Basic concept of Sociology and Anthropology

Society

Meaning and Definition

The term society is derived from the Latin word Socius, which means companionship or friendship. Society is a complex of group in reciprocal relationship interacting upon each other enabling people to carry out their daily activities and helping each other to fulfill their various needs and interest. Thus society is the network of social relationship, the pattern of norms of interaction by which the members of the social group maintain themselves.

It is an abstract social concept.

Mac Iver: “Society is a web of social relationship”

C.H. Cooley: “Society is a complex of forms or processes each f which is living and growing by interaction with others, the whole being so unified that what takes place in one part affect all the rest.”

Nature/characteristics  of Society

-        Society consist of people

-        Mutual interaction and mutual awareness

-        Society depends on likeness and differences

-        Interdependence and co-operation

-        Dynamics

-        Abstractness

-        Social control

-        Culture is an indispensable part 

-        Division of labor

 Essential Factors of Society

-        Individuals

-        Mutual cooperation, relation, interaction and competition.

-        Social norms and values

-        Awareness

-        Control.

Community

The term community is derived from the latin word ‘com’ and ‘munis’ meaning coming together or to serve respectively. Thus the etymological meaning of community is serving together or working together.

Community stands for a group of persons who live with certain ideals that can be regarded as basic conditions of a life in common. It is a group of individuals who has certain geographical area, having common culture, centres of interest, and activities as well as common economic, political, religious, educational and other identities or character.

 

T. Parsons: “A community is that collectivity the numbers of which share a common territorial area as their base of operation for a daily life.”

E.S. Bogardus: “Community is a social group living in a given area with some degree of we feeling.”

 Nature of Community

-        Group of people or individuals

-        Common life or likeness

-        Permanency

-        A Particular name

-        Spontaneous growth

-        Inborn membership

-        Concreteness

-        We feeling

-        Specify territory

-        Run by common rule

Basic elements of Community

-        Group of individuals

-        Locality

-        Community sentiment

-        Stability

-        Size of community

-        We feeling

Difference between society and community

-        Society is abstract where as community is concrete concept

-        Society is a web of social relationship where as community consists of a group of individuals living in an area with some degree of we felling.

-        In society, there is not necessary to be the definite boundary but community is a group of people living together in a particular locality.

-        There is similarity as well as differentiation in society but in community, we can get more similarities than differentiations.

-        Society is more complex and universal but community is comparatively less complex and limited.

-        Objectives of the society are wider and different among others but the objectives of community are limited and similar.

-        Society is the network of social relation. We feeling is not compulsory in society but community is formed on the basis of particular group of people. There is we feeling between the members in community.

Culture

The term culture is central subject matter of anthropology. Culture is very broad term that includes in itself all of our works of life, our modes of behavior, ethics, morals, manners, customs, traditions, religious, political, economic and other types of activities. It is the man made part of the environment for the fulfillment of their various needs. It is a complex whole of various human activities such as food habits, dressing, language, norms, values, tradition, and civilization and other various material and non material aspect.

E.B. Tylor: “Culture is the complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.”

M.J. Herskovits: “Culture is the man made part of the environment.”

 

Characteristics

-        Culture is manmade and achieved

-          ,,            learned behavior

-             ,,         dynamic and adaptive

-             ,,       transmissive

-             ,,     symbolic

-           ,,     social

-              ,,  satisfies human needs

-          ,,   includes both material and non material aspects

 Types of Culture

 1.   Material culture

2.  Non material Culture

 

Functions of Culture

-        Culture provides behavior pattern of people

-        It fulfills human needs

-        It defines attitudes, values and goals

-        Helps for the socialization process.

-         Elements of Culture

-        Norms

-        Values

-        Beliefs

-        Knowledge

-        Technology

-        Signs

   Group

Those collection of individuals who are located with the sense of unity is social group. Every member show the intimacy and close relation with each other. It is the plurality of persons who are having a common identity, some feeling of unity, certain common goals and shared norms. Direct or indirect communication among its members, standardized patterns of interaction based on a system of interrelated roles and some degree of interdependence among the members are found in a group. The common purpose of mass of people for their existence and survive in society with common goals and feeling, etc is the social group.

 

Harry m. Johnson;” A social group is a system of social interaction.”

 

Bogardus:’ A number of persons, two or more, who have common objects of attention, who are stimulating to each other, who have common loyalty and participate in similar activities.”

 

Nature of Group

-        Collective forms of individuals

-        Interactional relationship

-        We – feeling

-        Common interests

-        Group norms

-        Similar behavior

-        Size of group

-        Mutual awareness

 

 

Types of Group

1.  Primary group   (Small face to face group family )

2.  Secondary  group( political parities trade unions religious associations)

3.  In – group(family, school caste)

4.   Out group ( Political..)

 

Marriage

Introduction

Mechung Lee; “Marriage is the public joining together under socially specified relationship of man and women as husband wife.’

Malinowski: “Marriage is a contract for the production and maintenance of children.”

 

Characteristics

-     Universality

-     Relationship between male and female

-     Stable and permanent institution

-     Creates mutual obligation

-     Marriage fulfills the sexual needs

-     Base of the family

-     It requires social approval

Types of Marriage

1. Monogamy

2. Polygamy

a. Polygyny

b. Polyandry

c. Biogamy

d. Group Marriage

Marriage on the Basis social rules

a. Endogamy

b. Exogamy

c. Cousin Marriage

 

Basic Functions of Marriage

1. Regulation of sexual life

2. Marriage leads to the establishment of the family

3. Provides the economic cooperation

4. Marriage aims at social solidarity

5. Identification of children

6. Marriage contributes to emotional and intellectual interstimulation of the partners.

7. Creates mutual rights and obligation.

 Family

Family is one of the fundamental and important primary institution for the establishment of society. It is the simplest and the most elementary form of society. The term family is derived from the roman word “famulus” meaning servant. Thus the word denotes the group of persons who are ties in the relation like servant with each other as well as those members connected by common descent or marriage. It is a group of persons united by ties of marriage, blood, or adaptation constituting single household, interacting and intercommunicating with each other in their respective social role of husband and wife, brother and sister, father and mother and others creating and maintaining a common culture. The face to face and very intimate relationship that grows up among the members of a family.

 

Elliot and Merrill: “Family is the biological social unit composed of husband, wife and children.”

Clare:” Family is a system of relationship existing between parents and children.”

Characteristics

-     Universality

-     Emotional basis

-     Limited size

-     Mutual awareness

-     Institution based on marriage

-     Primary group

-     Temporary and permanent nature of family

-     Regulation of sexual life

 

Types of family

1. Family on the basis of numbers

a. Nuclear family

b. Joint family

c. Extended family

2. Family on the basis of Authority

a. Patriarchal family

b. Matriarchal family

3. Family on the basis of marriage

a. Monogamous family

b. Polygamous family

4. Family on the basis of residence

a. Patrilocal family.

b. Matrilocal family

c. Neo local family

5. Family on the basis of lineage

a. Patrilineal family

b. Matrilineal family

 

Functions of family

 

1. Biological function of Family

a. Sexual satisfaction

b. Reproduction

c. Racial regulation

2. Physical function of Family

a. Bodily care

b. Nurture of children

c. Provision of food, clothes and shelter

3. Economic function of family

a. Inheritance determination

b. Division of labor

c. Management of income and property

4. Political function of family

5. Educational function of family

6. Religious function of family

7. Recreational function of family

8. Cultural function of family

9. Social Control

 

Changing Situation of Family Pattern in Nepal.

 

-     Change the joint family into nuclear family

-     Reduce the size of family

-     Change the relation between husband and wife

-     Change the decision making process

-     Change the status of women

-     Growth of instability

-     Less importance of the kin group

-     Change the various economic activities

-     Change the model of intertentment.

-     Change the religious beliefs.

-     Change the form of division of labor.

-     Change the forms of marriage and sexual relation.

 

Kinship System

No man exists alone and each man has certain relationship with anyone among the people, which creates a kind of mutual company. With such kinship they don’t feel lonely in the society and it can go for a long lasting period or till death. The relations based on blood or marriage may bring closer to the members. The bound of marriage or blood, which binds people together in closed group, is kinship. This kind of bound makes people feel a sense of ours in the society.

Such types of relations exist between father and son, mother and daughter, brother and sister, uncle and aunty, husband and wife and so on.

MacIver and Page: The bound of blood or marriage which binds together a group is called kinship.”

A.            R. Brown:”Kinship is a genealogical relationship recognized for social purpose and made on the    basis of customary relation of social relation.”

 

Characteristics

-     Universal

-     Developed through affinal and consanguinal relationship

-     Approved by society

-     Relations of several categories

-     It is permanent

 

Types of kinship

1. Consnguineousl Kinship

2. Affinal Kinship

3. Others (Fictive Kin)

 

Functions  of Kinship

Social Function of kinship

Polittcal,,       ,,

Economis,         ,,

Social security

Controls social problems

Provide social integration

Determines the status and role of the individual

Provide the certainty of marriage

 

Degree of Kinship.

1.  Primary Kinship

Very closed, direct and nearest relatives are called primary kinship which, is formulated on the basis of blood relationship and marriage. Father and son, Mother and son, husband and wife etc. are the example of this kin. There are eight types of primly kin found in society.

2.  Secondary Kinship

The relation between people, who are arising from primary kin is secondary kinship. It is also known as the kin of primary kin. Grandfather, grandmother, brother’s wife, mother’s brother, wife’s brother and sister etc are the examples of this kin.