Sociology Optional

Sociology: The Discipline

Modernity and emergence of Sociology, scope and comparison with social sciences, sociology and common sense

Sociology as a Science

Scientific method and critique, positivism and its critique, fact-value-objectivity, non-positivist methodologies

Research Methods and Analysis

Qualitative and quantitative methods, data collection techniques, variables, sampling, hypothesis, reliability and validity

Stratification and Mobility

Concepts of equality, inequality, hierarchy; theories of stratification; class, status, gender, ethnicity; social mobility types

Works and Economic Life

Social organisation of work across slave, feudal and industrial capitalist societies; formal and informal organisations; labour and society

Politics and Society

Sociological theories of power, power elite, bureaucracy, nation-state, citizenship, democracy, social movements

Religion and Society

Sociological theories of religion, types of religious practices, religion in modern society — secularisation, revivalism, fundamentalism

Systems of Kinship

Family, household, marriage; types and forms of family; lineage and descent; patriarchy and sexual division of labour; contemporary trends

Social Change in Modern Society

Sociological theories of social change, development and dependency, agents of change, education, science and technology

Karl Marx

Historical materialism, mode of production, alienation, class struggle

Emile Durkheim

Division of labour, social fact, suicide, religion and society

Max Weber

Social action, ideal types, authority, bureaucracy, Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

Talcott Parsons

Social system, pattern variables, AGIL framework, structural functionalism

Robert K. Merton

Latent and manifest functions, conformity and deviance, reference groups, middle-range theory

G.H. Mead

Self and identity, I and Me, symbolic interactionism, role of significant others

Introducing Indian Society

Indology (Ghurye), structural functionalism (Srinivas), Marxist sociology (AR Desai) — three perspectives on studying Indian society

Impact of Colonial Rule on Indian Society

Social background of nationalism, modernization of Indian tradition, colonial protests, social reforms

Rural and Agrarian Social Structure

Idea of Indian village and village studies, agrarian social structure, land tenure system, land reforms

Caste System

Perspectives of Ghurye, Srinivas, Dumont and Beteille; features of caste; untouchability — forms and perspectives

Tribal Communities in India

Definitional problems, geographical spread, colonial policies and tribes, issues of integration and autonomy

Social Classes in India

Agrarian class structure, industrial class structure, middle classes in India

Systems of Kinship in India

Lineage and descent in India, types of kinship systems, family and marriage, household dimensions

Religion and Society in India

Religious communities in India, problems of religious minorities, patriarchy and sexual division of labour

Visions of Social Change in India

Development planning and mixed economy, constitution and law as agents of change, education and social change

Rural and Agrarian Transformation in India

Rural development programmes, green revolution, changing production modes, rural labour, bondage and migration

Industrialization and Urbanisation in India

Modern industry in India, urban settlements, working class, informal sector, child labour, slums and deprivation

Politics and Society in India

Nation, democracy and citizenship, political parties and elite, regionalism and decentralization, secularization

Social Movements in Modern India

Peasant, women, backward classes and Dalit, environmental, and ethnicity and identity movements

Population Dynamics

Population size, growth, composition; birth, death, migration; population policy and family planning; emerging issues

Challenges of Social Transformation

Crisis of development, poverty and deprivation, violence against women, caste and ethnic conflicts, communalism, illiteracy