Paper 1

Sociology: The Discipline

• Modernity and social changes in Europe and the emergence of Sociology.
• Scope of the subject and comparison with other social sciences.
• Sociology and common sense.

Sociology as a Science

• Science, scientific method, and critique.
• Major theoretical strands of research methodology.
• Positivism and its critique.
• Fact value and objectivity.
•  Non-positivist methodologies

Research Methods and Analysis

• Qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Techniques of data collection.
• Variables, sampling, hypothesis, reliability, and validity.

Sociological Thinkers

• 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, the protestant ethic, and the spirit of capitalism.
• Talcott Parsons – Social system, pattern variables.
• Robert K. Merton – Latent and manifest functions, conformity and deviance, reference groups.
• Mead – Self and identity.

Stratification and Mobility

• Concepts – equality, inequality, hierarchy, exclusion, poverty, and deprivation.
• Theories of social stratification – Structural functionalist theory, Marxist theory, Weberian theory.
• Dimensions – Social stratification of class, status groups, gender, ethnicity, and race.
• Social mobility – open and closed systems, types of mobility, sources, and causes of mobility.

Works and Economic Life

• The social organization of work in different types of society – slave society, feudal society, industrial capitalist society.
• Formal and informal organization of work.
• Labour and society.

Politics and Society

• Sociological theories of power.
• Power elite, bureaucracy, pressure groups, and political parties.
• Nation, state, citizenship, democracy, civil society, ideology.
• Protest, agitation, social movements, collective action, revolution.

Religion and Society

• Sociological theories of religion.
• Types of religious practices: animism, monism, pluralism, sects, cults.
• Religion in modern society: religion and science, secularization, religious 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 social change.
• Education and social change.
• Science, technology, and social change.

Paper 2

 Introducing Indian Society

• Perspectives on the Study of Indian Society: Indology (G.S. Ghure); Structural functionalism (M. N. Srinivas); Marxist sociology (A. R. Desai).
• Impact of colonial rule on Indian society: Social background of Indian nationalism; Modernization of Indian tradition; Protests and movements during the colonial period; Social reforms.

Social Structure

• Rural and Agrarian Social Structure: The idea of Indian village and village studies; Agrarian social structure— evolution of land tenure system, land reforms.
• Caste System: Perspectives on the study of caste systems: G. S. Ghurye, M. N. Srinivas, Louis Dumont, Andre Beteille; Features of caste system; 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 in India; Household dimensions of the family; Patriarchy, entitlements and sexual division of labour.
• Religion and Society : Religious communities in India; Problems of religious minorities.

Social Changes in India

• Visions of Social Change in India: Idea of development planning and mixed economy; Constitution, law and social change; Education and social change.
• Rural and Agrarian Transformation in India: Programmes of rural development, Community Development Programme, cooperatives, poverty alleviation schemes; Green revolution and social change; Changing modes of production in Indian agriculture; Problems of rural labour, bondage, migration.
• Industrialization and Urbanisation in India: Evolution of modern industry in India; Growth of urban settlements in India; Working class: structure, growth, class mobilization; Informal sector, child labour; Slums and deprivation in urban areas.
• Politics and Society: Nation, democracy and citizenship; Political parties, pressure groups, social and political elite; Regionalism and decentralization of power; Secularization.
• Social Movements in Modern India: Peasants and farmers movements; Women’s movement; Backward classes & Dalit movements; Environmental movements; Ethnicity and Identity movements.
• Population Dynamics: Population size, growth, composition and distribution; Components of population growth: birth, death, migration; Population Policy and family planning; emerging issues: ageing, sex ratios, child and infant mortality, reproductive health.
• Challenges of Social Transformation: Crisis of development : displacement, environmental problems and sustainability; Poverty, deprivation and inequalities; Violence against women; Caste conflicts; Ethnic conflicts, communalism, religious revivalism; Illiteracy and disparities in education