Key points
Modernisation — key theorists
Modernisation theory asks how traditional societies change—and whether there is one path or many.
- Daniel Lerner (The Passing of Traditional Society): empathy, literacy and media participation as psychic mobility toward modernity.
- Alex Inkeles (Becoming Modern): factory and school experience foster a modern personality syndrome (openness, efficacy, planning).
- S.N. Eisenstadt: multiple modernities—modern institutions take culturally different forms; not one Western copy.
- Yogendra Singh: selective modernisation of Indian tradition (continuity with change).
- Dipankar Gupta (Mistaken Modernity): modernity confused with consumer gloss; true modernity needs equality and citizenship ethics.
S.C. Dube
S.C. Dube — Kamar, Shamirpet and CDP critique
S.C. Dube bridges tribal ethnography, village sociology and applied criticism of top-down development.
- Kamar study: early ethnographic engagement with a Central Indian tribal community and culture contact.
- Indian Village (1955): Shamirpet (near Hyderabad) as a structured social system—economy, ranking, religion, political organisation—not a shapeless agglomeration.
- Shamirpet themes: caste ranking and interdependence; village solidarity distinct from kin alone; observed institutional change on restudy.
- CDP critique (e.g. Ranakhandi, Saharanpur area teaching cases): Community Development often failed where it ignored power, caste and local knowledge—technocratic delivery without social analysis.
Examples
- Use Shamirpet to illustrate ‘village as social system’; use CDP failure to illustrate why anthropology matters for policy design.
WRAP Exams coaching notes for UPSC Anthropology optional. Pair with the official syllabus when you need every heading in order.