THE TAMIL NADU NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL, TIRUCHIRAPPALLI
I YEAR I SEMESTER B.A., LL.B (HONS) DEGREE COURSE
SOCIOLOGY-I
Sociology: A Critical Introduction
The Broad Aim of the Course: is to introduce the discipline of sociology to the
students of law. This is done by encouraging students to develop a critical
engagement with the various basic sociological concepts, theories, issues and,
methods. In addition to this, the course also exposes the students to the fundamentals
of sociology of Indian society.
Course Content: The discipline of sociology is offered with an understanding that
the sociological categories and approaches can influence to a greater extent the legal
reasoning in our context. It is essential for law students to have a basic and critical
understanding of social issues, processes and, relations, as law is inextricably related
to socio-political institutions and language of power and governance. The course is
structured around a number of basic concepts, social issues, social processes and
theories.
Methods of Teaching and Learning: It is a combination of lecture and discussion of
course readings. The lectures will not simply summarize the course readings. The
lectures will utilize material from the course readings, but they will also go beyond
the readings in a variety of ways. They will often address theories, concepts, issues,
etc. that are not discussed in the readings. The lectures and the readings are intended
to complement each other, not copy each other. In order to develop their own
perspectives on the issues that are discussed in the readings, the students will be asked
to raise certain questions and discuss them in the classroom after the lectures
everyday. Therefore students are expected to read all the required readings before
class and be prepared to discuss the major issues raised in the material, as well as ask
questions about the readings and the lectures. You are also encouraged to read
recommended readings, mentioned in the lectures and identified on the course
outline below.
Course Outline:
I What is Sociology? (4 Hours)
a) Developing a sociological outlook
b) The difference between ‘sociology’ and ‘common sense’
c) Sociology: Issues and Problems
II Primary Concepts (4 Hours)
a) Society and Community
b) Norms and Customs
III Social Institutions (5 Hours)
a) The Family and Marriage
b) Religion
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IV Social Stratification (5 Hours)
a) Class
b) Caste
c) Gender
d) Race
V Social Processes (4 Hours)
a) Socialization
b) Social Mobility
c) Religious Conversion
d) Social Exclusion and Inclusion
VI Social Problems: (5 Hours)
a) Deviance and Compulsive Deviance
b) Crime, Organized Crime and White Collar Crime
VII Theories of Society: Basics (9 Hours)
a) Functionalism
b) Marxism
c) Weber’s contribution to sociological theory
VIII Social Structure and Change in India (12 Hours)
a) Village Community
b) Caste: Theories of caste, Sanskritization, and Dominant Caste
c) Class: Class and Caste relations in India, Understanding Indian Middle and
Working Classes
d) Religion: ‘Great’ and ‘Little’ Traditions, ‘Universalization and
Parochialization’, and ‘Religion as Faith’ and ‘Religion as Politics’
e) Social Movements in India: Old and New
Recommended Readings:
Abraham, M.F. (1988). Modern Sociological Theory: An Introduction Delhi: Oxford
University Press.
Berreman, G. D. (1971). The Brahminical View of Caste. Contribution to Indian
Sociology (N S) 5.
Beteille, Andre. 2002. Sociology: Essays on Approach and Method. New Delhi:
Oxford University Press
Bottomore, T.B. (1972). Sociology: A Guide to Problems and Literature. Bombay:
Blackie & Sons (India) Ltd
Das, Veena. (1992). Mirrors of Violence. Delhi: Oxford University Press
Das, Veena. (1996). Critical Events: An Anthropological Perspective on
Contemporary India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press
Deshpande, Sathish. (2003). Contemporary India: A Sociological View. New Delhi:
Viking
Dumont, Louis (1980) Homo Hierarchicus: The caste system and its implications.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
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Dumont, Louis and D.F. Pocock (1959). Village Studies. Contributions to Indian
Sociology 1, 23-172.
Dumont, Louis. (1965). The functional equivalents of the individual in caste society.
Contributions to Indian Sociology. VIII.Oct.
Fuller, C.J. (1999). The Brahmins and Brahminical Values in Modern Tamil Nadu. In
Ramachandra Guha and Jonathan Parry. (eds) Institutions and inequalities. New
Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Geetha, V. (2002). Gender. Calcutta: Stree
Giddens, Anthony. (1986). Sociology: A Brief but Critical Introduction. London: The
Macmillan Press Ltd
Giddens, Anthony. (2001). Sociology. Cambridge: Polity
Goode, W. J. and Paul K. Hatt. (1981). Methods in Social Research. Singapore: Mc
Graw-Hill Book Company
Guru, Gopal (1993). Dalit Movement in mainstream Sociology. Economic and
Political Weekly XXVIII.14.
Guru, Gopal (2001). Dalit cultural movement in Maharstra. In Ghanshayam, Shah
(ed). Dalit Identity and politics. New Delhi: Sage Publications.
Guru, Gopal (2001). The language of Dalit–Bahujan Political discourse. In
Ganshayam, Shah (ed). Dalit Identity and Politics. New Delhi: Sage Publications.
Haralambos, M and R. M. Heald. (1980). Sociology: Themes and Perspective. Delhi:
Oxford University Press
Hobson, Barbara. (2003). Recognition Struggles and Social Movements. Cambridge.
Cambridge University Press
Inkeles, Alex. (1997). What is Sociology? New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India Private
Limited
Silver, Hilary 2007 The process of social exclusion: the dynamics of an evolving
concept CPRC Working Paper 95 Providence: Brown University
Srinivas, M.N. (1952). Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India. London:
Oxford University Press.
Srinivas, M.N. (1969). India- Social Structure. Hindustan Publishing Co.
Srinivas, M.N. (1987). The Dominant Caste and Other Essays. Delhi: Oxford
University Press.
Thompson, K and Jeremy Tunstall (eds). (1983). Sociological Perspectives.
Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.
Tilly, Charles. (2003). The Politics of Collective Violence. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press
Young, P.V. (1996). Scientific Social Surveys and Research. New Delhi: Prentice-
Hall of India Private Limited
