Download or read book Postmodern Perspectives on Indian Society written by Shambhu Lal Doshi and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Postmodernity proposes the idea that society is no longer governed by history or progress. A postmodern society is highly pluralistic, differentiated, and diverse. It rejects all grand narratives such as Marxism, Gandhism, and rationalism, which are propagated as universal explanations of society. Postmodernity meets the challenges given by modernity. In India, modernity's benefits are cornered by high caste Hindus, elites, political leaders, and higher classes. The subalterns, the marginals, and the disadvantaged masses have been left high and dry. It is the modernity which has created religious, academic, and market fundamentalism and an age of dark dogma. In Indian society, modernity has brought damage to various ethnicities. In this book, the author applies the perspective of postmodernity to the interpretation of increasingly changing contemporary Indian society. With this, he looks afresh at family, caste, village, culture, and religion. From a sociological perspective, fundamentalism is given a thorough examination. The author courageously establishes that Indian society is a postmodern society.
Download or read book Perspectives on Indian Society written by Dr. Binoy Kumar and published by K.K. Publications. This book was released on 2021-09-15 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PERSPECTIVES ON INDIAN SOCIETY India is a hierarchical society. Whether in North India or South India, Hindu or Muslim, urban or village, virtually all things, people, and social groups are ranked according to various essential qualities. Although India is a political democracy, notions of complete equality are seldom evident in daily life. Societal hierarchy is evident in caste groups, amongst individuals, and in family and kinship groups. Castes are primarily associated with Hinduism, but caste-like groups also exist among Muslims, Indians, Christians, and other religious communities. Within most villages or towns, everyone knows the relative rankings of each locally represented caste, and behaviour is constantly shaped by this knowledge. Individuals are also ranked according to their wealth and power. For example, some powerful people, or “big men,” sit confidently on chairs, while “little men” come before them to make requests, either standing or squatting not presuming to sit beside a man of high status as an equal. Hierarchy plays an important role within families and kinship groupings also, where men outrank women of similar age, and senior relatives outrank junior relatives. Formal respect is accorded to family members—for example, in northern India, a daughter-in-law shows deference to her husband, to all senior in-laws, and to all daughters of the household. Siblings, too, recognize age differences, with younger siblings addressing older siblings by respectful terms rather than by name. The book is a must for sociology and anthropology teachers, NGOs, researchers and students. Contents: • The Unique Caste System in Hindu Society • Hallmarks of Hindu Society • Rural Social System • Modern Status of the Caste System • Economic and Political Systems of Society • Religion and Society • Indian Society and Modernization • Feminism, Tradition and Modernity • The Pressure to Modernize and Globalize • Culture and Economic Development: Modernization to Globalization
Download or read book The Structure of Indian Society written by A.M. Shah and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book has a collection of ten articles written during 1982–2007 and an exhaustive introduction on the structural features of Indian society, that is, the enduring social groups, institutions and processes, such as caste, tribe, sect, rural-urban relations, etc. The book views Indian society in contemporary as well as historical perspective, based on a wealth of field research as well as archival material. The book focuses on the significance of village studies in transforming the understanding of Indian society and also shows how urban centres have been useful in shaping society. Taking a critical look at the prevailing thinking on various structures and institutions, the author uses insights derived from his comprehensive studies of kinship, marriage, religion, and grassroots politics in advancing their studies. He points out the strengths and weaknesses of these structures and institutions and the direction in which they are changing with respect to modern time. As against the overwhelming emphasis on the hierarchical dimension of caste, this book focuses on its horizontal dimension, that is, every caste’s population spread over villages and towns in an area, its internal organization and differentiation based on networks of kinship, marriage, patron-client relationship, and role of endogamy versus hypergamy in maintaining its boundaries. The tribes are also seen in the same perspective, emphasizing the tribe-caste homology. Finally, the book provides information on important issues like policy of reservations, the reliability of censuses and surveys of castes and tribes, removal of untouchability, growth of organized religion and secularization.
Download or read book Tribal Perspectives in India written by Dipak Giri and published by Booksclinic Publishing. This book was released on 2020-07-31 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The present anthology which covers eighteen well-explored articles on tribal perspectives in India, assesses critically the tribal art, culture and literature. It also endeavours to bring into surface issues and challenges faced by Indian tribes in reference to their life and hardships, policies adopted by government for their development and problems in their implementation. The book as a whole tries to meet all crucial aspects of Indian tribes. Hopefully the book would serve to larger section of humanity laying bare many hidden facts related to tribal life and culture.
Download or read book Postmodern Traces and Recent Hindi Novels written by Veronica Ghirardi and published by Vernon Press. This book was released on 2021-07-06 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Postmodernism is a notoriously elusive concept and still the object of critical debates among scholars across a range of different disciplines. In literature, in particular, these debates are complicated by “postmodern” styles emanating from outside the concept’s Western origins. By analyzing contemporary Hindi novels, and drawing on both Western and Hindi literary criticism, "Postmodern Traces and Recent Hindi Novels" aims to understand some of the manifestations of postmodernism in contemporary Hindi fiction, including ways the latter might challenge the traditional parameters of postmodern literature. This book is essential reading for scholars and students specializing in South Asian studies and both postcolonial and comparative literature. It will also interest the general reader curious to know more about one of the less explored areas of world literature.
Download or read book Postmodern Social Theory written by George Ritzer and published by McGraw-Hill Humanities, Social Sciences & World Languages. This book was released on 1997 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ritzer's long-awaited text in Postmodern Social Theory is a readable & coherent introduction to the fundamental ideas & most important thinkers in postmodern social theory.
Download or read book Understanding Indian Society written by Samarth Modku Dahiwale and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite A Distinctive History Of Conflict From The Times Of Buddha To The Contemporary Ambedkar, Social Scientists Have Made Non-Brahman Traditions A Part Of Broader Hinduism. In British India, Although A Number Of Social Reformers Had Launched Anti-Systemic Movements To Challenge The Hegemony Of Upper0Caste Hindus But There Are Several Issues Of Identity, Power, Conversion, Gender Inequality And Social Justice Which Have Not Been Addressed Properly. And, Since The Last Decade, The Militant Hindus With Their Extent Of Aggression To Implement The Agenda Of Pan-Hinduism. It Is In This Backdrop, An Attempt Is Made In This Book To Reveal The Other Side Of The Story. The Non-Brahmanic Perspective Perceives The Practices Which Are Non-Vedic, Non-Shastric, Non-Castiest, Non-Patriachal Or Having Equalitarian Character, And A Number Of Attempts Made To Bring About Change/Transformation Towards The Egalitarian Order Through Protest/Resist/Action Movements Against The Brahmanic Hegemony. Accordingly, The Attention Is Focused In This Book On The Concepts Of Nation And Village, The Roots Of Untouchability, Anti-Caste Movements, Conversion Movements, And Caste Inequality In Relation To Educational And Social Policies. The Book Will Prove Useful For The Students, Teachers And Scholars In The Disciplines Of Sociology, Politics, Social Anthropology And History. Contents: Introduction- S.M. Dahiwale; Understanding Indian Society: The Relevance Of The Perspective From Below- T.K. Oommen; Nation, Anthropology And The Village- Surinder S. Jodhka; The Broken Men Theory Of Untouchability- S.M. Dahiwale; Perspectives Of The Anti-Caste Movements: Subaltern Sociological Visions- Gail Omvedt; Decoding Dalitism: Reflections On Dalit Literature In Maharashtra- S.P. Punalekar; Conversion As Subversion Of Hierarchy- Ambrose Pinto S.J.; Conversion, Empowerment And Social Transformation- S.M. Michael; Brahmanical Social Order And Christianity In India- Lancy Lobo; Educational Stratification, Dominant Ideology And The Reproduction Of Disadvantage In India- Padma Velaskar; Confronting Caste Inequality: What Sociologists Must Do To Reorient Social Policy- Satish Deshpande.
Download or read book Social Change in Indian Society written by Raghuvir Sinha and published by Concept Publishing Company. This book was released on 1978 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The period of reference is restricted to the post independence era.
Download or read book Social Movements Old and New written by Rajendra Singh and published by SAGE Publications Pvt. Limited. This book was released on 2001-07-23 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book is both about social movements and collective actions, and about the discipline of sociology and prevailing concepts of Indian society. Presenting a post-modernist critique of the study of social movements, Professor Rajendra Singh maintains that it is these movements which truly represent the contemporary nature of Indian society. He thus challenges the dominant view that these struggles are expressions of disruption and a breakdown of the established social order. The author goes on to argue for the need for a post-sociology, based on broader perspectives drawn from all the social science disciplines, to fully grasp the realities of present-day Indian society."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book Postmodernism a Sociology c written by and published by University of Arkansas Press. This book was released on with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the fifth volume in the Studies in American Sociology Series, Stanford M. Lyman offers commentaries on and critiques of postmodernism, poststructuralism, and deconstruction, posing questions concerning theoretical and epistemological problems arising from what appears to be a "nouvelle vague." Postmodernism, poststructuralism, and deconstructionism are interrelated aspects of the newest theoretical development in sociology and the social sciences. This new wave of thought challenges virtually all paradigms currently in use. In this, his fifth volume in the Studies in American Sociology Series, Stanford M. Lyman offers commentaries on and critiques of this new perspective, posing questions concerning theoretical and epistemological problems arising from what appears to be a nouvelle vague. Among the basic themes and issues explored are the allegation that modernity has defaulted on the promise of the Enlightenment; the question of whether the rational basis for knowledge and action is still valid; the controversy over the place of metanarratives and macrosociological outlooks; and newer concerns over race, gender, sexual preferences, the self, and the "Other." Professor Lyman provides empirically based and historically specific analyses of the relation of the race question to the problem of otherness and to the legal construction of racial identity in American court proceedings. Focusing on the issues of citizenship affecting European, Middle Eastern, and Asian immigrants; African Americans; and the special cases of the Chinese and Native Americans, he relates major public problems to the modern as well as the postmodern perspectives on justice. The debate over assimilation and multiculturalism, the dynamics of gender-specific emotions as expressed in six decades of Hollywood films, and the postmodern approach to deviance are each examined. He also offers proposals for a social science attuned to, but critical of, postmodernism and poststructuralism. Such a sociology might offer a perspective that treats the drama of social relations in the routine as well as the remarkable aspects of everyday life. Professor Lyman provides not only a new understanding of postmodernism but also a program of how to proceed with respect to its challenges.
Download or read book Prophets Facing Backward written by Meera Nanda and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The leading voices in science studies have argued that modern science reflects dominant social interests of Western society. Following this logic, postmodern scholars have urged postcolonial societies to develop their own "alternative sciences" as a step towards "mental decolonization". These ideas have found a warm welcome among Hindu nationalists who came to power in India in the early 1990s. In this passionate and highly original study, Indian-born author Meera Nanda reveals how these well-meaning but ultimately misguided ideas are enabling Hindu ideologues to propagate religious myths in the guise of science and secularism. At the heart of Hindu supremacist ideology, Nanda argues, lies a postmodernist assumption: that each society has its own norms of reasonableness, logic, rules of evidence, and conception of truth, and that there is no non-arbitrary, culture-independent way to choose among these alternatives. What is being celebrated as "difference" by postmodernists, however, has more often than not been the source of mental bondage and authoritarianism in non-Western cultures. The "Vedic sciences" currently endorsed in Indian schools, colleges, and the mass media promotes the same elements of orthodox Hinduism that have for centuries deprived the vast majority of Indian people of their full humanity. By denouncing science and secularization, the left was unwittingly contributing to what Nanda calls "reactionary modernism." In contrast, Nanda points to the Dalit, or untouchable, movement as a true example of an "alternative science" that has embraced reason and modern science to challenge traditional notions of hierarchy.
Download or read book The Future of Religion written by Christopher Lamb and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Autonomy written by Paula Banerjee and published by Anthem Press. This book was released on 2008-07 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the first decade of the twenty-first century autonomy has become one of the major concerns of our social and political existence. The right to autonomous life is now a political, cultural and social call of both the individual and group. The present volume is a critical attempt to understand autonomy from both historical and analytical perspectives. Autonomy, in this collective reading, emerges as deeply rooted in social practices and contentious politics.
Download or read book Thinking Fragments written by Jane Flax and published by University of California Press. This book was released on 2021-01-08 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990.
Download or read book Key Ideas in Sociology written by Peter Kivisto and published by Pine Forge Press. This book was released on 2010-05-13 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The only compact and portable book for undergraduate readers that links issues regarding post-modern society to the ideas and individuals that gave rise to sociological thinking in the late 19th century. Students too often learn about social theorists as unconnected with one another. Key Ideas in Sociology shows how ideas developed by one theorist evolve and are further shaped by subsequent theorists, reflecting on different historical circumstances. Peter Kivisto offers a genuinely integrated view of the history of social thought, linking classical sociological ideas to today's thinking about contemporary life. He shows how theorizing is not a dry, abstract exercise, but a practical human necessity in the ongoing quest to understand and cope with our complex and ever-changing social conditions.
Download or read book Religion and Indian Society written by C. N. Venugopal and published by Gyan Publishing House. This book was released on 1998 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religion and Indian Society: A Sociological Perspective, is a collection of twelve essays written by Prof. Venugopal on different facets of religion in Indian society. Recent developments in Indian society such as the march of secularism, growth in science and technology and modernization of economic and political spheres have not marginalized the religion. There are several socio-cultural problems which need to be tackled effectively by our religions and spirituality only. Hence, the religions in India such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism have provided not only an integral frame work for large groups of people but also offered solutions to the vexation of mind and spirit. Besides the religious impulse has stimulated not only routine activities but also special pursuits. The religious impulse has been predominant. Even today there are many prominent personalities in the country who have kept alive the religious inheritance. These essays which deal with the role of charisma in religious life, Bhakti reform, conceptualization of Hinduism and Pluralism, social stratification pioneers in Indian society, etc., are sure to provide new insights into the relationship between religions and society. These essays are concise, clearly written and stimulate discussion. In sum, the book presents an optimistic outlook which regards religion (in spite of its contemporary aberration ) as a vital force for the survival of the Indian society. About The Author: - Prof. C.N. Venugopal, has been teaching sociology since 1971 at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, JNU, New Delhi. His qualifications include M. A. with distinction (University of Mysore) and Ph. D (JNU). He has not only been a distinguished teacher but has also successfully guided a number of students writing their M. Phil dissertations and Ph. D theses. His previous publications include Ideology and Society in India: Sociological Essays and Sociology for Law Students.
Download or read book Transition and Development in India written by Anjan Chakrabarti and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-12-16 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to Nehru, the transition from a backward agricultural society to a modern industrialized society was the only road for India to progress. So, for the past few decades, India has focused its transitional development around movement away from a state-controlled economy toward that of a free market economy. Transition and Development in India challenges the current basis of this theory of development, laying the groundwork for an entirely new Marxist approach to transition that should apply not just to India, but to all developing nations.
