Table of Contents

Historical Sources

(Relevant for Sociology Optional for Civil Services Examination)

Historical Sources

Historical records play a pivotal role for sociologists aiming to analyze prolonged social transformations.
There are limitations to how far a sociological study using primary sources can reach, and the past can hold significance in comprehending the genesis of contemporary societal patterns.

Types of Historical Sources

Ben Gidley discusses primary and secondary historical sources.
Primary Sources: Historians define primary sources as actual remnants from the past, including letters, diaries, material artifacts like clothing or bone fragments, visual artifacts such as photos, and audio-visual sources like film or tape recordings. These were created in close proximity (in terms of time and space) to the events described.
Primary sources might be deemed more credible than secondary ones. However, their closeness to events doesn’t guarantee reliability, making primary sources potentially ‘unreliable.’ Yet, they remain intriguing to social researchers due to insights into their creation process.
Secondary Sources: These are written with some temporal distance from events, often based on primary sources.

Variety of Historical Documents

Gidley outlines various sources for historical documents.
These encompass descriptions of crimes, newspaper investigations into societal conditions, parliamentary inquiries, witness testimonies, speeches in parliamentary debates, certain aspects of novels, and reports from missionary and charitable organizations.
Historical documents can be both public and private, with quantitative and qualitative aspects.

Significance of Historical Research

Irrespective of challenges, historical documents are essential for preventing a static understanding of social life.
Without such documents, Max Weber couldn’t have explored religion’s influence on capitalism’s development.
Michael Mann wouldn’t have delved into the interplay of different social power sources across history.
Similarly, Foucault utilized historical sources to analyze the emergence of diverse discourses.

Life Documents

Life documents encompass personal records reflecting an individual’s experiences and social actions.
These documents are primarily qualitative, offering insights into personal feelings.
They can be historical or contemporary, available in various forms.
The use of life documents is rooted in sociology’s history, exemplified by Thomas and Znaniecki’s work on The Polish Peasant in Europe and America.
Life histories can be constructed from personal documents, including diaries. Personal documents created for others, like letters or autobiographies, might be tailored to specific audiences. Some of these documents could focus more on justifying actions rather than fully explaining feelings.
Diaries, if not intended for public consumption, may carry greater validity. Researchers might encourage individuals to keep diaries for more systematic data collection. Prompted diaries could be more structured but potentially less reliable due to influenced content. The same applies to other documents researchers ask subjects to create, like emotion maps.
Despite limitations, Plummer advocates for the crucial role of personal documents in sociology. They avoid excessive focus on abstract theories that could diminish concern for human experiences.
Compared to other secondary sources, personal documents offer deeper insights into subjective states shaping behavior.
Plummer supports symbolic interactionist approaches and suggests participant observation as an ideal method for studying social life. When that’s not feasible, life documents provide insights into the everyday personal meanings shaping actions.

New Forms of Life Documents

E-mails have emerged as relatively new life documents, offering an alternative source of documentation.
Photographs also serve as valuable life documents, stimulating data collection through methods like interviews. For instance, Gillian Rose employed family photographs to initiate discussions about identity construction.

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Paper-1

FUNDAMENTALS OF SOCIOLOGY

Sociology – The Discipline
Sociology as Science:
Research Methods and Analysis:
Sociological Thinkers:
Stratification and Mobility:
Works and Economic Life:
1. Social organization of work in different types of society- slave society, feudal society, industrial /capitalist society
2. Formal and informal organization of work.
3. Labour and society.
Politics and Society:
1. Sociological theories of power.
2. Power elite, bureaucracy, pressure groups, and political parties.
3. Nation, state, citizenship, democracy, civil society, ideology.
4. Protest, agitation, social movements, collective action, revolution.
Religion and Society:
1. Sociological theories of religion.
2. Types of religious practices: animism, monism, pluralism, sects, cults.
3. Religion in modern society: religion and science, secularization, religious revivalism, fundamentalism.
Systems of Kinship:
1. Family, household, marriage.
2. Types and forms of family.
3. Lineage and descent.
4. Patriarchy and sexual division of labour.
5. Contemporary trends.
Social Change in Modern Society:
1. Sociological theories of social change.
2. Development and dependency.
3. Agents of social change.
4. Education and social change.
5. Science, technology and social change.

Paper-2

INDIAN SOCIETY: STRUCTURE AND CHANGE

INTRODUCING INDIAN SOCIETY

Perspectives on the study of Indian society:
1. Indology (GS. Ghurye).
2. Structural functionalism (M N Srinivas).
3. Marxist sociology (A R Desai).
Impact of colonial rule on Indian society :
1. Social background of Indian nationalism.
2. Modernization of Indian tradition.
3. Protests and movements during the colonial period.
4. Social reforms.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE

Perspectives on the study of Indian society:
1. The idea of Indian village and village studies.
2. Agrarian social structure – evolution of land tenure system, land reforms.
Caste System:
1. Perspectives on the study of caste systems: GS Ghurye, M N Srinivas, Louis Dumont, Andre Beteille.
2. Features of caste system.
3. Untouchability – forms and perspectives.
Tribal communities in India
1. Definitional problems.
2. Geographical spread.
3. Colonial policies and tribes.
4. Issues of integration and autonomy.
Social Classes in India:

1. Agrarian class structure.

- - Industrial class structure.
  - Middle classes in India.
Systems of Kinship in India:
1. Lineage and descent in India.
2. Types of kinship systems.
3. Family and marriage in India.
4. Household dimensions of the family.
5. Patriarchy, entitlements and sexual division of labour
Religion and Society:
1. Religious communities in India.
2. Problems of religious minorities.
3. Patriarchy, entitlements and sexual division of labour

SOCIAL CHANGES IN INDIA

Visions of Social Change in India:
- Idea of development planning and mixed economy
- Constitution, law and social change.
- Education and social change.
Rural and Agrarian transformation in India:
- Programmes of rural development, Community Development Programme, cooperatives,poverty alleviation schemes
- Green revolution and social change.
- Changing modes of production in Indian agriculture.
- Problems of rural labour, bondage, migration.

3. Industrialization and Urbanisation in India:

- Evolution of modern industry in India.
- Growth of urban settlements in India.
- Working class: structure, growth, class mobilization.
- Informal sector, child labour
- Slums and deprivation in urban areas.

4. Politics and Society:

- Nation, democracy and citizenship.
- Political parties, pressure groups , social and political elite
- Regionalism and decentralization of power.
- Secularization

5. Social Movements in Modern India:

- Peasants and farmers movements.
- Women’s movement.
- Backward classes & Dalit movement.
- Environmental movements.
- 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:

- Crisis of development: displacement, environmental problems and sustainability
- Poverty, deprivation and inequalities.
- Violence against women.
- Caste conflicts.
- Ethnic conflicts, communalism, religious revivalism.
- Illiteracy and disparities in education.

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