Sociology and Anthropology Research Papers/Topics

Indigenous Culinary Claims and Cultural Heritage Preservation: A Viewpoint

Abstract: Knowledge about cooking was traditionally shared orally and handed down through generations in written form or as an oral recipe. These specifications or instructions are a society’s claims that provide a unique arena between science and society. This research is an overview of a destinations’ cultural heritage preservation of indigenous cuisine through culinary claims using the examples from Africa and Zimbabwe and particularly from the Karanga, Korekore and Manyika ethnic gro...

Mediation as an Alternative Method of Conflict Resolution in Nigeria (A Study of Citizens Rights and Mediation Centre, Enugu)

ABSTRACT  The study was undertaken to explore mediation as an alternative method of conflict resolution in Nigeria with particular reference to ‘’Citizens’ Rights and Mediation Centre, Enugu. Findings were made from responses of 111 respondents from the study area. Cross-sectional survey design was adopted for this work, and were used to elicit data for this study. The study also made use of questionnaire as a means of collecting quantitative primary data. Statistical methods such as t...

Unleashing the potential of the ‘Sociology of Science’: Capitalizing on the power of science to usher in social, cultural and intellectual revolutions across the world, and lay the fo

This paper reviews the definitions of science put forward by different scholars, its myriad functions, its social duties and responsibilities, and the role played by science communication to the masses. It discusses the historical role played by science in ushering in social and intellectual revolutions particularly in the context of Europe and other developed societies, and the need to replicate them elsewhere. It also discusses the scope and the nature of work carried out in the fields of s...

Sociology of Hinduism

In this essay on Sociology of Hinduism, I shall first include some classicists who discussed Hindu society primarily through traditional categories of Varna, Jati (literally means birth group, and Kula (clan/ family group) and the general western notion of caste that was applied to Hindu society. Generally in most discussions, although Varna refers to a different type of classification, these terms are not clearly distinguished, and usually conflated with the term ‘caste’. 

Place of subcaste

Caste as a social phenomenon has undergone many changes. The most important operative unit that has exemplified caste in its discourse is subcaste ( jati) identity. Both within India and certainly in the diaspora, there is now increasing evidence of the dissolution of subcaste ( jati) identities giving rise to various other formations of groups replacing the endogamous relationships with other arbitrary group formations. In this article, I examine some evidence from South Africa, the West Ind...

Grey street in Durban

In this paper, I wish to explore the life in the mid-19th to 20th century in the Durban-based Indian Casbah and its enduring legacy. In exploring the Casbah life in Durban, I wish to pay special attention to the narratives of the people who either were associated with it and had living memories of it, or remember the many stories passed on to them by their families.1 The central question that I explore in analysing these narratives is: does Casbah in the diaspora enable the diasporic communit...

Andhra Pradhesh Economic and Social Relations

The social relations of castes and their tribal counterparts in various regions of Andhra are structured on the basis of various economic exchanges, and the status of being lower and higher is not necessarily expressed in purity and pollution terms vis-a-vis ritual, but rather on the basis of services and products that they can exchange. Privileging the ritual sphere to explain social relations of castes and tribes, as done by Dumont (1980) and many other later anthropologists (Pfaffenberger ...

Geopolitics of Conflicts Refugees in the Middle East North Africa 1

Geopolitically intertwined and strategically significant refugee policy in the MENA region is frequently analyzed in light of well-documented ethnic, religious, class, and border conflicts. However, the policy is also inexorably linked to the broader geopolitics of the global refugee protection regime and discourse. This article analyzes the complex relationship between geopolitics, domestic political dynamics, and their attendant crises in the MENA region. The complex set of political shockw...

Lived experiences and consequences of unemployment on young women in Mahalapye, Botswana

The purpose of the present study was to identify factors that contribute to unemployment among young women aged 20-35 in Mahalapye village, investigate the effects of being unemployed, determine sources of support available to unemployed young women, and identify the gaps in state assistance in this regard. The study utilized a survey research method and adopted a descriptive research design. Cluster sampling was used with the sample size being one hundred (100) unemployed young women in Maha...