LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this lesson the learner will able to

a. Understand the meaning of sociology

b. Define sociology

c. Understand the significance of learning sociology for an extension worker

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 SOCIOLOGY

Course outline

Why study sociology

Meaning of sociology
Basic concepts in sociology
Concepts related to practice in society
Concepts of Culture
Culture trait
Importance of Rural Sociology
Significance of sociology for extension worker
Man-animal relationship

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 WHY STUDY SOCIOLOGY ?
Man does not ordinarily live in isolation, he lives in physical and social
proximity to other human beings. Man identifies himself to some human
beings more than others. This exhibits a feeling of belonging, both with them
and with the geographical area, within which all reside.

The human relationships and human interaction are the central core of the
field of sociology around them are built social groups, organisations,
institutions and other components of the structure of society.

Understanding sociology is "Groups". Man interacts with groups from birth.

He is constantly subjected to influence them to varying extents.

Group relations is the chief foci of the field of sociology.

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 MEANING OF SOCIOLOGY
The term sociology was coined by Auguste Comte (1789-1857) who is often
referred as the father of Sociology.

It comprises two words as below:

In Latin, Socius means companion and

In Greek, logos means scientific study.

The literal or etymological meaning of sociology is called as 'Science of

Society'.

Sociology is the study of man in relation to groups with whom he or she

interacts. It is the study if human behaviour that too in groups.

Man lives and interacts within human groups both in his immediate
environment and outside of it. Sociology studies man in his group relations.

Rural sociology: Focuses on man living in rural areas.

Urban sociology: Focuses on man living in urban areas.

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 CONCEPTS RELATED TO PRACTICE IN SOCIETY
1. Social norms, folkways, mores and laws: Rules based on social values that control
and direct interpersonal relationships in society.

a. Folkways: Socially acceptable ways of behaviour, the customary norms of

society that do not imply moral sanction. E.g: Manners.

b. Mores: Socially acceptable ways of behaviour, the customary norms of society,

which involve moral standards. Violation may involve severe social action. E.g.
Inter caste marriage.

c. Laws: Formalized norms with legal and / or political enforcement such as acts,
statutes etc. E.g: Laws to prevent cruelty to animals.

2. Socialization is the process by which an individual is conducted into his social and
cultural world. Society forms and instills the rules and regulations of the society to
which he / she belongs. It involves the development of

a. Personality , Attitudes

b. Habits , Expected social roles

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 CONCEPTS RELATED TO PRACTICE IN SOCIETY
3. Social role: Is the expected behaviour of one member of society in relation to
others. An individual may play various roles such as a student in the class, as a
player in a cricket club, as a son or daughter at home etc.

4. Social stratification : Division of society into a series of levels indicating positions of

individuals and groups in the value system existing in that society. Position in the
stratification level denotes Status of the group or individual. Factors influencing
social stratification are caste, income, number of family members, land size, herd
size etc.

5. Social processes : It is the interactions of groups and individuals with one another.
The four basic forms of social processes are

I. Competition

II. Conflict

III. Co-operation

IV. Accommodation
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 CONCEPTS RELATED TO PRACTICE IN SOCIETY
3.Leadership:

Leading is the process of influencing people so that they will strive willingly
and enthusiastically towards the achievement of group goals.

Every leader has got his own way of influencing people and a leader exists as
long as he has followers to be influenced and goals to be accomplished.

4.Association:

Association is functional groups that are brought into existence for various but
well defined purpose by collective action and functioning.

An association is a group of people expressly organised around a particular

interest.

E.g: Farmers association for the purpose of sale of goods.

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 CONCEPTS OF CULTURE
1. Culture :

The continually changing pattern of learned behaviour transmitted and shared

by members of a society.

Culture is not merely customs, though customs are a part of culture. In other
words, culture includes everything that man learns or acquires as a member of
particular society.

2. Culture area :

Geographic area within which culture exists.

3. Culture complex :

Organization of culture traits around one dominant trait.

4. Culture trait :

Simplest functional unit into which culture may be divided.

5. Culture lag :

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Time difference between technological change & resulting change in culture.
 CULTURAL TRAIT
1.Ethos :

The term ethos is used to signify those traits that are characteristic of, or
peculiar to a particular culture, which may be used to differentiate one culture
from another.

Eg. In USA- Mechanization and mass production. In India-handicrafts and

cottage industries, production by masses.

2.Ethnocentrism :

Preferential feeling we have for the way we do things in our culture

3.Customs :

These are socially prescribed forms of behaviour transmitted by tradition and

enforced by social disapproval of its violation. Eg. Ways of taking bath, washing
etc..

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 CULTURAL TRAIT
4.Folkways :

These are approved forms of behaviour for specific situations. Literally, they are
the ways folk do things in a culture.

Violation of folkways is not punished severely. Eg. Greeting others with folded
hands, shaking hands, saying hello.

5.Conventions :

Conventions are customs regulating more significant social behaviour. Eg. Being
polite to others.

Conventions are violated less often than folkways on usages and the sanctions
are more severe.

6.Mores and Taboos :

These are the categories of folkways or customs, which are held to be essential
to ethical or moral values of people.

Violation may involve severe social action.

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 CULTURAL TRAIT
The term taboo is used for the negative action, things that one ought not to
do. The word taboo in a strict sense refers to prohibitions of certain types
behaviour because of some magical, super-natural or religious sanctions. Eg.
Inter caste marriage, liquor consumption by women, cow slaughter etc.

7.Laws :

Laws are enforced by the government and they may or may not have the
sanction of the society. Eg. Anti Dowry Act, Prohibition.

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 IMPORTANCE OF RURAL SOCIOLOGY
In India 70 per cent of the people live in rural areas and most of them own
livestock. Hence, to work with them it is necessary to study the Rural sociology
which helps in gaining deep insight into the behaviour of livestock owners in
rural areas, their situation, culture, community etc.

Helps in understanding the role of animals in the socio-economic situation of

the livestock owners with whom the Animal Husbandry extension agent has to
work with.

Without proper understanding of the role of animals in the socio-cultural

context in which the livestock owners are operating it is not possible to
effectively introduce the new technologies for their improvement.

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 IMPORTANCE OF RURAL SOCIOLOGY
The realization of the importance of social development in nation building,
stress is being laid on social aspects of development, which include health,
hygiene, education, communication etc.

The extension agent can better appreciate the socio-cultural differences that
exist between different categories of livestock owners, with the knowledge and
understanding of Rural Sociology

Helps enables the extension agent to analyse the impact of the technology on
the life style of the livestock owners including the negative consequences.

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 SIGNIFICANCE OF SOCIOLOGY FOR EXTENSION WORKER
Extension aims at bringing about development of the people. It is of
importance to know the people before inducing changes in them.

Helps to make correct diagnosis of social, technological and economic problems

of the villagers.

It helps the extension worker to understand the social values, mores, taboos,
convictions etc., which would eventually direct the extension worker to diffuse
technology.

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 MAN-ANIMAL RELATIONSHIP

1. Our genus Homo has been on earth for some two million years. Of this time
span, almost 99.5 per cent is a history of subsistence on hunting of animals and
gathering of plant food. It was total dependence on nature for life support.

2. This kind of subsistence strategy necessitated living in small bands and moving
from place to place in pursuit of exploring new areas for food resources.

3. During the course of this primal adaptation early hominids and their
descendants must have, by trial and error, learnt about the characteristic
features, behaviour pattern and habits, of the animals which constituted their
food supply and their food reserve.

4. They also must have learnt about the edible qualities and desirability of almost
all available plant resources.

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 MAN-ANIMAL RELATIONSHIP
5. About 10,000 years ago the transition from hunting and foraging for food to the
domestication of plants and animals took place. It was a shift from food quest
or food procurement to food production.

6. At first people may have had to supplement the food they produced with food
they procured by hunting and foraging, but gradually the dependence on wild
food resources may have lessened as domesticated plants and animals
increased in quantity and improved in quality.

7. Spatial mobility, a basic requisite of the nomadic way of life, may also have
given way to the process of sedentarisation, which is a necessary condition for
the domestication of plants or cultivation.

8. Spatial mobility, which may have temporarily been given up, became the basic
requisite for animal herding.

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 MAN-ANIMAL RELATIONSHIP
9. The shift from food quest to food production occurred with the onset of the
Neolithic period, and one of the first regions to undergo this transition was
south-west Asia, as is shown by polynological and archaeo-zoological studies of
the remains of domesticated plants and animals in Israel, Jordan, Syria, Turkey,
Iraq and Iran, all from before 5000 BC.

10. The first animals to be domesticated, before 6000 BC, were probably sheep and
goats from the arid highlands of Persia and Anatolia, to be followed by cattle
(Bos) in the lowlands of Mesopotamia.

11. In the Indian subcontinent there is evidence from Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa
indicating the domestication of sheep, cattle (even buffaloes) from the animal
remains that have been found and studied.

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 MAN-ANIMAL RELATIONSHIP
12. Historically, pastoralism is considered an offshoot of mixed agricultural and
herding subsistence patterns, in adaptation to grasslands and marginal areas
not suitable for growing cereal plants.

13. Pastoralism was probably the consequence of new problems in managing

domesticated plant and animal resources.

14. After about 4,000 years of mixed farming and animal husbandry, two different
kinds of people emerged: the peasant, who was completely sedentarised on
permanent sites suitable for agricultural pursuits, and the herdsman or
pastoralist, who was almost entirely dependent on livestock raising.

15. People in remote parts of the world have maintained nomadic pastoralism as a
way of life, but as a cultural system it has Old World origins.

16. The livestock on which pastoralism is based include sheep, goats, bovines
(cattle, yaks), equines (horses, asses).

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