Sociology Optional Syllabus UPSC Mains Exam

Sociology Syllabus Paper – I → Fundamentals of Sociology

Sociology – The Discipline

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

Sociology as 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, protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism.
• Talcolt 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

• 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.

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Sociology Syllabus Paper – II → Indian Society → Structure & Change

Introducing Indian Society

• Perspectives on the study of Indian society

• Indology (GS. 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

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 → GS 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 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

 

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