Sociology Comprehensive Course with Mentorship

Date Day Topic

1. Sociology - The Discipline
15 July Monday
(a) Modernity and social changes in Europe and emergence of Sociology.
(b) Scope of subject and comparison with other social sciences.
16 July Tuesday
(c) Sociology and common sense.
2. Sociology as Science
17 July Wednesday (a) Science, scientific method and critique.
(b) Major theoretical strands of research methodology.
(c) Positivism and its critique.
18 July Thursday
(d) Fact value and objectivity.
19 July Friday (e) Non-positivist methodologies
20 July Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session
21 July Sunday
3. Research Methods and Analysis
22 July Monday
(a) Qualitative and quantitative methods.
(b) Techniques of data collection.
23 July Tuesday
(c) Variables, sampling, hypothesis, reliability and validity.
4. Sociological Thinkers
24 July Wednesday (a) Karl Marx - Historical Materialism, mode of production, alienation, class struggle. Part 1
of 4
(a) Karl Marx - Historical Materialism, mode of production, alienation, class struggle - Part
25 July Thursday
2 of 4
(a) Karl Marx - Historical Materialism, mode of production, alienation, class struggle - Part
26 July Friday
3 of 4
27 July Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session
28 July Sunday
(a) Karl Marx - Historical Materialism, mode of production, alienation, class struggle - Part
29 July Monday
4 of 4
4. (b) Emile Durkheim - Division of labour, social fact, suicide, religion and society - Part 1
30 July Tuesday
of 3
(b) Emile Durkheim - Division of labour, social fact, suicide, religion and society - Part 2 of
31 July Wednesday
3
(b) Emile Durkheim - Division of labour, social fact, suicide, religion and society - Part 3 of
1 August Thursday
3
4. (c) Max Weber - Social action, ideal types, authority, bureaucracy, protestant ethic and the
2 August Friday
spirit of capitalism. - Part 1 of 3
3 August Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session
4 August Sunday
(c) Max Weber - Social action, ideal types, authority, bureaucracy, protestant ethic and the
5 August Monday
spirit of capitalism. - Part 2 of 3
(c) Max Weber - Social action, ideal types, authority, bureaucracy, protestant ethic and the
6 August Tuesday
spirit of capitalism. - Part 3 of 3
7 August Wednesday 4. (d) Talcott Parsons - Social system, pattern variables. - Part 1 of 3
8 August Thursday (d) Talcott Parsons - Social system, pattern variables. - Part 2 of 3
9 August Friday (d) Talcott Parsons - Social system, pattern variables. - Part 3 of 3
10 August Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session
11 August Sunday
 4. (e) Robert K. Merton - Latent and manifest functions, conformity and deviance, reference
12 August Monday
groups. - Part 1 of 2
(e) Robert K. Merton - Latent and manifest functions, conformity and deviance, reference
13 August Tuesday
groups. - Part 2 of 2
14 August Wednesday 4. (f) Mead - Self and identity. Part 1 of 2
15 August Thursday Independence Day
16 August Friday (f) Mead - Self and identity. Part 2 of 2
17 August Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session
18 August Sunday
5. Stratification and Mobility
19 August Monday
(a) Concepts - equality, inequality, hierarchy, exclusion, poverty and deprivation.
(b) Theories of social stratification - Structural functionalist theory, Marxist theory,
20 August Tuesday
Weberian theory.
21 August Wednesday (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
22 August Thursday
mobility - Part 1 of 2
(d) Social mobility - open and closed systems, types of mobility, sources and causes of
23 August Friday
mobility - Part 2 of 2
24 August Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session
25 August Sunday
26 August Monday Buffer Day
6. Works and Economic Life
27 August Tuesday (a) Social organization of work in different types of society - slave society, feudal society,
industrial capitalist society.
28 August Wednesday (b) Formal and informal organization of work.
29 August Thursday (c) Labour and society.
30 August Friday Buffer Day
31 August Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session
1 September Sunday
7. Politics and Society
2 September Monday
(a) Sociological theories of power.
3 September Tuesday (b) Power elite, bureaucracy, pressure groups and political parties.
4 September Wednesday (c) Nation, state, citizenship, democracy, civil society, ideology.
5 September Thursday (d) Protest, agitation, social movements, collective action, revolution - Part 1 of 2
6 September Friday (d) Protest, agitation, social movements, collective action, revolution - Part 2 of 2
7 September Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session
8 September Sunday
8. Religion and Society
9 September Monday
(a) Sociological theories of religion.
10 September Tuesday (b) Types of religious practices: animism, monism, pluralism, sects, cults.
(c) Religion in modern society: religion and science, secularization, religious revivalism,
11 September Wednesday
fundamentalism.
9. Systems of Kinship
12 September Thursday
(a) Family, household, marriage.
(b) Types and forms of family.
13 September Friday
(c) Lineage and descent.
14 September Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session
15 September Sunday
(d) Patriarchy and sexual division of labour.
16 September Monday
(e) Contemporary trends.
10. Social Change in Modern Society
17 September Tuesday
(a) Sociological theories of social change.
(b) Development and dependency.
18 September Wednesday
(c) Agents of social change.
 (d) Education and social change.
19 September Thursday
(e) Science, technology and social change.
20 September Friday End of Paper 1 - Buffer Day
21 September Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session
22 September Sunday
23 September Monday Revision Break - Revise Paper 1
24 September Tuesday Revision Break - Revise Paper 1
25 September Wednesday Revision Break - Revise Paper 1
26 September Thursday Revision Break - Revise Paper 1
27 September Friday Revision Break - Revise Paper 1
28 September Saturday Revision Break - Revise Paper 1
29 September Sunday
A. Introducing Indian Society
30 September Monday A. (i) Perspectives on the Study of Indian Society
(a) Indology (G.S. Ghurye)
1 October Tuesday (b) Structural functionalism (M.N. Srinivas)
2 October Wednesday Gandhi Jayanti
3 October Thursday (c) Marxist sociology (A.R. Desai)
A. (ii) Impact of colonial rule on Indian society
4 October Friday
(a) Social background of Indian nationalism.
5 October Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session
6 October Sunday
7 October Monday (b) Modernization of Indian tradition.
(c) Protests and movements during the colonial period.
8 October Tuesday
(d) Social reforms.
B. Social Structure
9 October Wednesday (i) Rural and Agrarian Social Structure
(a) The idea of Indian village and village studies.
10 October Thursday (b) Agrarian social structure - evolution of land tenure system, land reforms.
B. (ii) Caste System
11 October Friday (a) Perspectives on the study of caste systems: G.S. Ghurye, M.N. Srinivas, Louis Dumont,
Andre Beteille.
12 October Saturday Dussehra
13 October Sunday
14 October Monday (b) Features of caste system.
15 October Tuesday (c) Untouchability-forms and perspectives
B. (iii) Tribal Communities in India
16 October Wednesday (a) Definitional problems.
(b) Geographical spread.
(c) Colonial policies and tribes.
17 October Thursday
(d) Issues of integration and autonomy.
B. (iv) Social Classes in India
18 October Friday
(a) Agrarian class structure.
19 October Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session
20 October Sunday
(b) Industrial class structure.
21 October Monday
(c) Middle classes in India.
B. (v) Systems of Kinship in India
22 October Tuesday
(a) Lineage and descent in India.
(b) Types of kinship systems.
23 October Wednesday
(c) Family and marriage in India.
(d) Household dimensions of the family.
24 October Thursday
(e) Patriarchy, entitlements and sexual division of labour.
 B. (vi) Religion and Society
25 October Friday (a) Religious communities in India.
(b) Problems of religious minorities.
26 October Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session
27 October Sunday
C. Social Changes in India
C. (i) Visions of Social Change in India
28 October Monday
(a) Idea of development planning and mixed economy.
(b) Constitution, law and social change.
29 October Tuesday (c) Education and social change.
30 October Wednesday Diwali Break
31 October Thursday Diwali Break
1 November Friday Diwali Break
2 November Saturday Diwali Break
3 November Sunday Diwali Break
4 November Monday Diwali Break
5 November Tuesday Diwali Break
C. (ii) Rural and Agrarian Transformation in India
a) Programmes of rural development, Community Development Programme, cooperatives,
6 November Wednesday
poverty alleviation schemes.

(b) Green revolution and social change.

7 November Thursday
(c) Changing modes of production in Indian agriculture.

8 November Friday
(d) Problems of rural labour, bondage, migration.
9 November Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session
10 November Sunday
C. (iii) Industrialization and Urbanisation in India
11 November Monday (a) Evolution of modern industry in India.
(b) Growth of urban settlements in India.
(c) Working class : structure, growth, class mobilization.
12 November Tuesday
(d) Informal sector, child labour.
13 November Wednesday (e) Slums and deprivation in urban areas.
C. (iv) Politics and Society
14 November Thursday (a) Nation, democracy and citizenship.
(b) Political parties, pressure groups, social and political elite.
(c) Regionalism and decentralization of power.
15 November Friday
(d) Secularization.
16 November Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session
17 November Sunday
C. (v) Social Movements in Modern India
18 November Monday
(a) Peasants and farmers' movements.
19 November Tuesday (b) Women's movement.
(c) Backward classes & Dalit movements.
20 November Wednesday (d) Environmental movements.
(e) Ethnicity and Identity movements.
C. (vi) Population Dynamics
21 November Thursday
(a) Population size, growth, composition and distribution.
22 November Friday (b) Components of population growth : birth, death, migration.
23 November Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session
24 November Sunday
25 November Monday (c) Population Policy and family planning.
26 November Tuesday (d) Emerging issues : ageing, sex ratios, child and infant mortality, reproductive health
 C. (vii) Challenges of Social Transformation
(a) Crisis of development : displacement, environmental problems and sustainability.
27 November Wednesday
(b) Poverty, deprivation and inequalities.
Violence against women.
(d) Caste conflicts.
28 November Thursday (e) Ethnic conflicts, communalism, religious revivalism.
(f) Illiteracy and disparities in education.
29 November Friday Buffer Day
30 November Saturday Daily Practice Questions - Discussion session