Unit 2

Sanmati Rathore
 SOCIETY-

“MAN IS A SOCIAL ANIMAL”- Aristotle

- Society is a fundamental part of human lives but a complex phenomenon to understand in

entirety.
- Man is a Social animal and he always lives in a society. Other creatures like ants, birds,
monkeys also do live in societies, however, human societies in comparison to other
societies is unique in more than one way.
- The term is derived from Latin term “Socius”- means companionship or association.
- Human life always goes together with society considering Man needs society for work,
for enjoyment and for a living.
- Definitions
- GDM COLE: “Society is the complex of Organised association with a community”
- ADAM SMITH: “Society is the artificial devise of the natural economy”
- GIDDINGS: “Society is the union itself, the organisation, the sum of social relations in which
associating individuals are bound together ”
- MACLVER: “Society is a web of social relationships”
Characteristics of Society-

1- Sociology consists of People: Without people their can be no society, no social relationships and thereby
no social life.
2- Mutual Interaction and Mutual Awareness- A process whereby “men interpenetrate the minds of each
other”.
Social interaction is possible because of social interaction
3- Society depends on likeness and differences too.- “Birds of the same feather flock together”
If men are exactly alike, their social relationship are bound to be limited, since contributions shall also be
very limited. Moreover, that shall yield to monotonous, boring and uninteresting life in absence of certain
necessary difference.
Difference alone an never create a society, thus it is subordinate to likeness
4- Cooperation and division of Labour: “Cooperation arises when men realise that they have common interests”.
Division of labour is possible only if Cooperation exists. It refers to mutual working towards attainment of common
objective. Thus Social Solidarity and Social Cohesion have been made possible due to Co-operation and division of
labour.
5- Society implies Interdependence- Eg- Family
With the advancement of society, the degree of interdependency is increasing among society.
6- Society is Dynamic- Changeability is the inherent quality of a human society. No society stays constant for a long
period of time
7- Social Control- Controlling social behaviour. Competitions, Conflicts, revolts etc.
8- Culture- Something which is possessed by Humans only.
 Concepts of Society
1. Society as structure- Society is structure with a recognizable network of interrelating institutions. Societies differ as per the
manner in which their particular institutions are interconnected.
2. Society as recurrence- The societies are structured and structure depends upon their reproduction over time in the
institutionalized forms. Institutionalized forms of social conduct refer to modes of belief and behaviour that occur and recur or

are socially reproduced.

3. Society as contradiction- The society is both structured and reproduced and at the same time it is of conflicts and
contradictions.
4. Society as culture- Each society has its own culture which is the man made element. It helps in distinguishing one society
from other

5. Society as Process- The norms provide, stability, order and structure to human society, without which, the
interaction would be difficult and chaotic
6. Society as Abstract- Social relationship in a society can be felt among the individuals.
 Importance of Society/ Functions of Society

1. Recruitment of new individuals- Continuous replacement of individuals goes on

in a society.
2. Society helps in Primary fulfilment of needs like food, shelter
3. Socialization- The process of learning “social life” is called as socialization.
4. Social Control- Keeps check on the social behaviour of the individual
5. Communication- establishment of communication at mass level, else social system
shall breakdown.
6. Provides meaning to the life- Sense of meaning or purpose of life
7. Human Prosperity- New opportunities, realisation of potential
 Types of Human Society

1. Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft- FERDINAND TONNIES (1855- 1936)

Gemeinschaft is a type of society in which life is personal, traditional and intimate. It is a community where
everyone knows everyone else and people share a sense of togetherness. Life is monotonous but community is
united with a feeling or sentiment between the members and loneliness is rare.
Gesellschaft is a type of society dominated by impersonal relationship, individual accomplishment and self-
interest. Here, traditional society is replaced by contractual relations. Relationships are based on rational
agreements and not attachments. This relates more to formal and impersonal relations.
2. Modern and Primitive Society-
Primitive Society. This society exhibits a strong group feeling. They are indulged in fishing, hunting, planting.
Along with agrarians, they also include artisans, weavers, potters etc. Generally, they are patriarchal societies and
give great importance to their families. They exhibit strong group feeling. Great sense of “we feeling” and unity is
present and crimes are rare

Modern Society is more of a industrialised and modernised one where the substance of family has enormously
diverted. This society has elements like competition, profits and loss, credit and so on. Due to segmentation which is
resultant of division of labour, the individual in modern society are highly impersonal. On the good part, the Status of
a person isn’t greatly influenced by the birth but by the occupation. Women are getting more chances to have equal
rights as that of men. Modern Society has diversified and has evolved into a complex society with dynamic character
 Community

- Derived from “Com” meaning “together” and “munis” meaning “service”. Thus community means, - Serving
Together.
- MACLVER- Community is “an area of social living marked by some degree of social coherence”
- KINGSLEY DAVIS- Community is, “the smallest territorial group that can embrace all aspects of social life”
- BOGARDUS- Community is “a social group with some degree of ‘we feeling’ and ‘living in a given area”
- TONNIES- “A community is one in which human relationships are intimate and durable”
Essentials of Community
1. Locality- Community is a territorial group occupying a geographic area. Althpugh in modern times this
essential has been weakened due to increased means of transportation and communication.
2. Community Sentiment: It means a feeling of belongingness. Locality alone cannot make a community without
this element. The members must be aware of staying together and sharing common interest. They must develop
a sense of “we-feeling”
Features of Community
1. Stability- Not a temporary group. Eg-Crowd, mob, spectators etc
2. Naturalness- Communities are created in a natural manner and not through a deliberate attempt. No Planned
effort is done, an individual becomes part of a community by birth.
3. Size of Community: The Term Community is used in relative sense, since size of a community cannot be
defined. It can be small as well as large.. E.g.- A city may be included in a wide community called as District.
4. Regulations of Relations: every community develop, with time, certain customs, traditions, rules and
regulation for regulating their behaviour among each other
Types of Community

1. Folk Community- Non literate, social homogeneous people, conventional, spontaneous,

personal
2. Tribal Community- Based on kinship, united in language, tribal traditions, geographic
isolation
3. Rural Community- Human settlement relatively small, less densely populated, , more
homogenous in reference to social, economic, linguistic and cultural characterises
4. Urban Community- Human settlement relatively large and socially heterogeneous,
predominantly non agricultural, more use of technology and machinery.
 SOCIETY COMMUNITY

A Web of Social Relationship Consists of Group of people living in a particular area

with some degree of “we feeling”
A Definite geographic area is not esential Always consists of definite geographic area

Abstract Concrete

Community sentiment or “we feeling” may or may not be There an be no community without presence of
present “Community sentiment”
Wider Concept- There can be more than one community Community is Smaller than Society
in a Society.
The objectives and interests of society are more extensive The objectives and interests of a community are
and varied comparatively lessextensive and varied
Involves both Likeness and Differences Likeness is more substantial than Differeces in a
community
 ASSOCIATION
- A group of people organized for a particular purpose or a limited number of purposes.
- It is deliberately created.
- An Association is not a community, but an organization within that community. A city can be called as
community, but a trade union, Student union or Political Party can not be called as Community.
- To constitute an association, their must be- i) A group of People, ii) These people must be organized one, iii)
They must have a common purpose to pursue
- MACLVER: An Association is “an organization deliberately formed for the collective pursuit of some
interests, or a set of interests, which its members share”
- An association is “a group of people organized for the achievement of a particular interest or interests.”
- An association is a “group organized for the pursuit of an interest or group of interest in common”.

Eg: Political Association (BJP, Congress, AAP), Religious Association (The Arya Samaj), Students Associations
(ABVP), Labourer’s Association (Indian national Trade Union Congress, Bhartiya Majdoor Sangh), International
Associations (Amnesty International etc)
 Characteristics of Association

1) Association- A human group: All groups are not association since all associations are not organized.
2) Common Interests or Interest: Association is not just any collection of individual but of those whose
interests are common.
3) Cooperative Spirits: People work on sync to achieve common goal eg- Political Party.
4) Organization: Association is always an organized group. Organization refers to the way in which the
statuses and roles are distributed among members.
5) Regulation of Relations: Ways and means of regulation, can be written and unwritten
6) Association as Agencies: Association normally acts through agents which are responsible to and for
the association. This fact gives association a distinctive character and peculiar legal status.
7) Durability of Association: Can be Permanent or Temporary. (E.g.- Family, religious groups etc. are
permanent) (association created for a particular purpose like organization of writers conference, some
scientific association for a particular objective etc.)
 ASSOCIATION COMMUNITY

Voluntary Membership Membership by Birth

Consists of Specific Interests General Interests

Not necessarily imply Spatial Aspects Locality is essential element

May or May not be stable or long lasting Higher degree of permanency and stability

May have legal Status No Legal Status

May have rules of governance, written or unwritten Governed by customs, traditions etc.

It can be regarded as Partial, a part of the community It is integral, can have several associations within its
boundaries.
 ASSOCIATION SOCIETY

Arose at a later stage in society when man learnt Society exists since the very existence of a man and thus
organizing himself for a specific pursuit. much older concept than association

Formed for a particular purpose Society aim at general well being of individuals

It must of organized Can be organized or unorganized both

Based on co-operation alone Co-operation and Conflict both

Association is a group of people Society is a system of social relationship

Membership is optional (man can live without being a Membership is compulsory (No man can live without
member of association at all) being a member of a society)
 Social Structure

• It is one of the basic concept of sociology.

• The word ‘Structure’ refers to manner of organisation or arrangements of parts. By 16 th Century, it is referred as
interrelations between the component parts of any whole.
• Eg- A musical composition has a structure, a sentence, molecule or a building, all have a structure. We can
observe a ordered arrangement of different parts Building consists of various parts like stones, cement, brick,
glass etc. Similarly, the components or units of Society are the ‘persons’. The person may change but the
structure shall maintain its continuity. Eg- A tribe, Nation, A Political party etc.
• Every society has a pattern of organisation composed of the structures resulting from the association of men
with each other.
• The term social Structure is used to refer to any recurring pattern of social behaviour.
• Ginsberg regards social structure as “the complex of principal groups and institutions which constitute societies”
• Karl Mannhein, “Social Structure is the web of interacting social forces which have arisen the various modes of
observing and thinking.”
NATURE OF SOCIAL STRUCTURE
1. It is abstract and Intangible.
2. Individuals who comprises association and institutions are the units of social structure.
3. It is dynamic in approach
4. Social Structure is based on a network of social relations of person to person established through geographical
connections.
5. Sub Groups of Various types- Political, economic, religious etc. represent sub groups. Social norms define roles
and obligations of sub-groups.
6. Social Structure consists of roles of various types- Role occupants are expected to fulfil obligations to other
people. Eg- Obligation of husband towards wife, of teacher towards student, manager towards employee.
7. Regulative Norm: These are of 2 types-
• Obligatory or relational: Obligation of family is not same as that of business.
• Permissive or regulative: This includes “must”, “may” and “may not” eg- Regardless of the role, one must not try
to seek influence by way of threats
 ROLE AND STATUS
Meaning of Role-
The Role refers to the part which is designated to an individual. The smooth running of social life depends upon
how efficiently and consistently each member of different groups perform their respective roles.
Young and Mack- “A role is function of Status”
Davis- “The manner in which a person actually carries out requirement of his position”
Nature of Role-
1. Every individual member of social group or society are bound to play social roles. The number of roles one plays depends on
the statuses that he assumes.
2. Some social roles are shared by many people. Eg- Voters, Ministers, teachers, Doctors etc.
3. Some social roles are assumed by only one of relatively few number of people. Eg; Their can be only few number of Governor
in India as accordance to the number of seats.
4. Some social roles may be assumed Voluntarily: eg- Joining voluntary associations, being a bowler in cricket, living a particular
city and opting particular occupation.
5. Some roles have to be assumed involuntarily: Which cannot be changed. Females have to enact role of female, Blacks of
blacks, whites are whites etc
 
Status
Meaning- It is a social position which a person occupies in the society. Status of a person is based on a social
evaluation hence Status of a person depends on the work they do.
Young and Mack, “Status is one’s place or position in a given social structure”
Ralph Linton, “Status is a place in a particular system, which a certain individual occupies at a particular time”
Determinants of Status: According to Pearson, 6 factors determine the status. They are- Birth, Possessions,
Personal Qualities, Personal Achievements, Power, and Authority.
Secord and Buckman regard the following bases for Status-
i. The capacity of person for rewarding those with whom he interacts
ii. The extent to which a person is receiving awards
iii. The type of cost incurred and investment made
Nature of Status-
1. External Symbols to identify the Status: E.g.- dressing style- Soldiers, Lawyers, doctors, priests etc. Badges of Army Officials or
Policemen signifies their Status. Limitation- Wearing these attire for fun or with he intention of cheating.
2. Every Status has its own rights, duties and Obligations. These are decided by the normative system of the society. E.g.-
Employer has a RIGHT to expect particular behaviour from employee, which becomes an obligation on the employee to behave
in that desired manner. Employee also has a right to expect some reward, it becomes a duty on the part of employer to reward
appropriately.
3. Social Status are governed by Norms: These vary according to persons, situations or statuses although claimed to be common.
E.g. “be honest” is one of the common norm, but Doctors in various instances cannot reveal whole truth to patient about his
illness (Bonafied).
4. One Individual may have certain Statuses: A Person can be a Student to a teacher, a customer to a shopkeeper, a passenger of
the bus, a son to his father and mother, a brother to his sister etc. These all Status can be assumed by one person in single day.
5. Statuses exercises an influence upon the careers of individuals: Behaviour of Individual can be understood only by
understanding the social status carried on by him.
6. Statuses differs with the degree of importance: Some Status are more important than others. E.g. in Russia, Political status
may be given more importance than others, in India caste Status and Occupational status is given importance etc.
 
Types of Status

1. Ascribed Status: These status are those over which an individual has absolutely no choice. They are derived
from membership in involuntary groups such as family, age group/religion,
2. Achieved Status: The statuses on which some person has some choice are called acheived status. All societies
have some achieved statuses and no society depends on ascribed status.
 
INTER-RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ROLE AND STATUS
1. STATUS is a Position in a social hierarchy while ROLE is behavioural/functional aspect related to STATUS.
2. Role is a relational term. An individual plays a role when an another person performs certain duty/ role
towards him/her.
3. A Status is not only a position in a society but also a cultural element in the life of a society, whereas a role
refers to the manner of properly fulfilling the obligations, exercising privileges and prerogatives of Status.
4. Both Status and Role are Dynamic in Nature and keeps on Changing. Status changes as the norms attached to it
are altered. Role of an individual changes with either the change in Status or with slipping of time.