UPSC Mains Sociology Question Paper 2024, Download PDF

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UPSC Sociology 2024 Paper Analysis

UPSC Sociology Optional Paper 1

1. Sociology – The Discipline:

• Modernity and Social Changes: How sociology emerged in response to changes in Europe.
• Scope of Sociology: What sociology covers and how it compares to other social sciences.
• Sociology vs. Common Sense: Understanding how sociology differs from everyday thinking.

2. Sociology as Science:

• Scientific Method: What science is and how it is critiqued.
• Research Methodology: Major theories guiding research methods.
• Positivism: Understanding positivism and its critiques.
• Fact, Value, and Objectivity: The relationship between facts and values in sociology.
• Non-Positivist Methods: Exploring alternative research methodologies.

3. Research Methods and Analysis:

• Qualitative vs. Quantitative: Differences between these two research methods.
• Data Collection Techniques: How data is gathered for research.
• Key Concepts: Understanding variables, sampling, hypothesis, reliability, and validity.

4. Sociological Thinkers:

• Karl Marx: Ideas on historical materialism, class struggle, and alienation.
• Emile Durkheim: Concepts of division of labor, social facts, and the role of religion.
• Max Weber: Theories on social action, authority, and the protestant ethic.
• Talcott Parsons: Ideas on social systems and pattern variables.
• Robert K. Merton: Concepts of manifest and latent functions, conformity, and deviance.
• George Herbert Mead: Theories on self and identity.

5. Stratification and Mobility:

• Key Concepts: Understanding equality, inequality, hierarchy, poverty, and deprivation.
• Theories of Stratification: Structural functionalist, Marxist, and Weberian theories.
• Dimensions of Stratification: Class, status groups, gender, ethnicity, and race.
• Social Mobility: Types of mobility, open vs. closed systems, and causes of mobility.

6. Work and Economic Life:

• Social Organization of Work: How work is organized in different societies like slave, feudal, and industrial/capitalist societies.
• Formal vs. Informal Work: Differences between formal organizations and informal work settings.
• Labour and Society: The relationship between labor and society.

7. Politics and Society:

• Theories of Power: Sociological perspectives on power.
• Power Structures: Understanding the power elite, bureaucracy, pressure groups, and political parties.
• Key Concepts: Nation, state, citizenship, democracy, civil society, and ideology.
• Social Actions: Protest, agitation, social movements, collective action, and revolutions.

8. Religion and Society:

• Theories of Religion: Sociological views on religion.
• Types of Religious Practices: Examples include animism, monism, pluralism, sects, and cults.
• Religion in Modern Society: The relationship between religion and science, secularization, and trends like revivalism and fundamentalism.

9. Systems of Kinship:

• Key Concepts: Family, household, and marriage.
• Types of Families: Different forms and structures of families.
• Lineage and Descent: Understanding family lineage and descent patterns.
• Patriarchy and Labor: The role of patriarchy and the division of labor by gender.
• Contemporary Trends: Modern changes in kinship systems.

10. Social Change in Modern Society:

• Theories of Social Change: Different sociological perspectives on how societies change.
• Development vs. Dependency: Concepts related to social and economic development.
• Agents of Change: Key factors that drive social change.
• Education and Change: The role of education in promoting social change.
• Science, Technology, and Change: How advancements in science and technology affect society.

Objective:

• Test candidates’ theoretical knowledge and understanding of foundational concepts in sociology.

UPSC Sociology Optional Paper 2

A. Introducing Indian Society:

(i) Perspectives on the study of Indian society:

• Indology (GS. Ghurye).
•  Structural functionalism (M N Srinivas).
•  Marxist sociology ( A R Desai).

(ii) Impact of colonial rule on Indian society :

• Social background of Indian nationalism.
•  Modernization of Indian tradition.
•  Protests and movements during the colonial period.
•  Social reforms

B. Social Structure:

(i) Rural and Agrarian Social Structure:

• The idea of Indian village and village studies-
•  Agrarian social structure – evolution of land tenure system, land reforms.

(ii) Caste System:

• Perspectives on the study of caste systems: GS Ghurye, M N Srinivas, Louis Dumont, Andre Beteille.
•  Features of caste system.
•  Untouchability – forms and perspectives

(iii) Tribal communities in India:

• Definitional problems.
•  Geographical spread.
•  Colonial policies and tribes.
•  Issues of integration and autonomy.

(iv) Social Classes in India:

• Agrarian class structure.
•  Industrial class structure.
•  Middle classes in India.

(v) Systems of Kinship in India:

• Lineage and descent in India.
•  Types of kinship systems.
•  Family and marriage in India.
•  Household dimensions of the family.
•  Patriarchy, entitlements and sexual division of labour.

(vi) Religion and Society:

• Religious communities in India.
•  Problems of religious minorities.

C. Social Changes in India:

(i) Visions of Social Change in India:

• Idea of development planning and mixed economy.
•  Constitution, law and social change.
•  Education and social change.

(ii) 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.

(iii) 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.

(iv) Politics and Society:

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

(v) Social Movements in Modern India:

• Peasants and farmers movements.
•  Women’s movement.
•  Backward classes & Dalit movement.
•  Environmental movements.
•  Ethnicity and Identity movements.

(vi) 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.

(vii) 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.

Objective:

• Assess candidates’ ability to analyze current societal challenges and provide sociological insights.

Summary

• Paper 1 emphasizes theoretical frameworks and the historical development of sociology.
• Paper 2 bridges theory with practice, encouraging candidates to apply sociological concepts to real-world problems. This dual approach prepares aspirants for both academic and practical examinations in sociology.