Anthropology short notes · Paper 1

Social Institution

Social Institution

Part of The Nature of Society

Short notes

Social Institution

Definition

Society is a collection of individuals united by relations or modes of behaviour that distinguish them from others.

Example / case study

  • Herbert Risley: Racial theory of caste; The People of India.
  • Thurston: Castes & Tribes of Southern India.
  • Beginning: Institutionalisation of anthropology (Dept. of Anthropology, Calcutta University – 1920).
  • Nature: Empirical fieldwork, study of social institutions.