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63CULTURE AND SOCIALISATION

I

INTRODUCTION

‘Culture’, like ‘society’, is a term usedfrequently and sometimes vaguely.This chapter is meant to help us defineit more precisely and to appreciateits different aspects. In everydayconversation, culture is confined to thearts, or alludes to the way of life ofcertain classes or even countries.Sociologists and anthropologists studythe social contexts within which cultureexists. They take culture apart to tryand understand the relations betweenits various aspects.

Just like you need a map tonavigate over unknown space orterritory, you need culture to conductor behave yourself in society. Cultureis the common understanding, whichis learnt and developed through socialinteraction with others in society. Acommon understanding within a groupdemarcates it from others and gives itan identity. But cultures are neverfinished products. They are alwayschanging and evolving. Elements are

constantly being added, deleted,expanded, shrunk and rearranged. This makes cultures dynamic asfunctioning units.

The capacity of individuals todevelop a common understanding withothers and to draw the same meaningsfrom signs and symbols is whatdistinguishes humans from otheranimals. Creating meaning is a socialvirtue as we learn it in the company of

CHAPTER 4

CULTURE AND SOCIALISATION

Activity 1

How do you greet another person inyour ‘culture’? Do you greet differentkinds of persons (friends, olderrelatives, the other gender, peoplefrom other groups) differently?Discuss any awkward experienceyou may have had when you did notknow how you should greet aperson? Is that because you did notshare a common ‘culture’? But nexttime round you will know what todo. Your cultural knowledge therebyexpands and rearranges itself.

64 INTRODUCING SOCIOLOGY

others in families, groups andcommunities. We learn the use of toolsand techniques as well as the non-material signs and symbols throughinteraction with family members,friends and colleagues in differentsocial settings. Much of this knowledgeis systematically described andconveyed either orally or throughbooks.

For example, notice the interactionbelow. Notice how words and facialexpressions convey meaning in aconversation.

social densities like in villages, townsand cities. In different environments,people adapt different strategies to copewith the natural and social conditions. This leads to the emergence of diverseways of life or cultures.

Disparities in coping mechanismswere evident during the devastatingtsunami of 26 December 2004, whichaffected some parts of the Tamil Naduand Kerala coast as well as the Andamanand Nicobar Islands in India. People onthe mainland and islands are integratedinto a relatively modern way of life. The

This learning prepares us forcarrying out our roles andresponsibilities in society. You havealready dealt with status and roles.What we learn in the family is primarysocialisation, while that which happensin school and other institutions aresecondary socialisation. We shalldiscuss this in greater detail later in thischapter.

II

DIVERSE SETTINGS, DIFFERENT CULTURES

Humans live in a variety of naturalsettings like in the mountains andplains, in forests and cleared lands, indeserts and river valleys, in islands andmain lands. They also inhabit different

fisherfolk and the service personnel in theislands were caught unawares andsuffered large scale devastation andmuch loss of life. On the other hand, the‘primitive’ tribal communities in theislands like the Onges, Jarawas, GreatAndamanese or Shompens who had noaccess to modern science and technology,foresaw the calamity based on theirexperiential knowledge and savedthemselves by moving on to higherground. This shows that having accessto modern science and technology doesnot make modern cultures superior tothe tribal cultures of the islands. Hence,cultures cannot be ranked but can bejudged adequate or inadequate interms of their ability to cope with thestrains imposed by nature.

Commuter asks autodriver: “Indiranagar?” The verb that conveys the question —“Bartheera?” or “Will you come?” — is implied in the arch of the eyebrow. Driverjerks his head in the direction of the back seat if the answer is “Yes”. If it is “No”(which is more likely the case as every true blue Bangalorean knows) he mightjust drive away or grimace as if he has heard a bad word or shake his head witha smile that seems to suggest a “Sorry”, all depending on the mood of the moment.


Discuss how natural settings affect culture


Defining Culture

Often the term ‘culture’ is used to referto the acquiring of refined taste inclassical music, dance forms, painting.This refined taste was thought todistinguish people from the ‘uncul-tured’ masses, even concerningsomething we would today see asindividual, like the preference for coffeeover tea!

By contrast, the sociologist looks atculture not as something thatdistinguishes individuals, but as a wayof life in which all members of society

habits acquired by man as a memberof society” (Tylor 1871 I:1).

Discuss how the visualcapture a way of life

Two generations later, the founderof the “functional school” of anthro-pology, Bronislaw Malinowski ofPoland (1884-1942) wrote: “Culturecomprises inherited artifacts, goods,technical process, ideas, habits andvalues” (Malinowski 1931: 621-46).

Clifford Geertz suggested that welook at human actions in the same wayas we look at words in a book, and seethem as conveying a message. “… Manis an animal suspended in webs ofsignificance he himself has spun. I takeculture to be those webs…”.The searchis not for a causal explanation, but foran interpretative one, that is in searchfor meaning (Geertz 1973: 5). LikewiseLeslie White had placed a comparableemphasis on culture as a means ofadding meaning to objective reality,using the example of people regardingwater from a particular source as holy.

participate. Every social organisationdevelops a culture of its own. One earlyanthropological definition of culturecomes from the British scholar EdwardTylor: “Culture or civilisation taken inits wide ethnographic sense, is thatcomplex whole which includesknowledge, belief, art, morals, law,custom and any other capabilities and

Activity 2

Find out from at least one regionother than your own how thenatural environment affects foodhabits, patterns of dwelling,clothing and the ways in which Godor gods are worshipped.

Activity 3

Identify equivalents in Indianlanguages for the word culture.What associations do these carry?


´ Do you notice anything inMalinowski’s definition that ismissing in Tylor’s?

Apart from his mention of art, all thethings listed by Tylor are non-material.This is not because Tylor himself neverlooked at material culture. He was infact a museum curator, and most of hisanthropological writing was based onthe examination of artifacts and toolsfrom societies across the world, whichhe had never visited. We can now seehis definition of culture as an attemptto take into account its intangible andabstract dimensions, so as to acquire acomprehensive understanding of thesocieties he was studying. Malinowskihappened to be stranded on an islandin the Western Pacific during the FirstWorld War, and discovered thereby thevalue of remaining for an extendedperiod with the society one wasstudying. This led to the establishmentof the tradition of “field work” you willread about it in Chapter 5.

The multiple definitions of culturein anthropological studies led AlfredKroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn(anthropologists from the UnitedStates) to publish a comprehensivesurvey entitled Culture: A CriticalReview of Concepts and Definitions in1952. A sample of the variousdefinitions is presented below.´ Try comparing these definitions to

see which of these or whichcombination of these you find mostsatisfactory.You may first find yourself noticing

words which recur–‘way’, ‘learn’ and‘behaviour’. However, if you then lookat how each is used, you may be struckby the shifts in emphasis. The firstphrase refers to mental ways but thesecond to the total way of life.Definitions (d), (e) and (f) lay stress onculture as what is shared and passedon among a group and down thegenerations. The last two phrases arethe first to refer to culture as a meansof directing behaviour.

Culture is…

(a) a way of thinking, feeling, believing.

(b) the total way of life of a people.

(c) an abstraction from behaviour.

(d) learned behaviour.

(e) a storehouse of pooled learning.

(f) the social legacy the individual acquires from his group.

(g) a set of standardised orientations to recurrent problems.

(h) a mechanism for the normative regulation of behaviour.


Make a list of phrases you haveheard containing the word ‘culture’.Ask your friends and family what theymean by culture? What criteria do theyuse to distinguish among cultures.

It may have occurred to you thatour understanding of material culture,especially art, is incomplete withoutknowledge acquired from the cognitiveand normative areas. It is true that ourdeveloping understanding of socialprocess would draw upon all theseareas. But we might find that in acommunity where few have acquiredthe cognitive skill of literacy, it in factbecomes the norm for private letters tobe read out by a third party. But as wesee below, to focus on each of theseareas separately provides manyimportant insights.

Cognitive Aspects of Culture

The cognitive aspects of one’s ownculture are harder to recognise than itsmaterial aspects (which are tangible orvisible or audible) and its normativeaspects (which are explicitly stated).Cognition refers to understanding, howwe make sense of all the informationcoming to us from our environment. Inliterate societies ideas are transcribedin books and documents and pre-served in libraries, instititutions orarchives. But in non-literate societieslegend or lore is committed to memoryand transmitted orally. There arespecialist practitioners of oral traditionwho are trained to remember andnarrate during ritual or festive occasions.

Let us think about how writingmay affect the production andconsumption of art. In his influentialbook, Orality and Literacy Walter Ongcites a study of 1971 that states thatonly 78 of the approximately 3,000

Dimensions of Culture

Three dimensions of culture have beendistinguished :

(i) Cognitive: This refers to how welearn to process what we hear orsee, so as to give it meaning(identifying the ring of a cell-phoneas ours, recognising the cartoon ofa politician).

(ii) Normative: This refers to rules ofconduct (not opening otherpeople’s letters, performing ritualsat death).

(iii) Material: This includes any activitymade possible by means ofmaterials. Materials also includetools or machines. Examplesinclude internet ‘chatting’, usingrice-flour paste to design kolam onfloors.

Activity 4

Compare these definitions to seewhich of these (or combination ofthese) you find most satisfactory.You could do this by listing familiaruses of the word ‘culture’ (theculture of eighteenth centuryLucknow, the culture of hospitalityor the much used term ‘Westernculture’...) Which of the definitionsbest capture the impressionsconveyed by each?


existing languages possess aliterature. Ong suggests that materialthat is not written down has certainspecific characteristics. There is a lotof repetition of words, to make itsimpler to remember. The audience ofan oral performance is likely to bemore receptive and involved thanwould be readers of a written text froman unfamiliar culture. Texts becomemore elaborate when they are written.

In societies like ours historicallyliteracy has been made available onlyto the more privileged. Sociologicalstudies are often concerned withinvestigating how literacy can be maderelevant to the lives of people whosefamilies have never gone to school. Thiscan lead to unexpected responses, likea vegetable-seller who asked why heneeded to know the alphabet when hecould mentally calculate what hiscustomers owed him?

The contemporary world allows usto rely far more on written, audio andvisual records. Yet students of Indianclassical music are still discouragedfrom writing down what they learnrather than carrying it in their memory.We still do not know enough about theimpact of the electronic media, ofmultiple channels, of instant accessingand surfing. Do you think these newforms impact our attention span andcognitive culture?

Normative Aspects of Culture

The normative dimension consists offolkways, mores, customs, conven-tions and laws. These are values orrules that guide social behaviour in

different contexts. We most often followsocial norms because we are used todoing it, as a result of socialisation. Allsocial norms are accompanied bysanctions that promote conformity. Wehave already discussed social controlin Chapter 2 .

While norms are implicit rules,laws are explicit rules. PierreBourdieu, the French sociologist hasreminded us that when we try tounderstand another culture’s norms,we must remember that there arecertain implicit understandings. Forexample, if a person wants to showgratitude for something s/he has beengiven, s/he should not offer a return-gift too quickly, or it seems like anattempt to get rid of a debt, not afriendly gesture.

A law is a formal sanction definedby government as a rule or principlethat its citizens must follow. Laws areexplicit. They are applicable to thewhole society. And a violation of thelaw attracts penalties and punishment. If in your home children are notallowed to stay outdoors aftersundown, that is a norm. It is specificto your family and may not beapplicable to all families. However, ifyou are caught stealing a gold necklacefrom someone else’s home, you haveviolated the universally accepted lawof private property and can be sent tojail after trial as punishment.

Laws, which derive from theauthority of the State are the mostformal definitions of acceptablebehaviour. While different schools mayestablish different norms for students,


laws would apply to all those acceptingthe authority of the State. Unlike laws,norms can vary according to status. Dominant sections of society applydominant norms. Often these norms arediscriminating. For example norms thatdid not allow dalits from drinking waterfrom the same vessel or even source. Orwomen from moving freely in the publicsphere.

Material Aspects of Culture

The material aspect refers to tools,technologies, machines, buildings andmodes of transportation, as well asinstruments of production andcommunication. In urban areas thewidespread use of mobile phones,music systems, cars and buses, ATMs(automated teller machines), refri-gerators and computers in everyday lifeindicates the dependence ontechnology. Even in rural areas the useof transistor radios or electric motorpumps for lifting water from below thesurface for irrigation demonstrate theadoption of technological devices forincreasing production.

In sum there are two principaldimensions of culture: material andnon-material. While the cognitive andnormative aspects are non-material, thematerial dimension is crucial toincrease production and enhancethe quality of life. For integratedfunctioning of a culture the materialand non-material dimensions mustwork together. But when the materialor technological dimensions changerapidly, the non-material aspects canlag behind in terms of values and

norms. This can give rise to a situationof culture lag when the non-materialdimensions are unable to match theadvances of technology.

Culture and Identity

Identities are not inherited butfashioned both by the individual andthe group through their relationshipwith others. For the individual thesocial roles that s/he plays impartsidentity. Every person in modernsociety plays multiple roles. Forinstance within the family s/he may bea parent or a child but for each of thespecific roles there are particularresponsibilities and powers.

It is not sufficient to enact roles.They also have to be recognised andacknowledged. This can often be donethrough the recognition of theparticular language that is used amongrole players. Students in schools havetheir own way of referring to theirteachers, other students, classperformances. By creating thislanguage which also serves as a code,they create their own world of meaningsand significances. Similarly, women arealso known to create their ownlanguage and through it their ownprivate space beyond the control of menespecially when they congregate at thepond to bathe in rural areas or acrosswashing lines on rooftops in urbanareas.

In a culture there can be many sub-cultures, like that of the elite andworking class youth. Sub-cultures aremarked by style, taste and association.Particular sub-cultures are identifiable


by their speech, dress codes, preferencefor particular kind of music or themanner in which they interact with theirgroup members.

Sub-cultural groups can alsofunction as cohesive units whichimparts an identity to all groupmembers. Within such groups therecan be leaders and followers but groupmembers are bound by the purpose ofthe group and work together to achievetheir objectives. For instance youngmembers of a neighbourhood can forma club to engage themselves in sportsand other constructive activities. Suchactivities create a positive image of themembers in the locality and this givesthe members not only a positive self-image but also inspires them to performbetter in their activities. The orientationof their identity as a group undergoesa transformation. The group is able todifferentiate itself from other groupsand thereby create its own identitythrough the acceptance andrecognition of the neighbourhood.

cultural values projected as thestandard or norm are consideredsuperior to that of the beliefs and valuesof other cultures. We have seen inChapter 1 and in Chapter 3 (particularlyin the discussion on religion) howsociology is an empirical and not anormative discipline.

Underlying ethnocentric compari-sons is a sense of cultural superiorityclearly demonstrated in colonialsituations. Thomas BabbingtonMacaulay’s famous Minute onEducation (1835) to the East IndiaCompany in India exemplifiesethnocentrism when he says, ‘We mustat present do our best to form a classwho may be interpreters between us andthe millions whom we govern, a class ofpersons Indian in blood and colour butEnglish in tastes, in opinions, moralsand intellect’ (quoted in Mukherji 1948/1979: 87), (emphasis added).

Ethnocentrism is the opposite ofcosmopolitanism, which values othercultures for their difference. Acosmopolitan outlook does not seek toevaluate the values and beliefs of otherpeople according to one’s own. Itcelebrates and accommodates differentcultural propensities within its fold andpromotes cultural exchange andborrowings to enrich one’s own culture.The English language has emerged asa leading vehicle of internationalcommunication through its constantinclusion of foreign words into itsvocabulary. Again the popularity ofHindi film music can be attributed toits borrowings from western pop musicas well as from different traditions of

Activity 5

Are you aware of any sub-culturalgroup in your locality? How are youable to identify them?

Ethnocentrism

It is only when cultures come intocontact with one another that thequestion of ethnocentrism arises.Ethnocentrism is the application ofone’s own cultural values in evaluatingthe behaviour and beliefs of people fromother cultures. This means that the


Indian folk and semi-classical formslike the bhangra and ghazal.

A modern society is appreciative ofcultural difference and does not closeits doors to cultural influences fromabroad. But such influences arealways incorporated in a distinctiveway, which can combine with elementsof indigenous culture. The Englishlanguage despite its foreign inclusionsdoes not become a separate language,nor does Hindi film music lose itscharacter through borrowings. Theabsorption of diverse styles, forms,sounds and artifacts provides anidentity to a cosmopolitan culture. Ina global world where modern means ofcommunication are shrinkingdistances between cultures, acosmopolitan outlook allows diverseinfluences to enrich one’s own culture.

Cultural Change

Cultural change is the way in whichsocieties change their patterns ofculture. The impetus for change can beinternal or external. In regard tointernal causes, for instance, newmethods of farming or agriculture canboost agricultural production, whichcan transform the nature of foodconsumption and quality of life of anagrarian community. On the otherhand external intervention in the formof conquest or colonisation can alsoeffect deep seated changes in thecultural practices and behaviour of asociety.

Cultural change can occur throughchanges in the natural environment,contact with other cultures or pro-cesses of adaptation. Changes in thenatural environment or ecology can

Notice the words in the box. Have you heard orused these words in your conversations?

Hinglish’ may soon conquer the world

Some of the Hinglish words in vogue include airdash (travel by air),chaddis (underpants), chai (Indian tea), crore (10 million), dacoit (thief),desi (local), dicky (boot), gora (white person), jungli (uncouth), lakh(100,000), lampat (thug), optical (spectacles), prepone (bring forward),stepney (spare tyre) and would-be (fiancé or fiancée). Hinglish containsmany words and phrases that Britons or Americans may not easilyunderstand, according to a report... Some are archaic, relics of theRaj, such as ‘pukka’. Others are newly coined, such as ‘time-pass’,meaning an activity that helps kill time. India’s success in attractingbusiness has recently produced a new verb. Those whose jobs areoutsourced to India are said to have been ‘Bangalored’.


drastically alter the way of life of apeople. When forest dwellingcommunities are deprived of access tothe forest and its produce eitherbecause of legal restrictions or due toits decimation, it can have disastrouseffects on the dwellers and their way oflife. Tribal communities in North EastIndia as well as in middle India havebeen the worst affected by the loss offorest resources.

Along with evolutionary changethere can also be revolutionary change. When a culture is transformed rapidlyand its values and meaning systemsundergo a radical change thenrevolutionary change takes place.Revolutionary change can be initiatedthrough political intervention,technological innovation or ecologicaltransformation. The French Revolution(1789) transformed French society bydestroying the estate system ofranking, abolishing the monarchy, andinculcating the values of liberty,equality and fraternity among itscitizens. When a different under-standing comes to prevail, culturechange occurs. Recent years have seenan amazing expansion of the media,both electronic and print. Do you thinkthe media has brought about anevolutionary or revolutionary change?We are familiar with the variousdimensions of culture now. To returnto the point we started with in Chapter1 about the interplay between theindividual and society, we now move onto the concept of socialisation.

III

SOCIALISATION

I believe that a complete life isinclusive of everything around us :plants, cattle, guests, feasts,festivals, quarrels, friendship,companionship, discrimination,scorn. All these and more werepresent in one single place, myhome. Although life sometimesappeared complicated then, I nowunderstand how consummate itwas. It is thanks to such achildhood, perhaps, that if I get justa glimpse of someone’s suffering, Ifeel I can comprehend the whole ofit (Vaidehi 1945).

At the time of birth, the human infantknows nothing about we call society orsocial behaviour. Yet as the child growsup, s/he keeps learning not just aboutthe physical world. But about what itmeans to be a good or bad girl/boy.S/he knows what kind of behaviour willbe applauded and, what kind will bedisapproved. Socialisation can bedefined as the process whereby thehelpless infant gradually becomes aself-aware, knowledgeable person,skilled in the ways of the culture intowhich s/he is born. Indeed withoutsocialisation an individual would notbehave like a human being. Many ofyou will be familiar with the story of the‘Wolf-children of Midnapore’. Two smallgirls were reportedly found in a wolfden in Bengal in 1920. They walked onall four like animals, preferred a diet ofraw meat, howled like wolves andlacked any form of speech. Interestingly


such incidents have been reported fromother parts of the world too.

We have so far been talking aboutsocialisation and the new-born infant.But the birth of a child also alters thelives of those who are responsible forits upbringing. They too undergo newlearning experiences. Becominggrandparents and parenting involves awhole set of activities and experiences.Older people still remain parents whenthey become grandparents, of course,thus forging another set of relationshipsconnecting different generations witheach other. Likewise the life of a youngchild changes with the birth of a sibling.Socialisation is a life long process eventhough the most critical processhappens in the early years, the stage ofprimary socialisation. Secondarysocialisation as we saw extends over theentire life of a person.

While socialisation has an imp-ortant impact on individuals it is not akind of ‘cultural programming’, inwhich the child absorbs passively theinfluences with which he or she comesinto contact. Even the most recent new-born can assert her/his will. S/he willcry when hungry. And keep crying untilthose responsible for the infant’s carerespond. You may have seen hownormal, everyday schedules of thefamily get completely reorganised withthe birth of a child.

You have already been introducedto the concepts of status/role, of socialcontrol, of groups and social strati-fication. You are also acquainted withwhat culture, norms and values are. Allthese concepts will help us understand

how the process of socialisation takesplace. A child, in the first instance is amember of a family. But s/he is also amember of a larger kin-group (biradari,khaandaan, a clan etc.) consisting ofbrothers, sisters and other relatives ofthe parents. The family into whichs/he is born may be a nuclear orextended family. It is also a member ofa larger society such as a tribe or sub-caste, a clan or a biradri, a religious andlinguistic group. Membership of thesegroups and institutions imposes certainbehavioural norms and values on eachmember. Corresponding to thesememberships there are roles that areperformed, e.g. that of a son, adaughter, a grandchild or a student.These are multiple roles, which areperformed simultaneously. The processof learning the norms, attitudes, valuesor behavioural patterns of these groupsbegins early in life and continuesthroughout one’s life.

The norms and values may differwithin a society in different familiesbelonging to different castes, regions orsocial classes or religious groupsaccording to whether one lives in avillage or a city or one belongs to a tribeand if to a tribe, to which tribe. Indeedthe very language that one speaksdepends on the region one comes from.Whether the language is closer to aspoken dialect or to a standardisedwritten form depends on the family andthe socio-economic and cultural profileof the family.

Agencies of Socialisation

The child is socialised by severalagencies and institutions in which


s/he participates, viz. family, school,peer group, the neighbourhood, theoccupational group and by socialclass/caste, by region, by religion.

Family

Since family systems vary widely, theinfants’ experiences are by no meansstandard across cultures. While manyof you may be living in what is termeda nuclear family with your parents andsiblings, others may be living withextended family members. In the firstcase parents may be key socialisingagents but in the others, grandparents,an uncle, a cousin may be moresignificant.

Families have varying ‘locations’within the overall institutions of asociety. In most traditional societies, thefamily into which a person is bornlargely determines the individual’ssocial position for the rest of his or herlife. Even when social position is notinherited at birth in this way the regionand social class of the family intowhich an individual is born affectpatterns of socialisation quite sharply.Children pick up ways of behaviourcharacteristic of their parents or othersin their neighbourhood or community.

Of course, few if any childrensimply take over in an unquestioningway the outlook of their parents. This

Activity 6

Suggest ways in which the child of a domestic worker would feel herself differentfrom the child whose family her mother works for. Also, what are the things theymight share or exchange?To start with the obvious, one would have more money spent on clothes, theother might wear more bangles…They might have watched the same serials, heard the same film songs… theymight pick up different kinds of slang from each other…Now you are left to follow up the difficult areas, like the sense of security withinthe family, the neighbourhood and on the street...

Activity 7

The presence or absence of which of the items below do you think would affectyou most as an individual?

(possessions) television set/music system …(space) a room of your own…(time) having to balance school with household or other work…(opportunities) travel, music classes…(people around you)


is especially true in the contemporaryworld, in which change is so pervasive.Moreover, the very existence of adiversity of socialising agencies leads tomany differences between the outlooksof children, adolescents and theparental generation. Can you identifyany instance where you felt that whatyou learnt from the family was atvariance from your peer group or maybemedia or even school?

Peer Groups

Another socialising agency is the peergroup. Peer groups are friendshipgroups of children of a similar age. Insome cultures, particularly smalltraditional societies, peer groups areformalised as age-grades. Even withoutformal age-grades, children over fouror five usually spend a great deal oftime in the company of friends of thesame age. The word ‘peer’ means ‘equal’,and friendly relations establishedbetween young children do tend to bereasonably egalitarian. A forceful orphysically strong child may to someextent try to dominate others. Yet thereis a greater amount of give and takecompared to the dependence inherentin the family situation. Because of theirpower, parents are able (in varyingdegrees) to enforce codes of conductupon their children. In peer groups, bycontrast, a child discovers a differentkind of interaction, within which rulesof behaviour can be tested out andexplored.

Peer relationships often remainimportant throughout a person’s life.Informal groups of people of similar

ages at work, and in other contexts, areusually of enduring importance inshaping individuals’ attitudes andbehaviour.

Schools

Schooling is a formal process: there isa definite curriculum of subjectsstudied. Yet schools are agencies ofsocialisation in more subtle respectstoo. Alongside the formal curriculumthere is what some sociologistshave called a hidden curriculumconditioning children’s learning. Thereare schools in both India and SouthAfrica where girls, but rarely boys, areexpected to sweep their classroom. Insome schools efforts are made tocounter this by making boys and girlsdo those tasks that are normally notexpected of them. Can you think ofexamples that reflect both trends?

Mass Media

The mass media has increasinglybecome an essential part of oureveryday lives. While today theelectronic media like the television isexpanding, the print media continues

Activity 8

Reflect on your own experience.Compare your interaction withfriends to that of your parents andother elders. What is different? Doesthe earlier discussion on roles andstatus help you understand thedifference?


to be of great importance. Even in theearly print media in nineteenth centuryIndia, ‘conduct-books’ instructingwomen on how to be better house-keepers and more attentive wiveswere popular in many languages. Themedia can make the access toinformation more democratic. Electroniccommunication is something that canreach a village not connected by roadto other areas and where no literacycentres have been set up.

There has been much research onthe influence of television upon childrenand adults. A study in Britain showedthat the time spent by childrenwatching television is the equivalent ofalmost a hundred school days a year,and that adults are not far behind them.Apart from such quantitative aspects,what emerges from such research is notalways conclusive in its implications.The link between on-screen violenceand aggressive behaviour amongchildren is still debated.

If one cannot predict how the mediainfluences people, what is certain is theextent of the influence, in terms both ofinformation and of exposure to areasof experience distant from one’s own.There is a sizeable audience for Indiantelevision serials and films in countrieslike Nigeria, Afghanistan and amongémigrés from Tibet. The televised

Mahabharat was aired after dubbing inTashkent, but even without dubbingwas watched in London by children whospoke only English!

Other Socialising Agencies

Besides the socialising agenciesmentioned, there are other groups, orsocial contexts, in which individualsspend large parts of their lives. Workis in all cultures an important settingwithin which socialisation processesoperate, although it is only in indus-trial societies that large numbers ofpeople “go out to work” — that is, goeach day to places of work quiteseparate from the home. In traditionalcommunities many people tilled theland close to where they live, or had

Look at the report and discuss how mass media influences children

Activity 9

You might want to explore howpeople relate to serials set insurroundings unlike their own. Orif children are watching televisionwith their grandparents, arethere disagreements about whichprogrammes are worth watching,and if so, what differences inviewpoint emerge? Are thesedifferences gradually modified?

The Shaktimaan serial telecast a few years ago had children trying todive down buildings resulting in fatal accidents. “Learning by imitationis a method followed frequently by people and children are no different,”says clinical psychologist.


workshops in their dwellings (seevisuals on page 43).

Socialisation and IndividualFreedom

It is perhaps evident that socialisationin normal circumstances cannever completely reduce people toconformity. Many factors encourageconflict. There may be conflictsbetween socialising agencies, betweenschool and home, between home andpeer groups. However since thecultural settings in which we are born

and come to maturity so influence ourbehaviour, it might appear that we arerobbed of any individuality or free will.Such a view is fundamentallymistaken. The fact that from birth todeath we are involved in interactionwith others certainly conditions ourpersonalities, the values we hold, andthe behaviour in which we engage. Yetsocialisation is also at the origin ofour very individuality and freedom.In the course of socialisation each ofus develops a sense of self-identity,and the capacity for independentthought and action.

How Gendered is Socialisation?

We boys used the streets for so many different things — as a place to standaround watching, to run around and play, try out the manoeuvrability of ourbikes. Not so for girls. As we noticed all the time, for girls the street was simply ameans to get straight home from school. And even for this limited use of thestreet they always went in clusters, perhaps because behind their purposefuldemeanour they carried the worst fears of being assaulted (Kumar 1986).

Activity 11

We have completed four chapters. Read the text of the next page carefully anddiscuss the following themes :

´ The relation between individual and society in the girl’s rebellion againstgrown-ups.

´ How the normative dimensions of culture are different in town and village?

´ The question of ascribed status in that the priest’s daughter is permittedto touch.

´ Conflict between socialising agencies for example in the text note: “thankfulnone of her school friends could see her like this”. Can you find any othersentence that illustrates this?

´ Gendered = combing hair + escort + not playing football

´ Punishment = “tight-lipped silence” + conspicuous absence of pappadams


An unusual sense of excitement pervaded her visit to the temple this evening.There had been an argument over lunch, between her and the grown-ups, whenshe had announced her decision to ring the bell in front of the sanctuary.

‘If Thangam can ring it, so can I,’ she debated hotly.They protested in shocked voices. ‘Thangam is the daughter of the temple

priest, she is permitted to touch the bell.’She responded angrily that Thangam came over to play hide-and-seek every

afternoon and behaved no differently from any of them. ‘Besides,’ she added,goading them deliberately, ‘we are equal in the eyes of god.’ She was not quitesure whether they had heard this bit, for they had already turned away indisgust. But, after lunch, she caught them whispering about ‘that horrid Englishschool she goes to,’ which meant that they had heard…

She was sure they had not taken her seriously. That was the trouble withgrown-ups: they always presumed that if they told her that she would understandeverything when she was older, she would accept their wisdom and authorityunquestioningly and not dream of going against them. Oh well, she would showthem, this time... Back again at the house, she had to endure the intenselyuncomfortable ritual of hairdressing. Her grandmother soothed her hair withwhat felt like a whole jar of oil, separated each shining strand till it hung limpand straight and lifeless down her back, then tied it up in a tight, skin stretchingknot on the top of her head. She was thankful none of her school friends couldsee her like this.…

Why wouldn’t they understand how ridiculous she felt, being escorted…Shehad reminded her mother many times that she walked alone to school everydaywhen they were back in town… [S]he noticed that the football game had alreadybegun on the courtyard beside the temple of Krishna. She enjoyed watching theplayers, particularly since her obvious delight in the vigour of the game, and inthe raucously voiced comments irritated Kelu Nair profoundly.…

She came hurriedly upon the crowded main sanctuary... Before she couldregret her decision or go back upon it, she elbowed herself quickly through thecircle of women, nearly floundering on the slippery steps. The sight of the bigbell above her touched her with a heady excitement. She could distinguish KeluNair’s frantically whispered threats, but she reached up, rang the bell with oneresounding clang and was down the steps before he realised what was happening.

Dimly she was aware of dark looks and subdued murmurs pursuing her asshe permitted Kelu Nair to drag her away... She was in dire disgrace. Theirtight-lipped silence was infinitely more eloquent than speech, as was theconspicuous absence of her favourite tiny pappadams at dinner...

(From The Bell, by Gita Krishnakutty)


GLOSSARY

Cultural Evolutionism : It is a theory of culture, which argues that just likenatural species, culture also evolves through variation and natural selection.

Estates System : This was a system in feudal Europe of ranking accordingto occupation. The three estates were the nobility, clergy and the ‘thirdestate’. The last were chiefly professional and middle class people. Eachestate elected its own representatives. Peasants and labourers did not havethe vote.

Great Tradition : It comprises of the cultural traits or traditions which arewritten and widely accepted by the elites of a society who are educated andlearned.

Little Tradition : It comprises of the cultural traits or traditions which areoral and operates at the village level.

Self Image : An image of a person as reflected in the eyes of others.

Social Roles : These are rights and responsibilities associated with a person’ssocial position or status.

Socialisation : This is the process by which we learn to become members ofsociety.

Subculture : It marks a group of people within a larger culture who borrowfrom and often distort, exaggerate or invert the symbols, values and beliefsof the larger culture to distinguish themselves.

EXERCISES

1. How does the understanding of culture in social science differ from theeveryday use of the word ‘culture’?

2. How can we demonstrate that the different dimensions of culturecomprise a whole?

3. Compare two cultures with which you are familiar. Is it difficult not tobe ethnocentric?

4. Discuss two different approaches to studying cultural change.

5. Is cosmopolitanism something you associate with modernity? Observeand give examples of ethnocentrism.

6. What in your mind is the most effective agent of socialisation for yourgeneration? How do you think it was different before?


READINGS

ARMILLAS, PEDRO. 1968. The concept of civilisation, in SILLS, DAVID. ed. TheInternational Encyclopedia of Social Science. Free Press-Macmillan, NewYork.

BERGER, P.L. 1963. Invitation to Sociology : A Humanistic Perspective. Penguin,Harmondsworth.

FORGE, J.A.W. 1976. Learning to see in New Guinea, in MEYER, PETER. ed.Socialisation : The Approach from Social Anthropology.

GEERTZ, CLIFFORD. 1973. The Interpretation of Cultures. Basic Books, New York.

GIDDENS, ANTHONY. 2001. Sociology. Polity Press, Cambridge.

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Unit 9, Agencies ofSocialisation.

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Unit 8. Nature ofSocialisation.

KOTTAK, CONRAD P. 1994. Anthropology : The Exploration of Human Diversity,Sixth Edition. McGraw-Hill, New York.

KRISHNA KUMAR. 1986. ‘Growing up Male’. in Seminar. No. 318, February.

LARKIN, BRIAN. 2002. ‘Indian Films and Nigeria Lovers, Media and the Creationof Parallel Modernities’ in ed. XAVIER, JONATHAN. and ROSALDO, RENATO. TheAnthropology of Globalisation : A Reader, Blackwell, Malden.

MALINOWSKI, BRONISLAW. 1931. ‘Culture’, in SELIGMAN. ed. Encyclopedia of theSocial Sciences. Macmillan, New York.

MUKHERJI, D.P. 1948/1979. Sociology of Indian Culture. Rawat Publications,Jaipur.

TYLOR, EDWARD B. 1871/1958. Primitive Culture : Researches onto theDevelopment of Mythology, Philosophy Religion, Art and Custom. 2 volumes.Volume 1: Origins of Culture. Volume 2. Religion in Primitive Culture,Gloucester, Mass., Smith.

VOGT, EVON Z. 1968. ‘Culture Change’, in SILLS, DAVID. ed. The InternationalEncyclopedia of Social Science. Free Press-Macmillan, New York.

WILLIAMS, RAYMOND. 1976. Keywords : A Vocabulary of Culture and Society.Fontana/Croom Helm, London.

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