HPAS SOCIOLOGY SYLLABUS

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.