There are two papers in the subject. Paper I is Theory of 3 hours and 70 marks. The syllabus consists of 7 units: (i) Social Institutions (ii) Religion and Society (iii) Political Organization (iv) Economic Organisation (v) Tribal India – Past, Present and Future (vi) Social Stratification (vii) Social Change and Development.
Contents
1. Social Institutions
(i) Definition and features of Social Institutions.
(ii) Types of Social Institutions: Kinship, Marriage and Family
2. Religion and Society
(i) Definition and concepts of religion and science; beliefs, rituals, superstitions, taboo.
Definition of the above and a basic understanding of each of the above. Differences and similarities between religion and science.
(ii) Theories of religion: animism, naturism, totemism, functional theories.
A brief discussion of animism, naturism, totemism; functional theories (Malinowski, Radcliffe Brown and Durkhiem).
(iii) Functions and dysfunctions of religion.
A brief discussion on the positive and negative functions of religion.
(iv) Morality and social control.
Definition of morality and social control; relation between religion, morality and social control, moral code, religious code.
3. Political Organization
Political Organization and its role in bringing about change in society.
Definition of political organization; definition of Panchayati Raj (Village Panchayat, Block Samiti and Zila parishad – three tier, the 73rd Constitution Amendment Act, Bal Panchayats); discuss the role of the Panchayat in empowerment of women and children.
4. Economic Organisation
(i) Economic Organisation
Definition of economic organization, economic and free goods.
(ii) Economies of Indian tribes: food gathering, agriculture, shifting axe cultivation, handicrafts, pastoralism, industrial labour.
Economies of Indian tribes: (i) Food gathering; (ii) agriculture: shifting axe cultivation (jhum, dahi, koman, penda, podu and bewar), criticism of this type of cultivation, examples of tribes having this practice; (iii) handicraft making; (iv) pastoralism; (v) industrial labour – migration of large numbers of Santhal, Kond and Gond to tea gardens in the north east; large resources of coal, iron and steel in Bengal, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh; examples of Santhal, Ho in pick-mining, coal-cutting, the mica and the iron & steel industry.
(iii) Agrarian Economy, Jajmani system and Rural Employment.
Agrarian Economy: land relations – owner, tenant, share cropper.
Jajmani system: caste based occupations and exchange of services.
A brief understanding of MGNREGA and its implications.
(iv) Traditional Markets
To be discussed with respect to Weekly markets, barter exchange.
5. Tribal India – Past, Present and Future
(i) Definition of tribe and features.
Definition of tribe, features (unity and self sufficiency, clan and family, common totemic ancestor, territory, occupation, endogamy, dormitories, language, common culture, common name, common religion, political organization and territory).
(ii) Dormitories in Tribal India
Definition; origin of dormitories; features and functions; culture contact and change in dormitories.
(iii) Present conditions, problems and solutions.
Economic, political (regionalism and separatism), social and cultural conditions and problems.
6. Social Stratification
(i) Social stratification: the elements.
Definition of social stratification, features, inequality, difference.
(ii) Class: The class system: its nature, development, types of classes.
Discuss briefly the growth, nature of the different classes (lower, middle, upper).
(iii) Caste: The caste system: concept, caste origin, caste and class comparison, its features.
Definition; Theory of Divine Origin; Caste (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra); characteristics of caste.
Social mobility – brahminisation, sanskritisation and westernization – definitions only.
Definition; Theory of Divine Origin; characteristics of caste.
Social mobility – brahminisation, sanskritisation and westernization – definitions only.
(iv) Gender: Difference between sex and gender, patriarchal ideology and the status of women in independent India.
Difference between sex and gender, gender bias and its consequences for both men and women – at the workplace, property rights and family status.
Gender issues: female infanticide, foeticide, dowry, sati, child marriage, domestic violence, rape, widowhood, sexual harassment; women as perpetrators of violence.
7. Social Change and Development
(i) Social change and Development
Definition of Social Change and development – features and sources.
(ii) Aspects of Development
Industrialization, urbanization, modernization, globalization and sustainable development – definitions and their role in social change.
The relationship between social change and development, (special focus on sustainable development, ecological and environment issues for improving quality of life for the present and future).
(iii) Social Movements
Meaning, causes and their role in society.
(iv) Role of Education in creating Social change.
Meaning and functions of education. Emphasize the role of education in creating social change. Role of Right to Education (RTE) and its implications to be discussed briefly.
(v) Role of Mass Media in creating Social change
Role of Mass Media (Print, electronic, audio-visual; positive and negative aspects of mass media). Understanding each of the above forms of mass media and their role in creating social change; their role in creating a civil society that confronts the bureaucracy and the authoritarianism of the state machinery through NGO activity, vigils and acts like the Right to Information (RTI).
Positive and negative aspects of mass media.