SOCIOLOGY
PAPER-I
PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY
Sociology – Meaning, nature and
scope, emergence of sociology, its relationship with
other social sciences, importance
of sociology.
Study of Social Phenomena –
Social research, the scientific method, objectivity and
subjectivity in social sciences.
Basic Concepts – Association,
institution, community, social groups, culture.
Social Structure – Status, role,
norms and values.
The Individual and Society -
Individual and society, socialization; culture and personality;
leadership, social control.
Institutions – Family, marriage
and kinship-forms, functions and their changing
dimension, education, religion,
power and authority.
Social Stratification – Meaning,
forms and functions; caste, class and their changing
dimensions; future of caste.
Types of Societies – Rural, urban
and tribal communities-distinctive characteristic, ruralurban
continuum, problems of tribal
people, tribal development.
The Pioneers in Sociology –
Augste Comte- positivism; Karl Marx- materialist conception
of history and class struggle;
Max Weber- authority and power, the Protestant ethic and spirit of
capitalism ; and Durkheim- social
solidarity, division of labour and its pathological forms.
Social Change – Meaning, factors
and theories of social change; processes of social
change – sanskritization,
westernization, and modernization; globalization and socio-economic
change; trends of change in
Indian society.
Science, Technology and Society –
Social responsibility of science and technology; human
critique of science and
technology, environmental issues- pollution of air, water and soil; energy
crisis; social impact assessment,
environmental awareness, people’s action.
Population and Society - Interface
between population and social development, population
problems, population policy,
population controls.
Note: The candidate will be
accepted to illustrate theory by facts and to analyze problems with
the help of theory. They will be accepted to be particularly
conversant with Indian problems.__
PAPER-II
SOCIETY IN INDIA
Indian Society – Traditional
bases - Varnashrama and dharma; unity and diversity; cultural
pluralism and Unitarianism.
The Structure and Composition of
Indian Society – villages, towns and cities; rural-urban
linkages; tribes- problems,
constitutional safeguards and development; weaker sections- dalits,
women and minorities, population
profile and related issues.
Basic Institutions – Family-
forms and changing dimensions; marriage- forms, functions
and changing dimensions; kinship-
types and regional variations.
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Indian Caste System – Origin of
caste, its socio-economic and cultural dimensions, issues
of equality and social justice;
scheduled castes and backward classes -problems, safeguards and
welfare.
Rural Class Structure – Classes
in India, agrarian classes, peasant movements, land reforms,
commercialization of agriculture
and change in land use pattern, emerging agrarian unrest,
leadership and its changing
dimensions.
Social Change – Impact of reform
movements, social movements and factors of planned
change-Five Year Plans,
legislative and executive measures; impact of liberalization,
privatization and globalization;
trends of change.
Power Structure – Working of the
democratic political system in a traditional society; sociocultural
basis of political parties;
panchayati raj and urban local self-government.
Issues and Problems – Poverty,
inequalities of caste and gender; dowry, domestic violence,
intergenerational conflict,
problems of elderly; regional disparities; ecological degradation and
environmental pollution; white collar crime, corruption, drug
addiction, suicide.
