Note what are the marriage rules that are followed in your society. Compare your observations with these made by other students in the class. Discuss.
Marriage exists in variety of forms in our society, which depends upon -
• The number of partners, and
• Who can marry whom
Rule regarding number of partners - On this basis we have two forms of marriage –
• Monogamy - In this a person can have one spouse only. A man or woman can remarry only in case of death of his or her spouse or in case of divorce. Though in Hindu society it is not very common for widow ladies to remarry but the society is in the stage of transformation and thinking of people are widening.
• Polygamy - It allows marrying more than one person at one time. It may be polygyny, where one husband can have two or more wives or polyandry, where one wife can have two or more husbands. In our society polygamy is not very commonly and widely accepted.
Rules regarding who can marry whom - On this basis we have two rules -Endogamy and exogamy
• In endogamy the individuals have restricted to marry within their cultural group or the group to whom he or she belongs. They are not allowed to marry outside their group or caste.
• In exogamy no reservation or restriction on individuals are imposed regarding whom they should marry. They can marry within their own group or even outside their group.
In my society the rules of marriage followed are –
• Monogamy and
• Endogamy
The observations made by other students of my class are also quite similar to that of mine.
Find out how membership, residence pattern and even the mode of interaction changes in the family with broader economic, political and cultural changes, for instance migration.
Family is an institution where all its members live together under one roof and are cordially related. There are various factors which affect the family, some of them are being discussed below -
1. Economic change: The change in the economic structure affects family in several ways as their earning capacity and spending habit is affected by it. Like industrialisation has broke joint families into nuclear families and even the female member of the family has adopted instrumental role.
2. Political change: The changes in the political environment of the country affect the families in many ways.
3. Cultural change: The changes in culture in the society with advancement and modernisation of society affects the families like many people many families are moving from endogamy to exogamy rules of marriage and the restrictions imposed on marrying with him the same caste is being withdrawn with the advancement of the social culture
In search of job people migrate from one state to another, from villages to urban areas, from one country to another and every new place has a new set of economical, political and cultural factors and the family is affected.
Write an essay on ‘work’. Focus on both the range of occupations, which exist and how they change.
Work means paid employment. In terms of sociology work can be defined as carrying out such tasks which require mental and physical effort with an objective to produce goods and services to satisfy the human needs.
There are two types of occupations formal and informal.
Informal occupations are found in unorganised sector and formal employment is found in organised sector of society. Under informal employment the workers are not regularly paid and the payment is not always made in terms of money sometimes they also receive goods and services for their work.
The informal employment is generally related with physical work. Informal employment includes both physical and mental nature of work and workers are paid on regular basis in terms of money called salary.
In traditional societies, before the introduction of industrialisation, the informal employment was most commonly found in the society but after industrialisation and with the advancement of technology the formal employment is commonly found.
After industrialisation there was a big change in work being done in the society like from informal employment society moved to formal employment, manual works were replaced by machineries and the principle of division of labour was very much present to get the things done in time and in an effective manner.
Discuss the kind of rights that exist in your society. How do they affect your life?
Three types of rights exist in society - Civil rights, political rights, and social rights.
1. Civil rights include
a. Freedom to choose where to live
b. Freedom of speech and religion
c. Right to own property
d. Right to equal justice before law
2. Political rights include
a. Right to participate in elections
b. Right to stand for public office
3. Social rights include
a. Right as health benefits
b. Rate of unemployment allowance
c. Right of fixation of minimum level of wages
d. These rights guarantee a minimum standard of economic welfare and security to the citizens
These citizenship rights help in smooth functioning of the life of individuals and also help in the growth of personality. They help them to live freely in the society and provide them a sense of belongingness and securities.
How does sociology study religion?
Sociology studies religion in following ways -
a) It studies the functioning of the religion in society and its relationship with other Institutions in society.
b) It uses comparative method to study religion because it brings all societies at one level with each other and helps to study without bias and prejudice.
c) It investigates the religious beliefs, practices, and institutions in relation to other aspects of society and culture.
There are different groups of religion that exist in the society like Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, extra.
Every religion has its own set of beliefs, norms, rules and regulations which are expected to be followed by its members and they govern and regulate the behaviour of their members.
Religion is not a private matter rather it has a public character and it exists with other Institutions of society so it cannot be studied as a separate entity.
Write an essay on school as a social institution. Draw from both your reading as well as your personal observations.
Education is a lifelong process, which involves both formal and informal Institutions of learning. School is among the formal institutions of learning which were formed when the need of education was felt in the society.
The need of education is defined by sociology as a process of transmission or communication of group heritage common to all societies.
According to the thoughts of Durkheim - "A society cannot survive without a common base of ideas, sentiments, and practices, which education must inculcate in all the children indiscriminately irrespective of the fact that to which social category they belong to."
Education should be given to children in such a manner that it could prepare the child for a special occupation and enable the child to internalize the core values of society.
According to common sense knowledge, schools provide one of the basic components of sociology that is socialism to the children. The schools inculcate the values and norms of society among the children and help them to become a part of society when they are grownups.
Discuss how these social institutions interact with each other. You can start the discussion from yourself as a senior school student. And move on to how you are shaped by different social institutions. Are you entirely controlled or can you also resist and redefine social institutions?
A society consists of various social Institutions like –
• Marriage
• Family and kinship
• Politics
• Education
• Economics, and
• Religion
These social Institutions interact with each other and also affect each other. Religion has a great influence on various spheres of social and cultural life of people like family, marriage, kinship, education, etc.
In the same way economics and politics also affect the family life of individuals which affects the society.
Education plays a great role in influencing the thinking of various social institutions and influences the social and cultural life of people.
These institutions offer new opportunities as well as also constraint individuals in some spheres of life.