pappadams at dinner... ( From The Bell, by Gita Krishnakutty ) G LOSSARY Cultural Evolutionism : It is a theory of culture, which argues that just like natural species, culture also evolves through variation and natural selection. Estates System : This was a system in feudal Europe of ranking according to occupation. The three estates were the nobility, clergy and the ‘third estate’.
The last were chiefly professional and middle class people. Each estate elected its own representatives. Peasants and labourers did not have the vote. Great Tradition : It comprises of the cultural traits or traditions which are written and widely accepted by the elites of a society who are educated and learned.
Little Tradition : It comprises of the cultural traits or traditions which are oral 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’s social position or status. Socialisation : This is the process by which we learn to become members of society.
Subculture : It marks a group of people within a larger culture who borrow from and often distort, exaggerate or invert the symbols, values and beliefs of the larger culture to distinguish themselves. E XERCISES . How does the understanding of culture in social science differ from the everyday use of the word ‘culture’? .
How can we demonstrate that the different dimensions of culture comprise a whole? . Compare two cultures with which you are familiar. Is it difficult not to be ethnocentric?
. Discuss two different approaches to studying cultural change. . Is cosmopolitanism something you associate with modernity?
Observe and give examples of ethnocentrism. . What in your mind is the most effective agent of socialisation for your generation? How do you think it was different before?
R EADINGS A RMILLAS , P EDRO . . ‘The concept of civilisation’, in S ILLS , D AVID . ed.
The International Encyclopedia of Social Science . Free Press-Macmillan, New York. B ERGER , P.L. .