GATE 2021 Exam Syllabus for Sociology (XH-C6)
Sociology (XH-C6)
C6.1 Sociological Theory
C6.1.1 Classical Sociological Traditions: Emile Durkheim (Social Solidarity, Social Facts, Religion, Functionalism, Suicide, Anomie, Division of Labour, Law; Max Weber (Types of authority, Social action, Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism, Bureaucracy, Ideal type, Methodology); Karl Marx: Class and class conflict, dialectical and historical materialism, capitalism, surplus value, alienation)
C6.1.2 Structural-Functionalism and Structuralism: Bronislaw Malinowski; A.R. Radcliffe- Brown, Talcott Parsons (AGIL, Systems approach), Robert K. Merton (Middle range theory, reference groups, latent and manifest function), Claude Levi Strauss (Myths, Structuralism)
C6.1.3 Hermeneutic and Interpretative Traditions: G.H. Mead, Alfred Schutz (Phenomenology); Harold Garfinkel (Ethnomethodology); Erving Goffman (Symbolic interaction, dramaturgy); ∙Clifford Geertz (Culture, thick description)
C6.1.4 Post-Modernism, Post-Structuralism and Post-Colonialism: Pierre Bourdieu, Michel Foucault, Jurgen Habermas, Anthony Giddens, Frankfurt School
C6.1.5 Conflict theory: Ralf Dahrendorf; C Wright Mills
C6.1.6 Indian Thinkers, M.K. Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar, Radha Kamal Mukherjee, G. S. Ghurye, M.N. Srinivas, Irawati Karve,
C6.2 Research Methodology and Methods
C6.2.1 Conceptualizing Social Reality: Philosophy of Science; ∙Scientific Method and Epistemology in Social Science; Hermeneutic Traditions; Objectivity and Reflexivity in Social Science; Ethics and Politics of research
C6.2.2 Research Design:∙Reading Social Science Research, Data and Documents; Induction and Deduction; Fact, Concept and Theory;∙Hypotheses, Research Questions, Objectives
C6.2.3 Quantitative and Qualitative Methods: Ethnography; Survey Method; Historical Method; Comparative Method
C6.2.4 Research Techniques; Sampling; Questionnaire and Schedule; Statistical Analysis; Observation, Interview and Case study; Interpretation, Data Analysis and Report Writing
Important links
C6.3 Sociological Concepts
C6.3.1 Sociological Concepts: Social Structure; Culture; Network; Status and Role; Identity; Community; Socialization; Diaspora; Values, Norms and Rules; Personhood, Habitus and Agency; Bureaucracy, Power and Authority; Self and society
C6.3.2 Social Institutions: Marriage, Family and Kinship; Economy; Polity; Religion; Education; Law and Customs
C6.3.3 Social Stratification: Social Difference, Hierarchy, Inequality and Marginalization: Caste and Class; Status and Power; Gender, Sexuality and Disability; Race, Tribe and Ethnicity
C6.3.4 Social Change: Evolution and Diffusion; Modernization and Development; Social Transformations and Globalization; Social Mobility –Sanskritization, Educational and Occupational change
C6.4 Agrarian Sociology and Rural Transformation: Rural and Peasant Society; Caste- Tribe Distinction and Continuum; Agrarian Social Structure and Emergent Class Relations; Land Ownership and Agrarian Relations; Decline of Agrarian Economy, De- Peasantization and Agrarian Change; Agrarian Unrest and Peasant Movements; Feudalism, Mode of production debate; Land reforms; Panchayati Raj; Rural development programmes and community development; Green revolution and agricultural change; Peasants and farmers movements
C6.5 Family, Marriage and Kinship; Theoretical Approaches: Structural- Functionalist, Alliance and Cultural; Gender Relations and Power Dynamics; Inheritance, Succession and Authority; Gender, Sexuality and Reproduction; Children, Youth and Elderly; Emotions and Family; Emergent Forms of Family; Changing Marriage Practices; Changing Care and Support Systems; Family Laws; Domestic Violence and Crime against Women; Honour Killing
C6.6 Indian Society / Sociology of India: Colonial, Nationalist, Indological perspectives (G.S.Ghurye); Structural-Functional approach (M. N. Srinivas); Dialectical approach (A. R. Desai); Subaltern studies (R. Guha); Non Brahmin perspectives (Phule, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar); Feminist perspectives (Leela Dube, Sharmila Rege); Social Institutions – Family, Kinship, Household, Village and Urban Settings; Social Stratification – Caste, Class, Tribe and Gender; Tradition and Modernity (M.N.Srinivas, Yogendra Singh, Dipankar Gupta); Peasants and agrarian sociology (Andre Beteille, AR Desai, D.N.Dhanagare); Village studies; Communalism and Secularism
C6.7 Social Movements
C6.7.1 Introduction to social movements: Nature, Definitions, Characteristics; Social Movement and Social Change; Types of social movements (Reform, Rebellion, Revival, Revolution, Insurrection, Counter Movement)
C6.7.2 Theories of Social Movements: Structural –functional; Marxist; Resource Mobilization Theory; New Social Movements
C6.7.3 Social Movement in India with specific reference to social basis, leadership, ideology and actions: Peasant movement; Labour movement; Dalit movement; Women’s movement, Environmental movement
C6.7.4 Social Movements, civil society and globalization: Social movement and its relationship with state and civil society; Social movements and impact of globalization: Debates; Issues of citizenship
C6.8 Sociology of Development
C6.8.1 Perspectives on the Study of Development: Definitions and Indices; Liberal, Marxist, and Neo-Marxist Perspectives (Dependency theory, World Systems); Epistemological Critiques of Development
C6.8.2 State and Market: Institutions and ideologies: Planned Development and Society; Globalisation and Liberalization
C6.8.3 The Micro-Politics of Development: Transforming Communities: Maps and Models; Knowledge and Power in Development; Re-inventing Development: Subaltern Movements; Post-colonial development; Decentralization and devolution; Participatory approaches
C6.8.4 Sustainable development: Post-sustainable development; Development, violence and inequality; Post-structural perspectives (Escobar); Alternative development paradigms; Feminist critique; Human development