Culture is one of the central concepts of sociology, which sees it as creating and in turn created by the larger processes and relations of society. A key theme in the cultural analysis of education has been that of domination and hegemony in education. Structuralism has emphasized the relational construction of meanings and has tried to identify central principles which express themselves repeated at various levels. Post-structuralist and post-modern approaches in the study of education have seen it as a fundamentally contested cultural act, shaped by numerous points of contestation and negotiation. The construction of group identities and boundaries has conventionally been one of the main responsibilities of education, and has been done through a variety of cultural processes. Education and identity construction would be taken up as a special theme, exploring how nationalism, religion, caste, gender, etc. boundaries are created and maintained. Critical pedagogy's response to social control through culture would be brought forth.
Core Readings
Haralambos, Michael, and Martin Holborn. 2010. Sociology :themes and perspectives. Oxford University press. "Sociology of Culture" pp 663-673,
Apple, Michael W. 2000. “Cultural Politics and the Text.” Pp. 42–60 in Official Knowledge. London: Routledge.
Haralambos, Michael, and Martin Holborn. 2010. Sociology :themes and perspectives. Oxford University press. "Sociology of Culture" pp 674-709. Section on identity.
Additional Readings
Apple, Michael W. 1989. “Textbook Publishing: The Political and Economic Influences.” Theory into Practice 28(4):282–288.
Apple, Michael. 2001. “Educational and curricular restructuring and the neo-liberal and neo-conservative agendas: an interview with Michael Apple.” Curriculo sem Fronteiras 1(1):i–xxvi.
Azhar, A. S. (2007, October 14). Indoctrinating young minds. The News on Sunday. Retrieved from http://www.sacw.net/HateEducation/biasedtextsOct1407.html
Apoorvananad. (2007, January 20). Return of the rightwing textbook. Tehelka. Retrieved
Barth, Frederik. 1995. "Ethnicity and the concept of culture". Paper presented to the conference "Rethinking Culture", Harvard 1995.
Barth, Frederik. 2005. "Ethnicity and the concept of culture".
Bernstein, Basil. 2004. “Social class and pedagogic practice.” Pp. 196–217 in The Routledge Falmer reader in sociology of education, edited by Stephen J. Ball. London and New York: Routledge Falmer.
Foucault, Michel. 1991. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Vintage Press. Chapter "Panopticism". pp 195-203
Gellner, Ernest. 1983. Nations and Nationalism. Oxford: Blackwell. pp 24-38. At least pp 35-38.
Gramsci, Antonio. 2000. The Antonio Gramsci Reader: Selected Writings 1916-1935. NYU Press. "Intellectuals" pp 301-311.
Kumar, Krishna. Prejudice and Pride: School Histories of the Freedom Struggle in India and Pakistan. Penguin Books, 2003.
Manto, Sadat Hasan Manto. "Toba Tek Singh".
Marx, Karl. 1968/1846. The German Ideology. "The essence of the materialist conception of history: social being and social consciousness". "The ruling class and ruling ideas".
McLaren, Peter. 2006. Life in Schools: An Introduction to Critical Pedagogy in the Foundations of Education. 5th ed. Allyn & Bacon. "Critical Pedagogy: An Overview"
Pathak, Avijit. 2008. Education and Moral Quest: Recalling the Forgotten. New Delhi: Aakaar.
Sen, Amartya. 2008. “Is nationalism a boon or a curse.” Economic & Political Weekly 43(10):39–44.
Williams, Raymond. 1960. Culture and Society: 1780-1950. New York: Anchor. pp "Marxism and culture"
Williams, Raymond. 1977. Marxism and Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp 55-72 "Ideology", pp 75-82 "Base and superstructure"
Willis, Paul. 1981. Learning to Labor: How Working Class Kids Get Working Class Jobs. Morningside. Columbia University Press. Extract: "Elements of a Culture"
Rizvi, Fazal. “The ‘Lads’ and the Cultural Topography of Race.” In Learning to Labor in New Times, edited by Nadine Dolby, Greg Dimitriadis, and Paul Willis, 83–92. Oxford: Routledge, 2004.
Tobin, Joseph, and Allison Henward. “Ethnographic Studies of Children, Youth and the Media.” In A Companion to the Anthropology of Education, edited by Bradley A.U. Levinson and Mica Pollock, 212–231. Blackwell, 2011.