Image from Google Jackets

Structure and change in Indian society

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublication details: Chicago; Aldine; 1968Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 305 Stu
Summary: Recent theoretical and methodological in novations in the anthropological analysis of South Asian societies have introduced distinctive modifications in the study of Indian social structure and social change. This book, reporting on twenty empirical studies of Indian society conducted by out standing scholars, reflects these trends not only with reference to Indian society itself but also in terms of the relevance of such trends to an understanding of social change more generally. I Based on a 1965 Wenner-Gren Confer ence on Social Structure and Change in India, the book demonstrates how students. of South Asia are turning to intensive, func tional studies of the adaptive changes that particular groups in particular villages, towns, cities, and regions are undergoing. The authors view the basic social units of joint family, caste, and village not as struc tural isolates but as intimately connected with one another and with other social units through social and cultural networks. of various kinds that incorporate the social units into the complex structure of Indian civilization. Within this broadened concep tion of social structure, these studies trace the changing relations of politics, eco nomics, law, and language to the caste system. I Showing that the caste system is dy namic, with upward and downward mobil ity characterizing it from pre-British times to the present, the studies suggest that the modernizing forces which entered the sys tem with the British and since Indepen dence-parliamentary democracy, universal suffrage, land reforms, modern education, urbanization, and industrial technology have provided new opportunities and paths to upward mobility but have not radically altered the system. The essays that are included in this book show that the study of Indian society reveals novel forms of social structure and change. They introduce novel concepts, methods, and theories that may well en courage social scientists to extend the ex ample of the study of change in Indian so ciety to the study of change in other areas.
Tags from this library: No tags from this library for this title. Log in to add tags.
Star ratings
    Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)

Recent theoretical and methodological in novations in the anthropological analysis of South Asian societies have introduced distinctive modifications in the study of Indian social structure and social change. This book, reporting on twenty empirical studies of Indian society conducted by out standing scholars, reflects these trends not only with reference to Indian society itself but also in terms of the relevance of such trends to an understanding of social change more generally. I

Based on a 1965 Wenner-Gren Confer ence on Social Structure and Change in India, the book demonstrates how students. of South Asia are turning to intensive, func tional studies of the adaptive changes that particular groups in particular villages, towns, cities, and regions are undergoing. The authors view the basic social units of joint family, caste, and village not as struc tural isolates but as intimately connected with one another and with other social units through social and cultural networks. of various kinds that incorporate the social units into the complex structure of Indian civilization. Within this broadened concep tion of social structure, these studies trace the changing relations of politics, eco nomics, law, and language to the caste system. I

Showing that the caste system is dy namic, with upward and downward mobil ity characterizing it from pre-British times to the present, the studies suggest that the modernizing forces which entered the sys tem with the British and since Indepen dence-parliamentary democracy, universal suffrage, land reforms, modern education, urbanization, and industrial technology have provided new opportunities and paths to upward mobility but have not radically altered the system.

The essays that are included in this book show that the study of Indian society reveals novel forms of social structure and change. They introduce novel concepts, methods, and theories that may well en courage social scientists to extend the ex ample of the study of change in Indian so ciety to the study of change in other areas.

There are no comments on this title.

to post a comment.

Powered by Koha