Optionals IAS Mains Sociology: Questions 144 - 153 of 503

Ethnic Nationalism in the Indian Context

• Ethnic identity is a basis for distribution of social rewards like money, prestige and power.
• In most societies one or more ethnic groups dominate others in economic, political and cultural matters. Ethnic politics can, therefore, take the appearance of ‘ethnic stratification’ , resulting in the emergence of ‘…

Theory of Cultural Lag-Ogburn and Nimkoff

• This idea was developed by W F Ogburn in response of economic determinism in which social, cultural and political phenomena change in direct and immediate response to changes in economic base of the society. He notes that changes in culture were not congruent with economic change.

  For example — economic chang…

M. N Srinivas Conception of “Dominant Caste”

• This concept introduced by M. N. Srinivas. The concept helps and understanding social change in rural India.
  • Numerical strength.
  • Possession of economic and political power.
  • A high place in the local caste hierarchy.
• Possession of these three features would make a caste a ‘dominant caste’ .
• Later on, now more f…

Merton՚S View of Relationship between Social Structure and Deviance

• Merton explains his idea of deviance in his ‘Social Structure and Anomie, 1938’ . It is an analysis of the relationship between culture (according to Merton, culture is the organized set of normative values governing behavior) , structure, and anomie.
• Merton՚s theory of Deviance is b…

Gender and Male Identity

• Gender refers to socially constructed aspects of differences between men and women.
• Its scope includes within its ambit:
  • Individual identity and personality
  • At symbolic level, it extends to cultural ideas, stereotypes of masculinity and feminity.
  • At structural level, it extends to sexual division of labor in organization and ins…

Caste and Varna

• Caste and Varna are ‘two separate concepts.’ Senart, for the first time, brought out the conceptual difference between these two terms.
• The Varna system, divides society into ‘four varnas’ (or four orders or classes) . The division is based on division of labour. It divides the Hindu society into four orders, viz. , ‘Brahmana’ , (Brah…

Durkheim and Max Weber՚S Theory of Religion

• According to Emile Durkheim, ′ Religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices, which unite into ′ one single moral community ′ , all those who adhere to them. Religion, according to Durkheim, is nothing but ′ society divinized ′ .
• Religious beliefs and practice, reinforce ‘collective conscience’ by b…

Value-Free Sociology

• ′ Value free sociology ′ , means that the researcher studies a social phenomenon ′ objectively ′ and does not allow his/her values from interfering with the matter of research. However, assigning ′ moral values ′ , to social phenomena is an inescapable result of being part of society. It is argued that rendering ′ value free soc…

Phenomenology

• Phenomenology is closely related to the idealism, school of that that gives primacy to mental constructs than the material reality. Edmund Husserl was one of the founders of theory of Phenomenology. According to him, social reality is to be understood in terms of the hidden meanings behind actions which at times are not quantifiable no…

Sociology and Science

• The scientific character of a discipline is best knowing by its methodology.
• If the methods, tools and techniques used by any discipline are scientific then the subject can be treated as a science. Sociology uses scientific methods in the study of its subject matter. Therefore, it is entitled to be called a science.

Arguments in …