Viewing development as a process of change that involves all elements of society: the economic, socio-cultural, political, physical structures, and the value system and way of life of the people, this volume comprehensively brings together ideas about development and the transformation of societies from various disciplines. The ten chapters comprising this study outline the process of development and analyze the many facets of the concept of development. It provides rich insight into the characteristics of developing societies, theories of economic development, demographic problems in development, the role of agricultural development in economic transformation, the concomitant process of urbanization and market development, and the sociological and political aspects of development. This multidisciplinary work is essential reading for students and practitioners of development studies, sociology, and political science. Policymakers, planners, and organizations involved in development work will also appreciate this volume. "Brings together insights from a variety of disciplines to expound his view on the phenomenon of development and transformation of societies." --Indian Express "The book is interesting and provides a useful holistic and integrated approach to the development of not just the economy, but society as a whole." --The Hindustan Times "The book would be found extremely useful by students of social disciplines and may turn out to be a textbook for a long time to come." --The Tribune "This is a useful book. It is competently written, it covers wide ground, and it uses the disciplines of sociology and economics to examine the process of development from a holistic perspective." -Book Review

Sociology textbook on the social theory of underemployment - considers the economic development strategies and future prospects of developing countries from the perspectives of capitalism and Marxism, and discusses colonialism and social change, etc. References.

The great Russian psychologist L. S. Vygotsky has long been recognized as a pioneer in developmental psychology. But somewhat ironically, his theory of development has never been well understood in the West. Mind in Society should correct much of this misunderstanding. Carefully edited by a group of outstanding Vygotsky scholars, the book presents a unique selection of Vygotsky’s important essays, most of which have previously been unavailable in English. The Vygotsky who emerges from these pages can no longer be glibly included among the neobehaviorists. In these essays he outlines a dialectical-materialist theory of cognitive development that anticipates much recent work in American social science. The mind, Vygotsky argues, cannot be understood in isolation from the surrounding society. Man is the only animal who uses tools to alter his own inner world as well as the world around him. From the handkerchief knotted as a simple mnemonic device to the complexities of symbolic language, society provides the individual with technology that can be used to shape the private processes of mind. In Mind in Society Vygotsky applies this theoretical framework to the development of perception, attention, memory, language, and play, and he examines its implications for education. The result is a remarkably interesting book that is bound to renew Vygotsky’s relevance to modern psychological thought.

A New York Times Notable Book of 2020 A Bloomberg Best Non-Fiction Book of 2020 A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2020 A Human Behavior & Evolution Society Must-Read Popular Evolution Book of 2020 A bold, epic account of how the co-evolution of psychology and culture created the peculiar Western mind that has profoundly shaped the modern world. Perhaps you are WEIRD: raised in a society that is Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. If so, you’re rather psychologically peculiar. Unlike much of the world today, and most people who have ever lived, WEIRD people are highly individualistic, self-obsessed, control-oriented, nonconformist, and analytical. They focus on themselves—their attributes, accomplishments, and aspirations—over their relationships and social roles. How did WEIRD populations become so psychologically distinct? What role did these psychological differences play in the industrial revolution and the global expansion of Europe during the last few centuries? In The WEIRDest People in the World, Joseph Henrich draws on cutting-edge research in anthropology, psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology to explore these questions and more. He illuminates the origins and evolution of family structures, marriage, and religion, and the profound impact these cultural transformations had on human psychology. Mapping these shifts through ancient history and late antiquity, Henrich reveals that the most fundamental institutions of kinship and marriage changed dramatically under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church. It was these changes that gave rise to the WEIRD psychology that would coevolve with impersonal markets, occupational specialization, and free competition—laying the foundation for the modern world. Provocative and engaging in both its broad scope and its surprising details, The WEIRDest People in the World explores how culture, institutions, and psychology shape one another, and explains what this means for both our most personal sense of who we are as individuals and also the large-scale social, political, and economic forces that drive human history. Includes black-and-white illustrations.

"The effort is impressive and the range of issues covered, both theoretical and practical, extensive.... It addresses some of the most crucial questions of the day regarding the direction of conceptualization in the social sciences, the role of social scientists under post-modern conditions, and the meaning of development beyond economics. For these reasons the study deserves a wide audience and should generate much discussion." --Social Indicators Research Drawing a sequential relation between the concepts of society, culture, and development, this unique volume presents an original approach toward understanding and appraising social reality. Mukherjee strives to harness social science thinking in order to study developmental processes in the context of the emerging relationship between nation-states and the world system. In doing so, he develops a remarkable synthesis from the diverse strands of thought and research in the social sciences that have evolved over the last two centuries. Mukherjee establishes a methodological breakthrough by treating economy, polity, and culture as symbiotic variables rather than as independent, dependent, of intervening variables. By positing survival, security, prosperity, and progress as the cardinal values of people in organizations, the author focuses on patterns of variability (ordinal valuations) which emerge and thereby differentiate one configuration of people from others. It is in this context that Mukherjee argues for appraising social reality of what he calls the process-structure-process syndrome, rather than the conventional social science approach which views society in a state of static or relative equilibrium. This conceptual clarity is then applied to examine the role of culture in development, which not only resolves the issues of economic growth versus social development, but also provides a sound methodological base for studying comparative development. This distinctive contribution to social theory and social science methodology will not only serve as supplementary reading for graduate students in several social science fields, but will be particularly valuable for those interested in culture issues--conflict, policy research, comparative development, and social change. "The importance of the book lies in its methodological approach, whereby economy, polity, and culture are treated as symbiotic variables within a system rather than independently. Thus, the approach breaks new ground for the study of comparative development and would be of great use to students of sociology, who are concerned with the issues of culture conflict, policy research, comparative development, and social change." --Pakistan Development Review "[Mukherjee's] latest book is a product of his stimulating discussions on society, culture and development with students and colleagues in some of the American universities. He draws his insight from some of his experiences in our society. That makes the book all the more valuable for Indian students. . . . Reading of the notes which are detailed and comprehensive is rewarding. That certainly enriches the value of the book." --Indian Book Chronicle

Evolutionary theories are based on the assumption that societies gradually change from simple beginnings into even more complex forms. Early sociologists beginning with Auguste Comte believed that human societies evolve in a unilinear way- that is in one line of development. According to them social change meant progress toward something better. They saw change as positive and beneficial. To them, the evolutionary process implied that societies would necessarily reach new and higher levels of civilization. L.H Morgan believed that there were three basic stages in the process: savagery, barbarism and civilization. Auguste Comte’s ideas relating to the three stages in the development of human thought and also of society namely-the theological, the metaphysical and the positive in a way represent the three basic stages of social change. This evolutionary view of social change was highly influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of Organic Evolution. Those who were fascinated by this theory applied it to human society and argued that societies must have evolved from the simple and primitive to that of too complex and advanced such as the western society. Herbert Spencer a British sociologist carried this analogy to its extremity. The present publication introduces the students of sociology to main concepts and theories in a lucid and interesting style. The textbook will enable the student to understand the process of social change and the way it affects development and progress. Contents: • Culture and Society • Groups and Organizations • Population, Urbanization, and Social Movements • The Rationalization of Society • Comprehensive Theory of Social Development • Social Inequality and Exclusion • Programmes/Schemes for Women’s Development • Social Aspects of Television • Intra and Inter-Cultural Diversities in the Era of Globalization • New Media as a Tool for Social Change • Television and Audience: Cultural Proximity

Schieffer and Lessem introduce a groundbreaking development framework and process to address the most burning issues that humanity faces. While conventional top-down, outside-in development has reached a cul-de-sac, a new, integral form of development is emerging around the world. Integral Development uniquely articulates this emergent approach, and invites us to fully participate in this process. Integral Development combines four mutually reinforcing perspectives: nature and community; culture and spirituality; science, systems and technology; and enterprise and economics. Conventional development theory and practice has prioritized the latter two perspectives, neglecting the former two. This has caused massive imbalances in today’s world. Integral Development shows how individual, organizational and societal developments need to be interconnected to overcome these imbalances and to release a society’s full potential. It shifts the responsibility for large-scale development from often-distant development experts and organizations to each individual, community, enterprise and institution within the society.