 Dear students, in this module, we are going to discuss the process of de-socialization and re-socialization. This process is directly related to Erwin Goffman's concept of total institutions. Total institutions are the places where people are completely immersed in the activities of institutions and cut off from the outside world, such as prisons, mental hospitals, and military boot camps. So, generally, it is because of your socialization that you are playing different roles, in any society, whether it is a family institution, an education institution, a religious institution, or a political institution. The concept of total institution is that your life is held within a single institution, and that is the role of the rest of the institutions. So, that becomes a total institution. For example, in prison or jail, the rest of your socialization agents are disconnected from you and your entire life is held within a single institution. The purpose of total institution is to de-socialize individuals from their previous identities and then re-socialize them with the new values, attitudes, and behaviors that are deemed appropriate for that institution. So, what happens in prison is that the prison or any institution where you are only in need of a single institution determines all your norms, values, and practices. And not only does it influence the socialization of your previous life, it affects it, but it has to be unlearned and re-learned in a new environment. So, in the process of unlearning and re-learning, we are de-socializing and then re-socializing. So, de-socialization is the process of breaking down an individual's previous identity by removing their personal possessions, clothing, and hairstyle, and creating a standardized environment where everyone is treated like a same person. So, de-socialization is a process of building a new identity for an individual by teaching them new norms, values, behaviors that are in line with the institutional culture, and this can involve a variety of techniques including reward and punishment mechanism. As you know, this mechanism becomes very effective in the learning process. Peer pressure and intense indoctrination. Some critics of total institution argue that they can be de-humanizing and lead to the loss of individuality and autonomy as individuals become overly dependent on the institution for their identity and sense of self. So, it is considered a kind of de-humanizing process in which your conventional socializing agents are cut off from you or you have to re-socialize yourself while living in a specific environment. In Pakistan, examples of total institution include military academies, correctional institutions, and religious seminaries like madrassas where the individuals are subjected to intense socialization and often experience de-socialization and re-socialization as part of their training.