The UPSC syllabus of Sociology optional is divided into two papers.
Paper I: Emergence of Sociology and Classical and Neo-Classical Theories
The first paper of the UPSC Sociology optional syllabus focuses on the emergence of sociology in Europe and the development of classical and neo-classical theories. This includes the work of sociologists such as Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Karl Marx. The syllabus also covers various facets of societies, such as social stratification, religion, family and kinship, political sociology, theories of development and dependency, and the nature and organization of work.
Paper II: Establishment of Sociology in India and Theoretical Approaches to Comprehend Social Reality in India
The second paper of the UPSC Sociology optional syllabus deals with the establishment of the discipline of sociology in India and theoretical approaches to comprehend social reality in India. This paper covers rural, industrial, political, and religious sociology of India. The main focus areas are the institution of caste, industrial development, welfare state, politics in India, family and kinship. This paper mainly focuses on the impacts of modernity on these social institutions.
Here are some of the key points that are covered in each paper:
Paper I
Emergence of sociology in Europe
Classical and neo-classical theories
Social stratification
Religion
Family and kinship
Political sociology
Theories of development and dependency
Nature and organization of work
Paper II
Establishment of sociology in India
Theoretical approaches to comprehend social reality in India
Rural sociology
Industrial sociology
Political sociology
Religious sociology
Institution of caste
Industrial development
Welfare state
Politics in India
Family and kinship
Impacts of modernity on social institutions
1. Sociology - The Discipline: (a) Modernity and social changes in Europe and emergence of Sociology. (b) Scope of the subject and comparison with other social sciences. (c) Sociology and common sense. | Introduction to the discipline: History, Scope, and Difference. Q. What is modernity? Q. Why did we require a new discipline to comprehend social reality? Q. How sociology studies social phenomenon? |
2. Sociology as Science: (a) Science, scientific method and critique. (b) Major theoretical strands of research methodology. (c) Positivism and its critique. (d) Fact value and objectivity. (e) Non-positivist methodologies. 3. Research Methods and Analysis: (a) Qualitative and quantitative methods. (b) Techniques of data collection. (c ) Variables, sampling, hypothesis, reliability and validity | Discussion on the concept of science and scientific methods, approaches to study social reality: Positivist, non-positivist, and anti-positivist approaches.
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4. (a) Karl Marx - Historical materialism, mode of production, alienation, class struggle. | Social theory and its role in deciphering social reality, Difference between classical social theory and contemporary social theory, Karl Marx and the emergence of a radical perspective to reality.
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4 (b) Emile Durkheim - Division of labour, social fact, suicide, religion and society | Scientific laws for society, role of individuals in society, structured norms and behaviours, modern society and quest for differentiation through specialisation, role of religion in society, anomie, and suicide.
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4 (c) Max Weber - Social action, ideal types, authority, bureaucracy, protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism | Role of subjectivity in social actions, modernity and rationalisation of social world, scientific models to study social reality, changes in ideas and the emergence of capitalism in Europe, political power: authority, bureaucracy, populism. • Why is social reality different from natural phenomenon? • What should be the method to interpret social reality? • How rationalisation of ideas created modern society with bureaucracy and capitalism? |
4.d. Talcott Parsons - Social system, pattern variables. (e) Robert K. Merton - Latent and manifest functions, conformity and deviance, reference groups. | Grand theory building, social system, role of culture in social change, dysfunctions of social structures, intended and unintended consequences, Individual and group aspirations, conformity and deviance, socialisation and formation of self. • Can there be a grand theory for societies? • Are all social institution functional? • What is the meaning of the term “functions”? • How are people’s aspirations constructed? • Are we all deviants? |
5. Stratification and Mobility : (a) Concepts - equality, inequality, hierarchy, exclusion, poverty and deprivation. (b) Theories of social stratification - Structural functionalist theory, Marxist theory, Weberian theory. (c) Dimensions - Social stratification of class, status groups, gender, ethnicity and race. (d) Social mobility - open and closed systems, types of mobility, sources and causes of mobility. | Concepts related to social inequality: dignity, discrimination, honour, exclusion, poverty, deprivation, mobility. Subsistence and basic needs, social goods, merit. Inequality and conflict. Introduction to feminist, race, ethnicity, and critical theories. • What are the social structures of inequality? • Is inequality functional? • Why is inequality not leading to chaos in societies? • How are the ideas of gender, race, and ethnicity constructed? • How social groups improve their position in social hierarchy? |
6. Works and Economic Life : (a) Social organization of work in different types of society - slave society, feudal society, industrial capitalist society. (b) Formal and informal organization of work. (c) Labour and society. | Nature and form of production system from traditional to modern societies, capitalism and changing organisation of work: Fordism, Post-Fordism and deskilling, dual economy (formal and informal organisation of work), Gig Economy, impact of changes in the organisation of work on labour. • How are production systems organised socially? • How capitalism initiated revolutionary changes in the social organisation of work? • What are the alternates to capitalistic organisation of work? • Has labour been disempowered in modern society? • How is gig economy intensifying the exploitation of labour? |
7. Politics and Society: (a) Sociological theories of power. (b) Power elite, bureaucracy, pressure groups and political parties. (c) Nation, state, citizenship, democracy, civil society, ideology. (d) Protest, agitation, social movements, collective action, revolution. | Introduction to theories of political sociology, concept of power, authority, elites, coercion, state, nation, civil society, globalisation, social movement, war, terrorism. • How politics impacts our private and public worlds? • Who are powerful? • Has the composition of rulers changed? • How have modern nation-states organised individuals and institutions? • How social groups react to the use of power? |
8. Religion and Society : (a) Sociological theories of religion. (b) Types of religious practices: animism, monism, pluralism, sects, cults. (c) Religion in modern society: religion and science, secularization, religious revivalism, fundamentalism. | Introduction to theories of religious sociology, emergence of religion, differentiation among religions into sects, cults, and denomination, new religious movements, revivalism and reformism, fundamentalism, religion and science. • Why societies constructed the institution of religion? • How is religion embedded in modern societies? • How religions evolve? |
9. Systems of Kinship: (a) Family, household, marriage. (b) Types and forms of family. (c) Lineage and descent. (d) Patriarchy and sexual division of labour. (e) Contemporary trends. | Introduction to theories of family and kinship, different forms of family and marriage, lineage and descent, family and the status of women, social change in the institution of family. • Is family a universal institution? • How is the institution of family embedded into other social institution? • How family impacts the status of women and children in society? • How are the institution of family and marriage changing? |
10. Social Change in Modern Society : (a) Sociological theories of social change. (b) Development and dependency. (c) Agents of social change. (d) Education and social change. (e) Science, technology and social change | Introduction to theories of social changes, concept of growth and development, modernisation theory, dependency theory, factors of social change, feminist and critical approaches to education, technology and global social change. • What causes global inequality and how can it be overcome? • Is social change linear or cyclical? • Is modern education bringing equality of opportunity to different social groups? |
Paper | II |
A. Introducing Indian Society : (i) Perspectives on the Study of Indian Society : (a) Indology (G.S. Ghurye). (b) Structural functionalism (M. N. Srinivas). (c) Marxist sociology (A. R. Desai). (ii) Impact of colonial rule on Indian society : (a) Social background of Indian nationalism. (b) Modernization of Indian tradition. | Comparison of the Indian society and western society, establishment of sociology in India, sociology for India vis-à-vis sociology of India, different approaches to Indian society: Indology, Structural Functionalism, Marxism, Dalit perspective, tribal perspective, subaltern perspective, cultural approach. • Why Indian society cannot be studied through European perspectives? • What were the forces responsible for the establishment of the sociology department in India? • Why was Indological approach rejected by the other schools of sociology? • What is the role of ethnography in sociological research? • How have modernisation process in India been approached by sociologists? |
B. (i) Rural and Agrarian Social Structure: (a) The idea of Indian village and village studies. (b) Agrarian social structure— evolution of land tenure system, land reforms. C. (ii) Rural and Agrarian Transformation in India: (a) Programmes of rural development, Community Development Programme, cooperatives, poverty alleviation schemes. (b) Green revolution and social change. © Changing modes of production in Indian agriculture. (d) Problems of rural labour, bondage, migration. B. (iv) Social Classes in India: (a) Agrarian class structure. | Introduction to rural sociology, village studies method, colonial, nationalist, and sociological perspectives of Indian village, Agrarian class structure, problems of rural labour, mode of production debate, welfare programs of Indian state for rural and agrarian transformation, impacts of the modernisation of agriculture on Indian society. • How Indian villages have been imagined by romantics, nationalists, and sociologists? • How colonial rule impacted rural economy? • How Indian state approached the question of rural and agrarian transformation in the postcolonial India? • How Green revolution impacted rural social structure? • Is India’s agrarian economy a capitalist one? |
B. (ii) Caste System: (a) Perspectives on the study of caste systems: G. S. Ghurye, M. N. Srinivas, Louis Dumont, Andre Beteille. (b) Features of caste system. (c) Untouchability-forms and perspectives | Introduction to caste sociology, caste as an analytical category to study Indian society, two approaches to study caste system: consensus and disjointed theories, different schools of thought on caste system, caste as ideology and identity, untouchability, multidimensional approach to caste. • How is caste approached as a social institution by different group of scholars? • Is caste an ideology? • How caste system impacts or gets impacted by other social institutions? • How is caste system changing in contemporary times? • How have sociologists looked at the practice of untouchability in India? |
(iii)Tribal Communities in India: (a) Definitional problems. (b) Geographical spread. (c) Colonial policies and tribes. (d) Issues of integration and autonomy. (v) Systems of Kinship in India: (a) Lineage and descent in India. (b) Types of kinship systems. (c) Family and marriage in India. (d) Household dimensions of the family. (e) Patriarchy, entitlements and sexual division of labour. | Introduction to tribal and family sociology of India, definition of tribe, theoretical approaches to tribes in India, evolution of state policies towards tribals in both colonial and postcolonial India, approaches to integration and autonomy of tribal societies, tribal religion, Adivasi consciousness, modernity and tribes, family in India, regional variation of kinship patterns, Household dimension to family, changes in marriage and kinship patterns in India, impact of family on women, contemporary trends. • What are the problems of defining tribes in India? • How colonial and postcolonial looked at the integration, autonomy, and development of tribes in India? • How tribal societies are enforcing their identity in contemporary politics? • How kinship patterns varied regionally in India? • Why household dimension to family presented a new description of changes in the family system in India? • How have family and kinship patterns changed in contemporary India? |
(vi) Religion and Society : (a) Religious communities in India. (b) Problems of religious minorities. C. (vii) e. Communalism, religious revivalism | Introduction to religious sociology of India, social structure of different religious groups of India, concept of minority, problems of religious minorities in India, religious revivalism, communalism: emergence and spread, Contemporary trends of communalism. • How have different religious communities created a plural society in India? • How is sociological explanation of minority different from legal and demographic definitions? • How has communalism changed its form and content in contemporary times? |
C. Social Changes in India: (i) Visions of Social Change in India: (a) Idea of development planning and mixed economy. (b) Constitution, law and social change. (c) Education and social change. | Social change in India, mixed economy, planning and liberalisation and social change in India, secular instruments of social change. • How postcolonial Indian state comprehended the idea of social change? • How are modern instruments of social change creating social change? |
(iii) Industrialization and Urbanisation in India: (a) Evolution of modern industry in India. (b) Growth of urban settlements in India. (c) Working class: structure, growth, class mobilization. (d) Informal sector, child labour. (e) Slums and deprivation in urban areas. B. (iv) Social Classes in India: (b) Industrial class structure. (c) Middle classes in India. | Introduction to urban and industrial sociology of India, genesis and evolution of industrialisation and urbanisation in India, primary and secondary urbanisation, Slums and its social significances, industrialisation and working class in India, Deindustrialisation debate, informalisation of Indian labour force, development of gig economy, problems of Indian industrial development, class structure in industries, middle and new middle classes. • How colonial policies shaped industrial development in India? • How industrialisation created a new form of urban settlements in India? • How has working class structure changed in the post-globalisation period? • Why slums are necessary for the growth of urban centres and it culture? • How is industrial class structure changed in India? • How has globalisation shaped the composition and culture of middle class? |
A. (ii) (c) Protests and movements during the colonial period. (d) Social reforms. C. (iv) Politics and Society : (a) Nation, democracy and citizenship. (b) Political parties, pressure groups, social and political elite. (c) Regionalism and decentralization of power. (d) Secularization. (v) Social Movements in Modern India : (a) Peasants and farmers movements. (b) Women’s movement. (c) Backward classes & Dalit movements. (d) Environmental movements. (e) Ethnicity and Identity movements. | Introduction to theories of Indian state and social movements, colonial and post-colonial people’s mobilisation, sociological understanding of citizenship, nationalism, democracy, political parties, civil society, pressure group, and Indian elites, local self-government, regionalism, sub nationalism. Different forms of mobilisation, social and new social movements, women and feminist/ farmers and new farmers/ self-respect movement/ Dalit and backward class movements/ environmental and identity movements. • How the conception of resistance have changed in postcolonial India? • How different political and apolitical groups negotiate with political authorities? • Why regionalism not a universal phenomenon among Indian states? • How is the structure of elites are changing in India? • How have social movements changed its form and content in India? |
(vii) Challenges of Social Transformation: (a) Crisis of development : displacement, environmental problems and sustainability. (b) Poverty, deprivation and inequalities. (c) Violence against women. (d) Caste conflicts. (e) Ethnic conflicts, (f) Illiteracy and disparities in education (vi) Population Dynamics : (a) Population size, growth, composition and distribution. (b) Components of population growth: birth, death, migration. (c) Population Policy and family planning. (d) Emerging issues: ageing, sex ratios, child and infant mortality, reproductive health. | Difference between social change and social transformation, Development and anti-development theories, differential impacts of developments on different social groups, social conflicts in India based on gender, caste, ethnicity, as well as access to social goods. • Does the concept of development improve the socio-economic status of all social groups? • Why is violence against women normalised in society? • Have conflicts based on ascriptive identities changed nature and form in postcolonial India? • How has the access to social resources impacted the location of different social groups in social hierarchy? • Why are demographic changes create anxiety in society? |
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