More handpicked essays just for you.
The influence of the caste system in India
Influence of caste system in india
Influence of caste system in india
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Written Response: Social Structures in Society
In almost every single country or culture, there is a certain type of social structure that can be very discernible or subliminal. The main reason to why these social orders develop is because the society needs a system that makes people accomplish their work based on their specific group so that it is able to function properly. Based on what I have learned this unit about the Indian caste system and the beliefs and values of my own culture, I was able to have a clear understanding of why it is crucial for societies to have social structures.
Aryans had a major influence to the development of Indian culture. The caste system, which is still a large part of India today, was created by Aryans. Originally, after the Aryans arrived to India and eventually more interactions between different people developed, they separated Aryans and non-Aryans based on their Varna (skin color) so that each person would be given their specific role to help society function. Although there are several subdivisions, the four main groups in the caste system with one outside are the Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (rulers, warriors), Vaishyas (farmers, traders), Shudras (workers, laborers), and Untouchables (group outside doing “unclean work”: sewerage workers, undertakers). This caste system affects people’s everyday lives by a large amount. Because their jobs differ based on their caste, the amount of money earned varies; therefore the living standards are unlike. Also, untouchables are often treated very harshly by village members, while Brahmins are treated with deep respect even outside of their community which shows that the caste system affects the amount of respect earned in a person’s daily life. ...
... middle of paper ...
...re in power want to maintain that power, so it would be difficult to change the structure. The Brahmins and Kshatriyas of the caste system in India are in a position where they are dominant over the rest of the population. Many of them want to keep the caste system going so that they would be able to stay in the position and have power without having to share the money and authority with others considered “unclean”. All of these reasons clearly demonstrate why social structures are a necessity especially in societies such as India.
Learning about India has helped me gain more knowledge about Hinduism and the caste system. Furthermore, this new knowledge has helped me compare different societies and acknowledge the reasons to why different societies have certain regulations. It has also helped me have a wider viewpoint by adding onto my current values and beliefs.
Julia joins the Suffrage Society along with the current constabulary coroner, Dr. Emily Grace. The group of middle and upper class women gathered with one purpose in mind, which was to convince the premier of the government to give women the right to vote for the upcoming provincial elections. Despite all their effort into gathering several signatures of women
Thomas Hardy closely witnessed the social institutions and problems of his society in the nineteenth century, and his novels frankly deal with various social institutions and honestly address social problems within the confines of his art. In Victorian England religious and social institutions such as church, family and marriage were deeply rooted in patriarchy. True to its nature patriarchy automatically limited women and privileges men. Victorian society, dominated as it was by patriarchal ideology
as a Social Structure In Barbara J. Risman Article Gender as a Social Structure theory wrestling with activism, Risman argues the importance of recognizing and developing gender as a social structure. The author outlines the dimensions of society and argues how defining the social structure can help understand how gender relates to each. The dimension of society includes institutional,interactional and individual. Risman in the article also discusses the roles and norms the social structure has
The society and the individual have a strong and close relationship. It has been noted that an individual is formed and shaped in relation to the society in which he or she grows in. The society provides the individual with the necessities of life and it is the duty of the individual to use these necessities in the most reasonable way without exploitation. The society provides economic, political, cultural and social structures that help the individual carry out his or her daily duties effectively
In the book “Things Fall Apart”, evidence of a social structure was apparent within the Igbo community. This rigid social structure served as a purpose to balance the life of the people within the society, as well as promoting the downfall of the clan. The social structure was important in keeping a centralized society and preventing any sign of corruption within their clan. The social structure had advantages in keeping a balanced and equal society, supporting a division of labor, providing a surplus
“Individual Autonomy and Social Structure”, Dorothy Lee evaluates the relationship between individual autonomy, the freedom to make one’s own choices in life, and social structure, the rules governing social interaction stemming from common cultural values. Lee considers the issues that arise when thinking of these two concepts as mutually exclusive, especially in Western society. While Lee explores these issues through examination of various themes within several societies, the following arguments
Introduction Social Structure has different meanings according to certain scales. I have defined Social Structure in 4 different ways namely social science macro, meso and micro scales. In the Social Science, Social Structure is the patterned social arrangements in the society that are both up-and-coming from and factor of the actions of the individuals. On the macro scale, social structure is the system of the socioeconomic stratification (e.g. class structure). On the meso scale, it is the structure of social
The social structure of our world may be different from person to person. One person may believe something completely different about our social structure compared to what another person believes. Social structure is "the framework of society that surrounds us; consists of the ways that people and groups are related to one another; this framework gives direction to and sets limits on our behavior" (Henslin, 2011). In simpler terms, social structure is the social organization of society. In each society
Social Structure “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe, ” (Frederick Douglass). The prejudiced aspects of society that cause turmoil and disarray are put forth in the above quote. Similarly, the classification of people by class and how they fit in social structure is presented in the following literary
Social structure focuses on the trend or pattern between a social organization and the interrelationship among different institutions idea of a society. Social structure theory goes on to explains how crime is part of society. Social structure theorists focus on different relationships between social institutions and explain how certain behaviors create those institutions to characterize and group people together. This theory looks at not only a structure in a society but, the processes the society
Another type of sociological research which has a large stance on the inequalities of our society is structural functionalism. In the idea of structural functionalism, sociologists believe that there are certain structures in our society which play crucial functions and help to maintain social harmony. In the perspective of structural functionalism, theorist Émile Durkheim discussed that the forms of social structure are dependent on variables. The primary variable to do with the health and medicine is
reasoning and uncover why many things in society are the way they are. The “sociological imagination” doesn’t attempt to understand the individual and his or her problems alone, but focuses on issues and problems as it affects the greater society, which in turn can affect the individual. The “sociological imagination”, therefore, was supposed to be used by sociologists, intellectuals and the public alike. It is a theory conceiving both individuals in society and society as a whole, and looking at the historical
Gender Structure Throughout this paper you will learn about gender as a structure and gender relating to social institutions. You will also learn about Lorber’s insights of how gender differences relate to individuals and society as a whole. Gender structure has many factors that can lead to one identifying as a certain gender. A persons religion, childhood upbringing, peers, culture, and surroundings can all influence how one relates to gender, as each social group has what they consider to be norms
Structural functionalism has several major features and criticisms. The major features are social processes, the AGIL scheme, norms and values and the voluntaristic theory. Talcott Parsons received quite a lot of criticism over his ideas. The criticisms I will discuss are conflict theory, feminist criticism, Marxist criticism, rational actor approaches and neo-functionalism. Structural functionalism views society as a complicated system with areas that collectively encourage unity and stability (Macionis
Social Glue in Sociology, that which forms the structure of society today, has many elements to its formation. Emile Durkheim, considered the 'Father of Sociology ' asked how society was possible rather than just how society had changed, which is Conflict Theorist and Sociologist, Max Webers ' theory in Sociology. Weber extended on theories of Sociologist Karl Marx. Durkheim described Social Cohesion, meaning a Unity of Masses that consists of a commonly shared moral or interest as one element