Wednesday, Dec 15, 2004
Wednesday, Dec 15, 2004 |
| Andhra Pradesh | ||||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Andhra Pradesh
-
Visakhapatnam
By Our Staff Reporter
VISAKHAPATNAM, DEC. 14. Is exchange of greeting cards a typical middle class phenomenon? Has sending cards got anything with upward mobility? With upwardly mobile middle class drifting, is it one way of renewing bonds? These are some of the issues raised in a lecture on `Sociology of greeting cards culture' by K. Radhakrishna Murthy of the Department of Sociology of Andhra University (AU) organised by the AU Research Forum on Monday. Analysing the practice of sending cards and the modern social exchange theory, he said sending cards was part of westernisation process. The pattern revealed cards were generally sent to those who could be of some help in upward mobility. Murthy juxtaposed the theories of utilitarian economists relating to profit in social transaction, rationalising maximum benefit and non-material exchange, seen by functional anthropologists as "cementing a web of social relations.'' The exchange process, symbolising love, affection and sentiment, in such societies involved patterning of interaction, he observed. He said greeting card culture could be generalised into protracted networks involving economic and non-economic motives that had implications for societal integration because social exchange could not always be measured in monetary terms.
Sending e-cards
The Head of the Department of Sociology, M. Billimoria Rani, felt that it had become a pseudo culture. One need not take the trouble of buying a card because sending e-cards was catching up. With so many `days' being celebrated, upward mobility was not always the motive, he added. The Principal of College of Arts and Commerce, Andhra University, D. Panduranga Rao, presided.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | Home |
Copyright © 2004, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
