Understanding Social Institutions Notes in English Class 11 Sociology Chapter-3 Book-Introducing Sociology

 

Introduction 

• Every person has a place in society. 

• Everyone has a status and one or more roles, but usually the choice of these is not within our control

Institution  

• An entity is one that functions according to rules accepted by law or custom and its regular and continuous functioning cannot be understood without knowing these rules.

• Institutions impose constraints on individuals, but they also provide opportunities to individuals.

• There are social institutions that restrict and control, punish and reward. 

Social institutions

1. Brihat = State 

2. Small = Family  

Attitude towards social institution 

1. Functionalist Approach 

2. Conflictual Approach 

functionalist approach 

• Views social institutions as a complex web of social norms, beliefs, values, and role relationships designed to meet the needs of society. 

• Social institutions exist to satisfy social needs.

Types of social institution 

1. Formal

• Law 

• Education

2. Informal

• Family 

• Religion 

Conflictual approach 

• All individuals do not have equal position in society.

• All social institutions, whether familial, religious, political, economic, legal or educational, operate in the interest of the dominant sections of the society, whether in terms of class, caste, tribe or gender.

Family Marriage and Kinship 

• Family is a 'natural' social institution.

• Family (private sphere) is related to economic, political, cultural, educational (public spheres).

• The family performs many important functions that fulfill the basic needs of society and help stabilize the social system.

• Modern industrial societies function best if women care for the family and men provide for the family.

• The family is seen as the unit best equipped to meet the needs of industrial society. 

• In such a family, one member works outside the home and the other member takes care of the house and children

Changes in the structure of the family 

Due to increase in average age in India there has been continuous increase in joint families.

Age of men                                 Age of women

1941-50 -  32.5                        1941-50 31.7

1981-85-55.4                      1981-85-55.7

👉Joint families are decreasing rapidly in India.

family pattern 

1. Based on residence/location 

• matrilocal

• patrilocal

2. On the basis of authority and influence 

• matriarchal

• patriarchal

3. On the basis of lineage 

• matrilineal

• patrilineal

Families are sexist???

• In modern society it is prevalent that the boy will help the parents in their old age and the girl will get married and go to another house 

• Because of this, less money is spent on girls and more money is spent on boys. 

• Due to this reason, female foeticide is getting encouraged. 

• As per the 2001 census, there are 927 girls per thousand boys.

Marriage 

• Social acceptance of sexual relations between two adult (male and female) individuals

• Marriage is a socially and legally recognized union between two individuals, typically involving mutual rights and obligations.

Types of marriage  based on number of partners 

1. Monogamy 

• a husband custom 

• one wife system 

2. Polygamy 

• Polygamy 

• Polygamy  

Forms of marriage  based on rules 

1. Endogamy

• A person marries within the same cultural group to which he or she is already a member

 2. Exogamy 

• A person marries outside his group.

Types of family

1. Family of birth  

• the family into which one is born 

2. The family of procreation 

• the family into which the marriage takes place 

Types of kinship 

1. Consanguineous kinship 

• relations formed through blood 

2. Marital kinship 

• Relationships formed through marriage 

Work 

Paid or unpaid activities performed through physical and mental efforts whose aim is to produce goods to satisfy human needs.

1. Traditional form of work 

• Most people worked in the fields or looked after animals.

• Non-agricultural work was combined with manual skill. 

• The skill was learned through long training

2. Modern forms of work

• A very small part of the population is engaged in agriculture 

• Agriculture has also become industrialized

• most of the work is done by machines

• Work is divided into numerous different occupations in which people specialise.

• Highly complex division of labor. 

👉Before industrialization, most of the work was done at home and all the family members worked collectively to complete the work. 

👉 Developments in industrial technology, such as electricity and coal-powered machines, contributed to the separation of home and work. 

👉 The factories of capitalist industrialists became the centre point of industrial development.

Work conversion 

Work conversion generally refers to the process of changing one type of work or job into another.

• Bulk production requires wholesale markets. 

• Several innovations in the production process

• Constant monitoring of employees through expensive equipment and monitoring systems

• Eclectic production

• Decentralisation of work

Political

• Political institutions are concerned with the distribution of power in society. 

• Two concepts are very important in understanding social institutions. These are power and authority. 

• Power is the ability of individuals or groups to achieve their will despite opposition from others.

• Power is exercised through authority. 

• Authority is that form of power which is accepted as being legitimate i.e. which is considered to be right and just.

concept of state 

• a certain area

• Population 

• Government 

• Sovereignty 

Power 

• The government's power is backed by a legitimate system and the ability to use military force to enforce its policies. 

• The functionalist approach views the state as a representative of the interests of all sections of society. 

• The conflict approach views the state as a representative of the dominant sections of society.

Rights

1. Civil rights 

• Right to choose place of residence 

• freedom of speech and religion, 

• Right to property

• Equal before the law 

• Right to justice

2. Political rights 

• This includes the right to participate in elections and to stand for public office.

3. Social rights 

• It is the special right of an individual to enjoy a certain minimum level of economic well-being and security.

Religion

Religion, as a sociological institution, shapes social norms, identity, and cohesion through shared beliefs and practices, moral guidance, social control, and cultural transmission across generations and communities.

All religions have common characteristics-

• A set of symbols, feelings of reverence or respect;

• rituals or ceremonies;

• A community of believers

Education 

• Education is a lifelong process that includes both formal and informal institutions of learning

• In simple societies there was no need to attend formal schooling. Children learned customs and broader ways of life by participating in activities with adults. 

• In complex societies we have seen an increasing economic division of labour, division of tasks within the household, the need for specialised education and skills,

• Functionalist sociologists talk about general social needs and social norms.

•  For functionalists, education maintains and renews social structure and transmits and develops culture.

Emil Durkheim

No society can survive without a 'common base' - certain ideas, sentiments and behaviour - which must be communicated by education to all children without discrimination, regardless of their social class.