Sociology I - Invitation to Sociology
Semester 1 · 16 topics in 5 units
Unit I 4 topics
- Sociology: definition, nature and emergenceWhat sociology is, the definitions examiners expect, Bierstedt's account of its nature, and how it grew out of social philosophy under the pressure of the French and Industrial Revolutions.6 min
- Subject matter, scope and relevance of sociologyWhat sociology studies, the formalistic and synthetic schools on its scope, and why sociology matters to society and to a law student.5 min
- Perspectives in sociology: functionalist, conflict, interactionist and feministThe four theoretical lenses of sociology, their founders and key ideas, how each would read the same social fact, and the criticisms of each.5 min
- Sociology and other disciplines: history, political science, economics, criminology and lawHow sociology borrows from and lends to history, political science, economics, criminology and law, with the differences set out for each.5 min
Unit II 5 topics
- Society and communityDefinitions, characteristics and types of society and of community, community sentiment, and the difference between the two.5 min
- Social structure and social systemMeaning, characteristics, elements and types of social structure, and of the social system as Parsons and Loomis described it.4 min
- Status and roleLinton's concepts of status and role, ascribed and achieved status, role set, role conflict and role strain, and how the two concepts relate.5 min
- Culture and social valuesDefinitions, characteristics, elements, types and functions of culture, cultural lag and relativism, and the meaning and functions of social values.5 min
- Socialisation and social groupsMeaning, stages, agencies and theories of socialisation (Cooley, Mead, Freud), and the meaning, characteristics and types of social groups.5 min
Unit III 3 topics
- Family and marriageCharacteristics, types and functions of the family, features and forms of marriage, recent changes in Indian marriage and the effect of social legislation.5 min
- Religion and education as social institutionsDefinitions, elements, functions and dysfunctions of religion with Durkheim, Marx and Weber; meaning, types and social functions of education in modern society.5 min
- State, law and property as social institutionsElements and functions of the State, law as a social institution, and the meaning, characteristics, types and importance of property.5 min
Unit IV 2 topics
- Social norms, social conformity and social devianceWhat norms are and why they matter, why people conform, what deviance is, its types and the factors and theories that explain it.5 min
- Social control: informal and formal agenciesMeaning, types and need of social control, the informal agencies (folkways, mores, customs, religion, public opinion) and the formal agencies (law, education, police and military).5 min
Unit V 2 topics
- Social change: meaning, kindred concepts, factors and theoriesDefinitions and characteristics of social change, how it differs from evolution, growth, progress and development, its factors, and the linear and cyclical theories.6 min
- Human, social and sustainable development; theories of development and underdevelopmentThe human development approach and the HDI, social development, sustainable development from Brundtland to the SDGs, and modernisation, dependency and world-systems theories.5 min