SOCIOLOGY

SYLLABUS FOR HIGHER SECONDARY SECOND YEAR COURSE

Rationale :

Sociology is introduced as an elective subject at the higher secondary stage.

The syllabus is designed to help learners to reflect on what they hear and see in the
course of everyday life and develop a constructive attitude towards society in
change, to equip a learner with concepts and theoretical skills for the purpose. The
curriculum of Sociology at this stage should enable the learner to understand
dynamics of human behaviour in all its complexities and manifestations. The learners
of today need answers and explanations to satisfy the questions that arise in their
minds while trying to understand social world. Therefore, there is a need to develop
an analytical approach towards the social structure so that they can meaningfully
participate in the process of social change. There is scope in the syllabus not only for
interactive learning, based on exercises and project work but also for teachers and
students to jointly innovate new ways of learning.
 Sociology studies society : The child’s familiarity with the society in which she/he
lives makes the study of sociology a double edged experience. At one level
sociology studies institutions such as family and kinship, class, caste and tribe,
religion and region-contexts with which children are familiar, even if differentially.
For India is a society which is varied both horizontally and vertically. The effort in
the book will be to grapple overtly with this both as a source of strength and as a
site for interrogation.
 Significantly the intellectual legacy of sociology equips the discipline with a plural
perspective that overtly engages with the need for defamiliarisation, to unlearn
and question the given. This interrogative and critical character of sociology also
makes it possible to understand both other cultures as well as relearn about one’s
own culture.
 This plural perpective makes for an inbuilt richness and openness that not too
many other disciplines in practice share. From its very inception sociology has had
mutually enriching and contesting traditions of an interpretative method that
openly takes into account ‘subjectivity’ and causal explanations that pays due
importance to establishing causal correspondences with considerable
sophistication. Not surprisingly its field work tradition also entails large scale
survey methods as well as a rich ethnographic tradition. Indeed Indian sociology
in particular has bridged this distinction between what has often been seen as
distinct approaches of sociology and social anthropology. The syllabus provides
ample opportunity to make the child familiar with the excitement of field work as
well as its theoretical significance for the very discipline of sociology.
 The plural legacy of sociology also enables a bird’s eye view and a work’s eye
view of the society the child lives in. This is particularly true today when the local
is inextricably defined and shaped by macro global processes.
 The syllabus proceeds with the assumption that gender as an organizing principle
of society cannot be treated as an add on topic but is fundamental to the manner
that all chapters shall be dealt with.
 The chapters shall seek for a child centric approach that makes it possible to
connect the lived reality of children with social structures and social processes that
sociology studies.
 A conscious effort will be made to build into the chapters a scope for
exploration of society that makes learning a process of discovery. A way
towards this is to deal with sociological concepts not as given but a product of
societal actions, humanly constructed and therefore open to questioning.

Objectives :

 To enable learners to relate classroom teaching to their outside

environment.
 To introduce them to the basic concepts of sociology that would
enable them to observe and interpret social life.
 To be aware of the complexity of social processes.
 To appreciate diversity in society in India and the world at large.
 To build the capacity of students to understand and analyse the
changes in contemporary Indian society.

COURSE STRUCTURE
One Theory Paper Time: 3 Hours Marks: 100(80+20)
Unitwise Distribution of Marks & Periods

Units No. of Marks

periods

A. Indian Society
Unit.I Introducing Indian Society 05 Non-
evaluative
Unit.II The Demographic Structure of Indian 20 10
Society
Unit.III Social Institutions: Continuity and Change 21 10
Unit.IV Patterns of Social Inequality and 21 10
Exclusion
Unit.V The Challenges of Cultural Diversity 21 10
Unit.VI Suggestions for Project Work 10 Non-
evaluative

B. Social Change and Development in India

Unit.I Structural Change 12 05
Unit.II Cultural Change 10 05
Unit.III Change and Development in Rural 20 10
Society
Unit.IV Change and Development in IndustrialSociety 20 10

Unit.V Social Movements 20 10

Total 180 80

C. Project Work-Marks-20
 UNITWISE COURSE CONTENT

A. INDIAN SOCIETY (Total Marks-40)

Unit. I Introducing Indian Society Periods-05

• Colonialism, Nationalism, Class and Community (Non-evaluative)

Unit.II The Demographic Structure of the Indian Society Periods-20 Marks-10

• Theories and concepts in demography
• Rural-Urban Linkages and Divisions
• Population Policy in India

Unit.III Social Institutions: Continuity and Change Periods-21 Marks-10

• Caste and the Caste System
• Tribal Communities
• Family and Kinship
Unit.IV Patterns of Social Inequality and Exclusion Periods-21 Marks-10
• Social Inequality and Social Exclusion
• Systems justifying and perpetuating Inequality - Caste,Tribe, the Other
Backward Classes
• Adivasi Struggles
• The Struggle for Women’s Equality and Rights
• The struggles of the Differently Abled
Unit.V The Challenges of Cultural Diversity Periods-21 Marks-10
• Cultural communities and the nation state
• Regionalism in the Indian context
• The Nation state and religion related issues and identities
• Communalism, secularism and the nation state
State and Civil Society
Unit.VI Suggestions for Project Work Periods 10 (Non- evaluative)

B.SOCIAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA (Marks 40)

Unit. I Structural Change Periods-12 Marks-05

• Understanding Colonialism, Industrialization, Urbanization
Unit. II Cultural Change Periods-10 Marks-05
• Different Kinds of Social Change: Sanskritisation,Westernization,
Modernization, Secularization
Unit.III Change and Development in Rural Society Periods-20 Marks-10
• Agrarian Structure: Caste & class in Rural India
• Land Reforms, Green Revolution and Emerging Agrarian society
• Green revolution and its social consequences
• Transformation in Rural Society
• Circulation of labour
• Globalization, Liberalization and Rural Society
Unit.IV Change and Development in Industrial Society Periods-20 Marks-10
 From Planned Industrialization to Liberalization
 How people find Jobs
Work Processes: How work is carried out, working conditions, Home based work,
Strikes and Unions

Unit.V Social Movements

• Concept of Social Movements
• Classification of Social Movements
• Environmental Movements
• Class-Based Movements: Workers, Peasants
• Caste-Based Movements: Dalit Movement, BackwardClass/Castes, Trends in
Upper Caste Responses
• Tribal Movements
• Women’s Movements in Independent India

PROJECT WORK
Periods: 40
Marks: 20
Guidelines for Sociology Project Work:
One Project to be done throughout the session, as per the existing scheme.

1. Steps involved in the conduct of the project:

Students may work upon the following lines as a suggested
flow chart:
Choose a Title/Topic

Need of the Study, Objective of the Study

Hypothesis

Content-Timeline, Mind maps, Pictures, etc

(Organization of Material/Data Present Material/Data)

Analyzing the Material/Data for

Conclusion Draw the Relevant Conclusion

Bibliography
2. Expected Checklist for the Project Work:

 Introduction of topic/title
 Identifying the causes, events, consequences and/or remedies
 Various stakeholders and effect on each of them
 Advantages and disadvantages of situations or issues identified
 Short-term and long-term implications of strategies suggested during research
 Validity, reliability, appropriateness, and relevance of data used for research work
and forpresentation in the project file
 Presentation and writing that is succinct and coherent in project file
 Citation of the materials referred to, in the file in footnotes, resources section,
bibliographyetc.

3. Assessment of Project Work:

a. Project Work has broadly the following phases: Synopsis/ Initiation, Data
Collection, Data Analysis and Interpretation, Conclusion.
b. The aspects of the project work to be covered by students can be assessed
during the academic year.
c. 20 marks assigned for Project Work can be divided in the following manner:

1. Introduction - 02 Marks
2. Statement of Purpose – 02 Marks
3. Research Question – 02 Marks
4. Methodology – 03 Marks
5. Data Analysis – 04 Marks
6. Conclusion – 02 Marks
7. Viva – based on the project work - 05 Marks
Prescribed textbooks:
1. ভাৰতীয় সমাজ, অসম উচ্চতৰ মাধ্যমমক মিক্ষা সংসদৰ দ্বাৰা প্ৰকামিত
2. ভাৰতত সামাজজক পমৰৱততন আৰু মিকাি, অসম উচ্চতৰ মাধ্যমমক মিক্ষা সংসদৰ দ্বাৰা প্ৰকামিত
3. Indian Society, Class XII, Published by NCERT
4. Social Change and Development in India, Class XII, published by NCERT