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Syllabus of Sociology Paper - I


FUNDAMENTALS OF SOCIOLOGY

  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.
  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.
  4. Sociological Thinkers:
    (a) Karl Marx - Historical materialism, mode of production, alienation, class struggle. 
    (b) Emile Durkhteim - Division of labour, social fact, suicide, religion and society.
    (c) Max Weber - Social action, ideal types, authority, bureaucracy, protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism.
    (d) Talcolt Parsons - Social system, pattern variables.
    (e) Robert K. Merton - Latent and manifest functions, conformity and deviance, reference groups.
    (f) Mead - Self and identity.
  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.
  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.
  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.
  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.
  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) Contem porary trends.
  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.

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Syllabus of Sociology Paper - II


INDIAN SOCIETY: STRUCTURE AND CHANGE

A. Introducing Indian Society:

  1. Perspectives on the Study of Indian Society:
    (a) Indology (G.S. Ghure). 
    (b) Structural functionalism (M. N. Srinivas). 
    (c) Marxist sociology (A. R. Desai).
  2. Impact of colonial rule on Indian society:
    (a) Social background of Indian nationalism. 
    (b) Modernization of Indian tradition.
    (c) Protests and movements during the colonial period.
    (d) Social reforms.

B. Social Structure:

  1. 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.
  2. 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
  3. Tribal Communities in India: 
    (a) Definitional problems.
    (b) Geographical spread.
    (c) Colonial policies and tribes.
    (d) Issues of integration and autonomy. 
  4. Social Classes in India:
    (a) Agrarian class structure.
    (b) Industrial class structure.
    (c) Middle classes in India.
  5. 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.
  6. Religion and Society:
    (a) Religious communities in India.
    (b) Problems of religious minorities.

C. Social Changes in India:

  1. 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.
  2. Rural and Agrarian Transformation in India:
    (a) Programmes of rural development, Community Development Programme, cooperatives, poverty alleviation schemes.
    (b) Green revolution and social change.
    (c) Changing modes of production in Indian agriculture.
    (d) Problems of rural labour, bondage, migration.
  3. 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.
  4. 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. 
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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, communalism, religious revivalism. 
    (f) Illiteracy and disparities in education. 

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Previous Year UPSC Questions

2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
2020 2019 2018 2017
2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
2020 2019 2018 2017

Paper-1


SECTION ‘A’

  1. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each: 10×5=50
    (a) What is common sense? How are common knowledge and sociology related to each other? Explain.
    (b) What is the relationship (similarities and differences) between sociology and history in terms of their area of study and methodology? Discuss.
    (c) What is a variable in social research? What are their different types? Elaborate.
    (d) Can Merton's reference group theory be relevant in understanding 'identity making' in digital world? Explain.
    (e) Is the social stratification theory gender-blind? Elucidate.
  2. (a) What is positivism? Critically analyze the major arguments against it. 20
    (b) Highlight the main features of historical materialism as propounded by Marx. How far is this theory relevant in understanding contemporary societies? Explain. 20
    (c) What do you mean by reliability? Discuss the importance of reliability in social science research.
  3. (a) Compare capability deprivation approach with that of social capital deprivation in understanding chronic poverty. 20
    (b) Are pressure groups a threat to or a necessary element of democracy? Explain with suitable illustrations. 20
    (c) What is hypothesis? Critically evaluate the significance of hypothesis in social research. 10
  4. (a) Give an account of the recent trends of marriage in the Indian context. How are these different from traditional practices? 20
    (b) What would you identify as the similarities and differences in the elite theories of Mosca, Michels and Pareto? Discuss their main/crucial issues. 20
    (c) Critically analyze the sociological significance of informal sector in the economy of developing societies. 10

SECTION ‘B’

  1. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each: 10×5=50
    (a) In what way is the scope of sociology unique? Explain.
    (b) Does the structural-functionalist perspective on social stratification promote a status quo? Give reasons for your answer.
    (c) Do you think that the formal workspaces are free of gender bias? Argue your case.
    (d) How does Weber's Verstehen address the objectivity-subjectivity debate in sociology?
    (e) To what extent can education and skill development be an agent of social change? Critically analyze.
  2. (a) What is science? Do you think that the methods used in natural sciences can be applied to sociology? Give reasons for your answer. 20
    (b) What do you understand by gender-based domestic division of labour? Is it undergoing a change in the wake of increasing participation of women in formal employment? Clarify your answer with illustrations. 20
    (c) How can you assess the significance of social movements in the digital era? Explain. 10
  3. (a) What is sampling in the context of social research? Discuss different forms of sampling with their relative advantages and disadvantages. 20
    (b) How do theories of Marx, Weber and Durkheim differ in understanding religion? Explain. 20
    (c) What is the nature of relationship between science and religion in modern society? Analyze with suitable examples. 10
  4. (a) What do you understand by sustainable development? Discuss the elements of sustainable development as proposed in the UNDP's Sustainable Development Goals Report-2015. 20
    (b) How do 'Civil Society Organizations' such as 'NGOs' and 'Self-Help Groups' contribute to grassroot level social changes? Discuss. 20
    (c) In what way does queer kinship challenge the traditional kinship system? Substantiate by giving illustrations. 10

Paper-2


SECTION ‘A’

  1. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each: 10×5=50
    (a) 'Textual perspective is important in understanding of Indian Social System.' Discuss.
    (b) Justify that the Indian traditions are modernizing. Also discuss its contributing factors.
    (c) According to you, which social reform movement has played the most effective role in uplifting the status of women? Explain.
    (d) How did Colonial Policies for the tribes affected their socio-economic conditions in India? Discuss.
    (e) How would you appropriate to characterise G. S. Ghurye as a practitioner of 'theoretical pluralism'?
  2. (a) Do you think that in a society like India orthogenetic changes take place through differentiation? Do you observe continuities in the orthogenetic process ? Elaborate your answer with suitable examples. 20
    (b) 'Agrarian class structure has been undergoing changes due to modern forces.' Critically examine. 20
    (c) How same sex marriages are responsible for population dynamics in India? Discuss. 10
  3. (a) What do you mean by nation building? What is the role of religion in nation building? Elaborate your answer. 20
    (b) Do you think that new economic reforms of British rule have disrupted the old economic system of India? Substantiate your answer with suitable examples. 20
    (c) Describe the main features of Indian new middle class. How is it different from the old middle class? 10
  4. (a) Who is said to be the pioneer of village studies in India? Illustratively describe contributions of some Indian sociologists on village studies. How their approaches are distinct from each other? 20
    (b) "Industrial class structure is a function of social structure of Indian society." Do you agree with this statement? Analyze. 20
    (c) What is kinship? Briefly explain G. P. Murdock's contribution to the study of the kinship system. 10

SECTION ‘B’

  1. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each: 10×5=50
    (a) 'The transfer of land from cultivating to the non-cultivating owners is bringing about transformation in Indian society.' Justify your answer by giving suitable illustrations.
    (b) Bring out various factors responsible for declining of village Industries in India.
    (c) Discuss the social bases of political mobilization in Independent India. Has some change occurred in these during the last 60-70 years?
    (d) What are the major problems faced by the labour migrants while working in informal sectors of Indian States? Discuss.
    (e) Do you think that law has been able to abolish child labour in India? Comment.
  2. (a) In what respects have the constitutional provisions changed the socio-economic and political conditions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in India? Critically examine. 20
    (b) Discuss the trend of urbanization in India. Do you think that Industrialization is the only precondition of urbanization? Give you arguments. 20
    (c) Which measures would you suggest for preventing caste conflicts in India ? Justify your argument. 10
  3. (a) What are the Private and Public network and support systems operative in Indian society for the aged? Suggest measures to curb down the challenges before care givers of the aged. 20
    (b) "Educational development is the only Panacea for country's all ills and evils." Critically examine the above statement with reference to NEP-2020. 20
    (c) How Dalit movements in India have facilitated their Identity formation? Analyze. 10
  4. (a) Is it possible to have sustainable development in India? Cite major environmental issues and suggest a few measures to achieve the sustainability. 20
    (b) Do you think that forced displacement of labourers has caused their deprivation and resultant inequalities during the recent past years? Elaborate. 20
    (c) What are the Indian government's schemes launched for poverty alleviation after the United Nation's Declaration of 'Sustainable Development Goals - 2015' ? Briefly describe. 10

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