of the
Greece and Rome and the Southern four fold varna of Brahmins, Kshatriyas,
States of the USA in the 18th and 19th Vaishyas and Shudras. In reality there are
centuries. As a formal institution, innumerable occupation-based caste
slavery has gradually been eradicated. groups, called jatis.
But we do continue to have bonded The caste system in India has
labour, often even of children. Estates undergone considerable changes over
characterised feudal Europe. We do not the years. Endogamy and ritual


avoidance of contact with members of with us. This is because they feel
so-called lower castes were considered and believe they are superior. It has
critical for maintaining purity by the so- been like that for years. No matter
called upper castes. Changes brought how well we dress they are not
in by urbanisation inevitably prepared to accept certain things
challenged this. Read well known (Franco et. al. 2004:150).
sociologist A.R. Desai’s observations
below. Even today acute caste
Other social consequences of discrimination exists. At the same time
urbanisation in India are commented the working of democracy has affected
upon by sociologist A.R. Desai as: the caste system. Castes as interest
groups have gained strength. We have
Modern industries brought into also seen discriminated castes asserting
b e i n g modern cities honey- their democratic rights in society.
combed with cosmopolitan hotels,
restaurants, theatres, trams, Class
buses, railways. The modest hotels There have been many attempts to
and restaurants catered for the explain class. We mention here, very
workers and middle classes became briefly just the central ideas of Marx,
crowded in cities with persons Weber and that of, functionalism. In
belonging to all castes and even the Marxist theory social classes are
creeds... In trains and buses one defined by what relation they have to
occasionally rubbed shoulders with the means of production. Questions
members of the depressed classes... could be asked as to whether groups
should not, however be supposed are owners of means of production such
that caste had vanished (Desai as land or factories? Or whether they
1975:248). are owners of nothing but their own
labour? Weber used the term life-
While change did take place, chances, which refers to the rewards
discrimination was not so easy to do and advantages afforded by market
away with, as a first person narrative capacity. Inequality, Weber argued
suggests. might be based on economic relations.
In the mill there may be no open But it could also be based on prestige
discrimination of the kind that exists or on political power.
in the villages, but experience of private The functionalist theory of social
interactions tells another story. Parmar stratification begins from the general
observed… presupposition or belief of function-
alism that no society is “classless” or
They will not even drink water from unstratified. The main functional
our hands and they sometimes use necessity explains the universal
abusive language when dealing presence of social stratification in


requirements faced by a society Tribes population lives below the
of placing and motivating individuals poverty line. This proportion is only
in the social structure. Social slightly less for the Schedule Castes at
inequality or stratification is thus an about 43 per cent, and lesser still for
unconsciously evolved device by which the Other Backward Classes at about
societies ensure that the most 34 per cent (Deshpande 2003:114).
important positions are deliberately
filled by the most qualified persons. Is Status and Role
this true?
The two concepts ‘status’ and ‘role’ are
In a traditional caste system social
often seen as twin concepts. A status is
hierarchy is fixed, rigid and transmitted
simply a position in society or in a
across generations in these societies.
group. Every society and every group
Modern class system in contrast is
has many such positions and every
open and achievement based. In
individual occupies many such
democratic societies there is nothing to
positions.
legally stop a person from the most
Status thus refers to the social
deprived class and caste from reaching
position with defined rights and duties
the highest position.
assigned to these positions. To
illustrate, the mother occupies a status,
Activity 7 which has many norms of conduct as
well as certain responsibilities and
Find out more about the life of
prerogatives.
the late President K. R. Naraynan.
A role is the dynamic or the
Discuss the concept of ascription
behavioural aspect of status. Status is
and achieved status, caste and
occupied, but roles are played. We may
class in this context. say that a status is an institutionalised
role. It is a role that has become
Such stories of achievement do exist regularised, standardised and forma-
and are sources of immense inspiration. lised in the society at large or in any of
Yet for the most part the structure of the specific associations of society.
the class system persists. Sociological It must be apparent that each
studies of social mobility, even in individual in a modern, complex society
western societies are far removed from such as ours occupies many different
the ideal model of perfect mobility. kinds of status during the course of
Sociology has to be sensitive to both the his/her life. You as a school student
challenges to the caste system as well may be a student to your teacher, a
as the persistence of discrimination. customer to your grocer, a passenger
Significantly those, at the lower levels to the bus driver, a brother or sister to
of the system are not just disadvantaged your sibling, a patient to the doctor.
socially but also economically. In rural Needless to say we could keep adding
India, more than half of the Schedule to the list. The smaller and simpler the


society, the fewer the kinds of status position, rather than to the person who
that an individual can have. occupies it or to his/her performance
In a modern society an individual or to his/her actions. The kind of value
as we saw occupies multiple status attached to the status or to the office is
which is sociologically termed as status called prestige. People can rank status
set. Individuals acquire different status in terms of their high or low prestige.
at various stages of life. A son becomes The prestige of a doctor may be high in
a father, father becomes a grandfather comparison to a shopkeeper, even if the
and then great grandfather and so on. doctor may earn less. It is important
This is called a status sequence for it to keep in mind that ideas of what
refers to the status, which is attained occupation is considered prestigious
in succession or sequence at the varies across societies and across
various stages of life. periods.
An ascribed status is a social
position, which a person occupies
because of birth, or assumes Activity 8
involuntarily. The most common bases What kinds of jobs are consi-
for ascribed status are age, caste, race dered prestigious in your society?
and kinship. Simple and traditional Compare these with your friends.
societies are marked by ascribed status.
Discuss the similarities and
An achieved status on the other hand
differences. Try and understand the
refers to a social position that a person
causes for the same.
occupies voluntarily by personal
ability, achievements, virtues and
choices. The most common bases for People perform their roles according
achieved status are educational to social expectations, i.e. role taking
qualifications, income, and professional and role playing. A child learns to
expertise. Modern societies are behave in accordance with how her
characterised by achievements. Its behaviour will be seen and judged by
members are accorded prestige on the others.
basis of their achievements. How often Role conflict is the incompatibility
you would have heard the phrase “you among roles corresponding to one or
have to prove yourself”. In traditional more status. It occurs when contrary
societies your status was defined and expectations arise from two or more
ascribed at birth. However, as roles. A common example is that of the
discussed above, even in modern
achievement based societies, ascribed Activity 9
status matters.
Status and prestige are Find out how a domestic worker or
interconnected terms. Every status is a construction labourer faces role
accorded certain rights and values. conflict.
Values are attached to the social


middle class working woman who has is mistaken. It suggests that
to juggle her role as mother and wife individuals simply take on roles, rather
at home and that of a professional at than creating or negotiating them. In
work. fact, socialisation is a process in which
It is a common place assumption humans can exercise agency; they are
that men do not face role conflict. not simply passive subjects waiting to
Sociology being both an empirical and be instructed or programmed.
comparative discipline suggests Individuals come to understand and
otherwise. assume social roles through an ongoing
process of social interaction. This
Khasi matriliny generates intense discussion perhaps will make you
role conflict for men. They are torn reflect upon the relationship between
between their responsibilities to the individual and society, which we
their natal house on the one hand
had studied in Chapter 1.
and to their wife and children on
Roles and status are not given and
the other. T hey feel deprived of
sufficient authority to command
fixed. People make efforts to fight
their children’s loyalty and lack the against discrimination roles and status
freedom to pass on after death, even for example those based on caste or
their self-acquired property to their race or gender. At the same time there
children… are sections in society who oppose such
The strain affects Khasi women, in changes. Likewise individual violation
a way more intensely. A woman can of roles are often punished. Society thus
never be fully assured that her functions not just with roles and status
husband does not find his sister’s but also with social control.
house more congenial place than
her own house (Nongbri 2003:190).
Activity 10
Role stereotyping is a process of
Collect newspaper reports where
reinforcing some specific role for some
member of the society. For example dominant sections of society seek to
men and women are often socialised in impose control and punish those
stereotypical roles, as breadwinner and whom they consider to have
homemaker respectively. Social roles transgressed or violated socially
and status are often wrongly seen as prescribed roles.
fixed and unchanging. It is felt that
individuals learn the expectations that
SOCIETY AND SOCIAL CONTROL
surround social positions in their
particular culture and perform these Social control is one of the most
roles largely as they have been defined. generally used concepts in sociology.
Through socialisation, individuals It refers to the various means used by
internalise social roles and learn how a society to bring its recalcitrant or
to carry them out. This view, however, unruly members back into line.


You will recall how sociology has groups on the one hand, and on the
different perspectives and debates other, to mitigate tensions and conflicts
about the meaning of concepts. You among individuals and groups to
will also recall how functionalist maintain social order and social
sociologists understood society as cohesion. In this way social control is
essentially harmonious and conflict seen as necessary to stability in society.
theorists saw society as essentially Conflict theorists usually would see
unequal, unjust and exploitative. We social control more as a mechanism to
also saw how some sociologists impose the social control of dominant
focussed more on the individual and social classes on the rest of society.
society, others on collectivities like Stability would be seen as the writ of
classes, races, castes. one section over the other. Likewise law
For a functionalist perspective social would be seen as the formal writ of the
control refers to: (i) the use of force to powerful and their interests on society.
regulate the behaviour of the individual Social control refers to the social
and groups and also refers to the (ii) process, techniques and strategies by
enforcing of values and patterns for which the behaviours of individual or
maintaining order in society. Social a group are regulated. It refers both to
control here is directed to restrain the use of force to regulate the
deviant behaviour of individuals or behaviour of the individual and groups

The ultimate and, no doubt, the oldest means of social control is physical
violence... even in the politely operated societies of modern democracies the
ultimate argument is violence. No state can exist without a police force or its
equivalent in armed might... In any functioning society violence is used
economically and as a last resort, with the mere threat of this ultimate violence
sufficing for the day-to-day exercise of social control... Where human beings live
or work in compact groups, in which they are personally known and to which
they are tied by feelings of personal loyalty (the kind that sociologists call primary
groups), very potent and simultaneously very subtle mechanisms of control are
constantly brought to bear upon the actual or potent deviant... One aspect of
social control that ought to be stressed is the fact that it is frequently based on
fraudulent claims... A little boy can exercise considerable control over his peer
group by having a big brother who, if need be, can be called upon to beat up any
opponents. In the absence of such a brother, however it is possible to invent
one. It will then be a question of the public-relations talents of the little boy as to
whether he will succeed in translating his invention into actual control (Berger
84-90).
Have you ever seen or heard a young child threaten another with “ I will tell
my elder brother.”
Can you think of other examples?


and also refers to the enforcing of values
and patterns for maintaining order in Activity 11
society.
Social control may be informal or Can you think of examples drawn
formal. When the codified, systematic, from your life how this ‘unofficial’
and other formal mechanism of control social control operates? Have you in
is used, it is known as formal social class or in your peer group noticed
control. There are agencies and how a child who behaves a bit
mechanism of formal social control, for differently from the rest is treated?
example, law and state. In a modern Have you witnessed incidents where
society formal mechanisms and children are bullied by their peer
agencies of social control are group to be more like the other
emphasised. children?
In every society there is another type
of social control that is known as
informal social control. It is personal, newspaper report which is given below
unofficial and uncodified. They include and identify the different agencies of
smiles, making faces, body language social control involved.
frowns, criticism, ridicule, laughter etc. A sanction is a mode of reward or
There can be great variations in their punishment that reinforces socially
use within the same society. In day- expected forms of behaviour. Social
to-day life they are quite effective. control can be positive or negative.
However, in some cases informal Members of societies can be rewarded
methods of social control may not be for good and expected behaviour. On
adequate in enforcing conformity or the other hand, negative sanctions are
obedience. There are various agencies also used to enforce rules and to
of informal social control e.g. family, restrain deviance.
religion, kinship, etc. Have you heard Deviance refers to modes of action,
about honour killing? Read the which do not conform to the norms or

Man kills sister for marrying from outside the caste

... The elder brother of a 19-year-old girl here carried out an apparent ‘honour
killing’ by allegedly beheading her while she was asleep at a hospital ... police
said on Monday.
The girl... was undergoing treatment at ... Hospital for stab wounds after her
brother... attacked her on December 16 for marrying outside the caste, they
said. She and her lover eloped on December 10 and returned to their houses
here on December 16 after getting married, which was opposed by her parents,
they said.
The Panchayat also tried to pressurise the couple but they refused to be swayed.


values held by most of the members of be considered deviant at one time, and
a group or society. What is regarded as be applauded at another time even in
‘deviant’ is as widely variable as the the same society. You are already
norms and values that distinguish familiar with how sociology is different
different cultures and subcultures. from common sense. The specific
Likewise ideas of deviance are terms and concepts discussed in this
challenged and change from one period chapter will help you further to move
to another. For example, a woman towards a sociological understanding
choosing to become an astronaut may of society.

GLOSSARY

Conflict Theories : A sociological perspective that focuses on the tensions,
divisions and competing interests present in human societies. Conflict
theorists believe that the scarcity and value of resources in society produces
conflict as groups struggle to gain access to and control those resources.
Many conflict theorists have been strongly influenced by the writings of
Marx.
Functionalism : A theoretical perspective based on the notion that social
events can best be explained in terms of the function they perform — that is
the contribution they make to the continuity of a society. And on a view of
society as a complex system whose various parts work in relationship to
each other in a way that needs to be understood.
Identity : The distinctive characteristic of a person’s character or the
character of a group which relate to who they are and what is meaningful to
them. Some of the main sources of identity include gender, nationality or
ethnicity, social class.
Means of Production : The means whereby the production of material goods
is carried on in a society, including not just technology but the social
relations between producers.
Microsociology and Macrosociology : The study of everyday behaviour in
situations of face-to-face interaction is usually called microsociology. In
microsociology, analysis occurs at the level of individuals or small groups. It
differs from macrosociology, which concerns itself with large-scale social
systems, like the political system or the economic order. Though they appear
to be distinct, they are closely connected.
Natal : It relates to the place or time of one’s birth. R
Norms : Rules of behaviour which reflect or embody a culture’s values, either
prescribing a given type of behaviour, or forbidding it. Norms are always


backed by sanctions of one kind or another, varying from informal disapproval
to physical punishment or execution.
Sanctions : A mode of reward or punishment that reinforce socially expected
forms of behaviour.

EXERCISES

1. Why do we need to use special terms and concepts in sociology?
2. As a member of society you must be interacting with and in different
groups. How do you see these groups from a sociological perspective?
3. What have you observed about the stratification system existing in your
society? How are individual lives affected by stratification?
4. What is social control? Do you think the modes of social control in different
spheres of society are different? Discuss.
5. Identify the different roles and status that you play and are located in.
Do you think roles and status change? Discuss when and how they
change.

READINGS

BERGER, L. PETER. 1976. Invitation to Sociology : A Humanistic Perspective.
Penguin, Harmondsworth.
BOTTOMORE, TOM. and ROBER T, NISBET. 1978. A History of Sociological Analysis.
Basic Books, New York.
BOTTOMORE, TOM. 1972. Sociology. Vintage Books, New York.
DESHPANDE, SATISH. 2003. Contemporary India : A Sociological View. Viking, Delhi.
FERNANDO, FRANCO. MACWAN, JYOTSNA. and RAMANATHAN, SUGUNA. 2004. Journeys
to Freedom Dalit Narratives. Samya, Kolkata.
GIDDENS, ANTHONY. 2001. Sociology. Fourth Edition. Polity Press, Cambridge.
JAYARAM, N. 1987. Introductory Sociology. Macmillan India Ltd, Delhi.
NONGBRI, TIPLUT. 2003. ‘Gender and the Khasi Family Structure : The Meghalaya
Succession to Self-Acquired Property Act’, 1984, in ed. REGE, SHARMILA.
Sociology of Gender The Challenge of Feminist Sociological Knowledge,
pp.182-194. Sage Publications, New Delhi.
SRINIVAS, M.N. 1996. Village, Caste, Gender and Method. Oxford University
Press, New Delhi.

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