Westernization in sociology

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Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to: • Differentiate between culture and society • Explain material versus nonmaterial culture • Discuss the concept of cultural universals as it relates to society • Compare and contrast ethnocentrism and xenocentrism Humans are social creatures. According to Smithsonian Institution research, humans have been forming groups for almost 3 million years in order to survive. Living together, people formed common habits and behaviors, from specific methods of childrearing to preferred techniques for obtaining food. Almost every human behavior, from shopping to marriage, is learned. In the U.S., marriage is generally seen as an individual choice made by two adults, based on mutual feelings of love. In other nations and in other times, marriages have been arranged through an intricate process of interviews and negotiations between entire families. In Papua New Guinea, almost 30 percent of women marry before the age of 18, and 8 percent of men have more than one wife (National Statistical Office, 2019). To people who are not from such a culture, arranged marriages may seem to have risks of incompatibility or the absence of romantic love. But many people from cultures where marriages are arranged, which includes a number of highly populated and modern countries, often prefer the approach because it reduces stress and increases stability (Jankowiak 2021). Being familiar with unwritten rules helps people feel secure a...

modernization, in sociology, the transformation from a traditional, rural, agrarian society to a Modern society is Modernization is a continuous and open-ended process. Historically, the span of time over which it has occurred must be measured in centuries, although there are examples of accelerated modernization. In either case, modernization is not a once-and-for-all-time achievement. There seems to be a Modernization seems to have two main phases. Up to a certain point in its course, it carries the institutions and Yet challenge and response are the essence of modern society. In considering its nature and development, what stands out initially at least is not so much the difficulties and dangers as the extraordinary success with which modern society has mastered the most profound and far-reaching revolution in This article discusses the processes of modernization and industrialization from a very general and primarily sociological point of view. It does so also, it should be remembered, from a position within the very processes it describes. The phenomena of industrialization and modernization that are taken to have begun more than two centuries ago and that were not until much later identified as distinct and novel concepts have not yet arrived at any recognizable closure. The end of the story, if there is one, is thus not in sight, and the question of an ultimate judgment on the nature and value of this vast historical movement is unanswerable. Get a Britannica Premiu...

M N Srinivas – westernization can be defined as socio cultural changes in India as a result of contact with the western society especially British. It is a very simple concept. He considered the role of westernization in India as ideological, cultural and technological level. Meaning of westernization At ideological level- adoption of western ideologies of liberty, justice, rule of law, equality, logic and rationality, universality At cultural level – equality of women, nondiscrimination, following of western food habits and other cultural traits At technological level – advanced technology, innovations, research and technology Westernization stands for change in technology, institution, ideology, values and philosophy. It is one of the prime factor of social change in modern india. Westernization is an ethically neutral concept. It is based on western model. Modernization stands for neutrality, democracy, rationality, economic freedom, secularism, social mobility. It is ethically positive concept. In technological dimensions refers to innovation introduced by British originally not meant for Indian welfare but was for colonial interest but eventually it became beneficial. Eg. Railways, printing press, Telegraph. At ideological level it stands for western philosophy and western education. It is a new orientation which emphasize on equality, rationality, scientific temperament, secularism, logical thinking fraternity. Consequently it cultivated in Indian people high degrees...

A Sociological Analysis on the spread of Western Culture, and the effects of Westernization in terms of cultural homogenization, neo-colonialism, and the inadvertent suppression of regional identities When we think of Westernisation, certain ideas come to mind. While each individual’s interpretation of Westernisation is different, we all think of some basic things – spread of culture from the West, changes in established conventions, equality and some basic human rights. To put is simply, Westernization can be defined as a process by which societies adopt Western culture in areas such as industry, education, lifestyle, customs, traditions, values, philosophy, and many, many more. In this case, Western Culture can be equated to Western or European lifestyle and civilisation: the way people behave, the food they eat, the clothes they wear, their likes, dislikes, the languages they speak, and the religion they follow. I feel that cultural homogenization is definitely a growing impact of westernisation, wherein, Western culture, the dominant culture, absorbs other local cultures. Growing westernisation leads to the loss of cultures, traditions and customs, that have existed for centuries, to only be swallowed by the growing tide of Western culture. Westernisation is often seen as the magical solution. Because the West has been associated with the ideal success story, it has been incorrectly symbolised as the path to prosperity. While the West is a land of entrepreneurship, flo...

Through the process of modernization, transportation and communication become increasingly sophisticated and accessible, populations become more urban and mobile, and the extended family declines in importance. Simultaneously, the importance of the individual in economic and social life increases and intensifies. Many scholars, often those from non-Western nations, pointed out over the years that modernization theory fails to account for the way Western reliance on colonization, the stolen labor of enslaved people, and theft of land and resources provided the wealth and material resources necessary for the pace and scale of development in the West (see postcolonial theory for extensive discussions of this.) Still others critique modernization theory for failing to account for the unsustainable nature of the project, in an environmental sense, and point out that pre-modern, traditional, and Indigenous cultures typically had much more environmentally conscious and symbiotic relationships between people and the planet. Crossman, Ashley. "A Brief Guide to Modernization Theory." ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/modernization-theory-3026419. Crossman, Ashley. (2020, August 28). A Brief Guide to Modernization Theory. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/modernization-theory-3026419 Crossman, Ashley. "A Brief Guide to Modernization Theory." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/modernization-theory-3026419 (accessed June 15, 2023).

ADVERTISEMENTS: Westernisation: Origin and Characteristic of Westernisation! Quite like sanskritisation the concept of westernisation is also em­ployed for evaluating social change in rural India and elsewhere in the country. The concept was also constructed by M.N. Srinivas to de­scribe the process of social and cultural mobility in the traditional social structure of India. It has also emerged, in Srinivas’ study of the Coorgs of south India. The author has defined westernisation as: …the change brought about in Indian society and culture as a result of over 150 years of British rule, the term subsuming changes occur­ring at different levels…technology, institutions, ideology and values (Srinivas, 1962). ADVERTISEMENTS: The emphasis given by Srinivas on westernisation basically in­cluded humanitarianism and rationalism. Commenting on the broader dimensions of westernisation, Yogendra Singh (1994) writes: Emphasis on humanitarianism and rationalism is a part of western­isation which led to a series of institutional and social reforms in India. Establishment of scientific, technological and educational insti­tutions, rise of nationalism, new political culture and leadership in the country, are all by-products of westernisation. Srinivas argues that the acceleration in westernisation does not slow down the process of sanskritisation. As a matter of fact, both the processes go hand in hand. It is found that sometimes increase in west­ernisation also boosts the process of san...