Syllabus for Sociology Optional

Sociology is the scientific study of society, social relationships including patterns of social communication and culture. It uses a variety of methods to investigate and analyze the body of knowledge about social order, transformation, and change. The syllabus allotted for UPSC Mains Sociology optional is narrow as compared to the other subjects.

Fundamentals of Sociology

• Sociology – The Discipline:
  • Modernity and social changes in Europe and the 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 labor, social fact, suicide, religion, and society.
  • Max Weber- Social action, ideal types, authority, bureaucracy, the 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.
• 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:
  • The 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.
  • The 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 the sexual division of labor.
  • 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.

Indian Society: Structure and 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 :
    • The 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 – the 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 the 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.
  • Religion and Society:
    • Religious communities in India.
    • Problems of religious minorities.
    • Patriarchy, entitlements, and the sexual division of labor
• Social Changes in India:
  • Visions of Social Change in India:
    • The idea of development planning and a mixed economy.
    • Constitution, law, and social change.
    • Education and social change.
    • Rural and Agrarian transformation in India:
    • Programs 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 labor, 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.
    • The informal sector, child labor.
    • 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: aging, 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.