Learning Objectives
- Understand the roles and functions of social institutions such as family, marriage, kinship, politics, economics, religion, and education in society.
- Analyze the functionalist perspective on social institutions as fulfilling societal needs and the conflict perspective as serving the interests of dominant groups.
- Examine various family structures, including nuclear and joint families, and the impact of gender roles and socio-economic factors on family dynamics.
- Explore different forms of marriage, including monogamy and polygamy, and the rules of endogamy and exogamy that govern marital arrangements.
- Understand the concept of work as both paid and unpaid labor, the division of labor, and the transformation of work in modern societies, including shifts to service sectors and flexible production.
- Study political institutions, the distribution of power, concepts of authority, and the role of the state, including the impact of nationalism and citizenship rights.
- Examine the role of religion in society, its relationship with other social institutions, and the concept of secularization.
- Analyze the role of education in transmitting societal values, its function as a stratifying agent, and the impact of socio-economic background on educational opportunities.