Department of Sociology

• The students learn to apply the sociological perspective in understanding how society shapes our individual lives.
• It also provides a foundation for the other more detailed and specialized courses in sociology.
• The students also learn about the basics of doing field work and use it for doing field work based projects. They also learn to write project reports.
• The students learn how to read and interpret complex ideas and texts and to present them in a cogent manner.

Category: Core

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• The course lays the foundation of viewing images and ideas of India through a sociological lens. It further investigates sociological concepts and institutions in the Indian context.
• Through informed interrogation of images, ideas, concepts and institutions of India, the course contributes to the development of critical and analytical thinking.
• The course, supported by an inter-disciplinary approach, facilitates learning and reflecting about the multiple – and contextual – socio-cultural registers of Indian society.
• Given the high standard/quality of the syllabus and use of innovative teaching-learning methods, the course prepares students to successfully compete in global academia.

Category: AECC

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• Gaining in-depth knowledge on natural processes that sustain life and govern economy.
• Predicting the consequences of human actions on the web of life, global economy and quality of human life.
• Developing critical thinking for shaping strategies (scientific, social, economic and legal) for environmental protection and conservation of biodiversity, social equity and sustainable development
• Acquiring values and attitudes towards understanding complex environmentaleconomic-social challenges, and participating actively in solving current environmental problems and preventing the future ones. v. Adopting sustainability as a practice in life, society and industry.

Category: Core

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• The students are introduced to the relationship between theory and perspectives
• The students are introduced to sociological theories which they learn in greater detail during the later semesters.
• This paper also provides a foundation for sociological theories that are a part of papers in the subsequent semesters.
• The students learn critical thinking skills. They learn how to read, interpret and critique original works of various thinkers.

Category: Core

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• The course adds to the sociological interpretation of Indian history and society. The India-specific themes of the course – discourse/knowledge-making, mobilization, transformation, ideology, identity and politics, for example – are treated, moreover, by drawing from sociological concepts and theories. The course connects the practical and conceptual in terms of both substance and relevance.
• By focusing on the nuanced character of historical and social ideas and processes, the course sharpens the faculties of critical and analytical thinking and doing.
• The adoption of an inter-disciplinary framework, without losing sight of the sociological, makes the course wider in scope and scale. It broadens viewpoints and encourages students to reflect deeply on the multicultural reality which is the defining feature of India.
• The course, in terms of both high quality syllabus-content and innovative teachinglearning techniques, matches global standards. Consequently, it adequately trains students to compete in global academia.

Category: AECC

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• Students will master the art of persuasive speech and writing.
• Students will master the art of listening, reading, and analyzing.
• Students will spend the bulk of their time in class in practical exercises of reading and writing.
• Students will develop critical thinking skills. They will be introduced to established principles of academic reading and writing.

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• An ability to comprehend the embeddedness of political and the social in each other
• Familiarity with different theoretical and conceptual issues in political sociology and a capacity to use them to grasp political phenomena in a cross-cultural and comparative perspective.
• Be able to understand and appreciate the diversity of ways in which politics operates historically and spatially to generate a more expansive notion of the realm of the political.
• Be able to understand the relationship between state and society in shaping politics in India both historically and analytically.
• Be able to generate hypotheses and research questions within the theoretical perspectives and ethnographic contexts in political sociology.

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• An understanding of concepts such as sex and gender by problematising commonsensical notions of gender.
• Raising key issues of power and subordination within the purview of gender and the need for and solutions resorted to as measures to initiate change through gender-based movements.
• Understanding issues relating to gender both at a national and global level.
• Places gender in juxtaposition with other forms of stratification and identity such as caste, class, family and work.

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• Students will be acquainted with representative texts that symbolize the development of knowledge in the field of Sociology of Religion. They will be able to identify different theories, approaches and concepts that make up the study of religion, distinguish between them and also use terms specific to the field in specific context.
• Students will be able to make a link between texts and paraphrase their arguments and use these to communicate their ideas in research papers, projects and presentations.
• By encompassing contemporary developments, the course enables students to think about linkages between religion and society at various levels.

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

Reading:

• 1. (a) At the end of the course, students will be equipped to move from reading rudimentarily to advanced reading of texts extensively
• 2. (b) Read academic texts and identify the central argument(s) and grasp the content of the texts
• 3. (c) Read texts to identify the organization of ideas, structure of the arguments, style and tone of the author and author biases
• 4. (d) Identify general conclusions from specific details in texts

Writing:

• 1. (a) Identify standard elements of writing and different genres of writing from personal essay to academic writing.
• 2. (b) Be equipped to express in different genres of writing such as summaries, critical reviews and essays, using:
  • (i) Multi-draft approach: pre-writing, outlining, drafting, revising, and editing
  • (ii) Formal academic style
  • (iii) Information from several sources and synthesizing into their own writing
  • (iv) Internationally accepted methods of citation and referencing
• (c) Be able to treat reading and writing as complementary and synergistic (d) Be able to conceptualize and plan a research paper

3. Reasoning:

• 1. (a) Students should be able to approach writing as a form of reasoning, with specific organization of ideas, style and perspective
• 2. (b) Be able to develop critical thinking through reflecting on various texts consciously and not take anything for granted in the analyses of the social world
• 3. (c) Be able to develop scientific reasoning by reading texts for consistency and logic
• 4. (d) As multicultural classrooms, students should be able to relate specific experiences with specific groups and generate multi-cultural competence in understanding social issues. By reading texts from cross-cultural contexts, students will be able to approach a creative synthesis in the classroom and grasp the various ways of sociological reasoning.

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• Develops familiarity with different theoretical and conceptual aspects of economic sociology as a specialized branch of knowledge.
• Develops background knowledge about the diverse ways in which economy is interlinked with other aspects of society and culture.
• Acquire capacities to understand and analyse the transformations of economy and its key processes in a historical and comparative perspective.
• Develops abilities to generate research questions and arguments about the intersections of economy and society.

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• Grasp the historical evolution of kinship theories from a biological deterministic approach to culture of relatedness
• Grasp the historical evolution of kinship theories from a biological deterministic approach to culture of relatedness
• Comprehend the coexistence of multiple perspectives in the study of family, marriage and kinship.
• Acknowledge the significance of the emergence of new reproductive technologies on recasting kinship.

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• Students will learn about the socio-historical context of stratification theoretical concerns and problems and contemporary issues related to inequalities and its forms.
• Inculcate in them a truly inter-disciplinary approach in the study of society especially stratification in all its manifestations.
• Understanding of stratification and theories would sensitize students to its various sociological aspects, providing ample scope for applied learning and application.
• Examining forms of stratification, understanding the relevance of caste, race and ethnic identities in contemporary world.

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• The SEC on techniques of ethnographic filmmaking starts by laying groundwork for orienting students to the techniques and methods of using the method of visuals in sociology. As students engage with the course along with other important programmes as part of their B.A (H) in sociology, they also begin to understand the intersection of classroom-based knowledge and practical realm. At this point, the course aims to prepare them for challenges of doing sociological fieldwork and observing real-world spheres through the mode of filmmaking. It enables them to build on the graduate attributes of disciplinary knowledge, critical thinking, research-related skills, scientific reasoning, reflective thinking and multicultural competence.
• Film screenings, assignments and projects in this course are aimed at broadening the spectrum of engagement through sociology. Through ethnographic filmmaking, students move beyond the textual reading and writing mode. Centered on the means of visual, oral and aural, the programme helps them build on the use of diverse media (and tools) to represent cultures and narratives.
• A key learning outcome of the course is to introduce students to the skills and sensitivity needed to engage with the social world. Through ethnographic fieldwork and filmmaking, as they grasp the knowledge of technical, the meaning- making of social remains crucial in the SEC programme. An understanding of diversity of gender, culture, class, caste, sexuality, and religion is fundamentally reflected as they produce films on multiple issues.
• Teamwork: An important aspect of the programme is working in teams/groups for the final filmmaking projects. Through team work and extensive discussions, students encounter and learn the importance of decision-making, ethics, communication skills, and planning. These are core competencies that the SEC orients them about.
• The experience of producing visual anthropological content as part of the SEC helps students gear up for the specific electives and courses they take up in the later semesters, particular the research methods course. The brush with social research skills, techniques of sociological fieldwork and thematic issues of representation helps in enriching their engagement with the theoretical framework in final year of BA (H) Sociology.

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• Understanding the grand foundational themes of sociology.
• Application of theories and concepts from classical sociological theories to develop intellectual openness and curiosity
• Appreciation of the classical concepts and theories to develop awareness of the current knowledge.

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• Students are introduced to sociological research both from a theoretical and methodological perspective. They understand the importance of research in social science
• Students develop the ability to evaluate the methodological validity of the claims made by theory.
• The course enables students to evaluate a piece of research and move towards designing a simple research project.
• Identify the difference between quantitative and qualitative methods.
• Students will learn to identify ethical and practical issues in research. They also engage with the ideals of objectivity and reflexivity.
• Students learn that research methods are universal and not bound by cultural location.

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• To appreciate the significance of the city and the process of urbanisation and its consequences across the globe, through cross disciplinary texts and ethnographic studies
• To understand the urban in the historical as well as modern contexts - the idea of urbanism and urban space and the intersections in these of institutions, processes and identities. This is to be achieved by exposing students to critical theoretical debates which help them to gain a deeper understanding of city life and urban environment which can also help them understand their own social environment better.
• To learn about key urban processes such as migration, displacement and urban slums, as well as critical contemporary issues such as resettlement and rehabilitation and also engage in issues of public policy, urban transformation and change. Knowledge of such themes will help students pursue further studies in academic areas such as development and also engage in research on public policy, urban transformation and change.
• To develop critical thinking and a reflective perspective through exposure to multicultural thought; to enhance disciplinary knowledge, research-related skills and develop a problem-solving competence.

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• Understanding work in its social aspects such as gendered work and unpaid work, as different from its better known economic dimension.
• Understanding work in its global dimensions, including the mutual relation between work in underdeveloped societies and that in developed ones, thus bringing out the importance of the comparative perspective in the study of work.
• Learning about the complexities, disparities and inequalities in the area of work
• Learning about the socio-historical context of work, theoretical concerns and problems, and contemporary issues in the area of work and industry.

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

Understanding the characteristics and dynamics of the social world, and how post-classical sociologists attempt to understand the social world.

• Appreciating the relevance and limits of the contemporary theories or theoretical approaches to make sense of social reality.
• Understanding the basic methodological approaches of the thinkers, through some original texts and their role in building sociological knowledge.

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• Students are introduced to the concept of conducting research, which is inclusive of formulating research designs, methods and analysis of data. Some knowledge of elementary statistics is also provided to the students to acquaint them with quantification of data.
• The thrust of the course is on empirical reasoning, understanding and analysis of social reality, which is integral to the concepts of quantitative research. Students learn to differentiate between qualitative and quantitative aspects of research in terms of collection and subsequent analysis of data.
• Through the competing theoretical perspectives and methodologies, students are able to understand that social reality is multi-faceted, heterogeneous and dynamic in nature.
• By imparting the knowledge of theory and praxis of research, students are prepared to arrive at a critical understanding of the course. It also equips them with necessary skills for employment in any social research organisation

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• At the end of the course students should be able to identify the expanse of social scientific knowledge and be proficient with the technique and have the patience to read, understand and critically analyze full-length texts that are often about another, unfamiliar culture.
• The course aims to encourage interdisciplinary thinking between sociology, anthropology directly but also with philosophy and literature, through reading of ethnographies. It also seeks to bring the student to a global standard of familiarity with different types of classics within the combined disciplines of sociology, anthropology and ethnology.
• The Course will enable students to not only come to terms with the making of human knowledge but also identifying limits of enquiry by learning and engaging in critical thinking about the research presented in the ethnographies. They are also expected to be able to work with ethnographic description as a unit of knowledge at par with numbers in quantitative studies.
• Doing this Course will help the student discover the strength of small details and to identify what matters to people. They would also be able to engage with the community and understand the significant role of subjective and objective knowledge systems through the exercises in participant observation

Course outcomes

After completing the course student should be able to

• To be able to use the key concepts developed in sociology and anthropology to understand biomedical practices of health and illness
• To critique biomedicine and have an understanding of medicine as a plurality
• To analyse the everyday experiences of health and illness as produced through social, economic, political and cultural forces
• To gain insights on issues of public health in India and arrive at independent analysis