Sociology Optional

Modernity and social changes in Europe and emergence of sociology

Scope of the subject and comparison with other social sciences

Sociology and common sense

Science, scientific method and critique

Major theoretical strands of research methodology

Positivism and its critique

Fact value and objectivity

Non-positivist methodologies

Qualitative and quantitative methods

Techniques of data collection

Variables, sampling, hypothesis, reliability and validity

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

Robert K. Merton

• Latent and manifest functions

• Conformity and deviance

• Reference groups

Mead

• Self and identity

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

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

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

Sociological theories of religion

Types of religious practices — animism, monism, pluralism, sects, cults

Religion in modern society — religion and science, secularization, religious revivalism, fundamentalism

Family, household, marriage

Types and forms of family

Lineage and descent

Patriarchy and sexual division of labour

Contemporary trends

Sociological theories of social change

Development and dependency

Agents of social change

Education and social change

Science, technology and social change

Perspectives on the study of Indian society

• Indology — G.S. Ghurye

• 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

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

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 and Dalit movement

• 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