Sociology

A. Introducing Sociology

Unit 1: Society and Sociology and Relationship with other Social Sciences

• Introducing Society: Individuals and collectivities. Plural Perspectives
• Introducing Sociology: Emergence. Nature and Scope. Relationship to other disciplines

Unit 2: Basic Concepts and their use in Sociology

• Social Groups
• Status and Role
• Social Stratification
• Society & Social Control

Unit 3: Understanding Social Institutions

• Family, Marriage and Kinship
• Work & Economic Life
• Political Institutions
• Religion as a Social Institution
• Education as a Social Institution

Unit 4: Culture and Socialization

• Culture, Values and Norms: Shared, Plural, Contested
• Socialization: Conformity, Conflict and the Shaping of Personality

Unit 5: Doing Sociology: Research Methods

• Methods: Participant Observation, Survey
• Tools and Techniques: Observation, Interview, Questionaire
• The Significance of Field Work in Sociology

B. Understanding Society

Unit 6: Structure, Process and Stratification

• Social Structure
• Social Stratification: Class, Caste, Race, Gender
• Social Processes: Cooperation, Competition, Conflict

Unit 7: Social Change and Social order in Rural & Urban Society

• Social Change: Types and Dimensions; Causes and Consequences
• Social Order: Domination, Authority and Law; Contestation, Crime and Violence
• Village, Town and City: Changes in Rural and Urban Society

Unit 8: Environment and Society

• Ecology and Society
• Environmental Crises and Social Responses
• Sustainable Development

Unit 9: Introducing Western Sociologists

• Karl Marx on Class Conflict
• Emile Durkheim on Division of Labour
• Max Weber on Bureaucracy

Unit 10: Indian Sociologists

• G.S. Ghurye on Race and Caste
• D.P. Mukherjee on Tradition and Change
• A.R. Desai on the State
• M.N. Srinivas on the Village