Culture and Socialisation — NCERT Solutions

The chapter describes two approaches to cultural change:

1. Evolutionary change

• This is gradual change in culture over time.
• It may happen through internal causes such as new methods of farming, or through adaptation to a changing environment.
• Example: changes in agriculture can transform food habits and quality of life slowly.

2. Revolutionary change

• This is rapid and radical change in values and meaning systems.
• It may be caused by political intervention, technological innovation, or ecological transformation.
• Example: the French Revolution destroyed the estate system and monarchy and introduced the values of liberty, equality, and fraternity.

So, evolutionary change is slow and gradual, while revolutionary change is fast and fundamental.

Yes, cosmopolitanism is associated with modernity because modern societies are open to cultural differences, exchange, and borrowings. A cosmopolitan outlook does not judge other cultures by its own standards; instead, it values difference and allows diverse influences to enrich one’s own culture.

Examples of ethnocentrism from the chapter include:

• Macaulay’s Minute on Education, where English tastes and values were treated as superior to Indian ones.
• Ranking modern culture above tribal culture by assuming access to science and technology makes one culture better than another.
• Social norms that treated dalits or women as inferior, such as not allowing them to use the same water source or move freely in public.

So, cosmopolitanism accepts cultural diversity, while ethnocentrism judges others by one’s own culture.

For my generation, the most effective agent of socialisation is probably the mass media, especially digital media and the internet. It influences how young people think, talk, dress, and connect with others. The chapter says mass media has become an essential part of everyday life and gives access to information and experiences beyond one’s own immediate surroundings.

Before, the chapter suggests that family was usually the strongest agent, especially in early life, and in older times children were more strongly shaped by parents, kin, neighbourhood, and school. Today, although family still matters, peer groups, school, television, and the internet play a much bigger role than before. So socialisation has become more varied and less controlled by the family alone.