Sociology of India - 2

By Dr.B.Geetha | Madurai Kamaraj University

Learners enrolled: 135

The present course is oriented towards three broad categories. They are the introduction to popular ideologies of the Indian society, the changes that happen in the Indian society through resistance and mobilization, and the third part, the challenges to the civilization, state, and society. This six-credit course runs for fourteen weeks. The course covers popular ideologies and approaches, conversations, and the debates that shaped Indian society.

Initially, social sciences in non-western countries like India were linked with the needs of colonial governmentality. The practice of constructing ‘national traditions’ after setting up political boundaries was the core focus of sociology or social anthropology. The study of Indian society, which shaped the understanding of social phenomena, and contributed to the development of theory in these disciplines, is based on conversations and debates. According to Beteille, an important feature of debates in India has been the concern to integrate, or at least to respond to, classical studies in both sociology and social anthropology. Indian sociology has a variety of ideas and debates. To understand Indian society the ideas of Gandhi and Ambedkar are so relevant and important. Though they do not form part of sociological tradition their contributions are the basis and foundation for understanding Indian society from the sociological perspective. Their ideas and ideologies reveal Indian society with more clarity. Most of the primary work and studies in India have Indological and ethnographic approaches. These form one of the predominant bases for the knowledge of Indian social structure. These ideas and ideologies will be the first part of the present course.

The debates and conversations that take place in India can be classified under two broad categories for this course and they are first change and progress and second challenges. In the change and progress, concepts of Resistance, Mobilization, and Change will be the core where the Dalit politics, Mobility and Change, and social movements with special reference to women, peasants, and ethnicity are dealt. Middle-class phenomena that emerged due to the changes that occurred during British rule will also be part of this course. Challenges to civilization, state, and society are discussed in the next part where communalism, secularism, and nationalism will be the themes for discussion. The course will address the multiple socio-political forces and ideologies which shape the terrain of the nation.

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Core
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	15 weeks
Category :	Sociology
Credit Points :	5
Level :	Undergraduate
Start Date :	09 Jan 2025
End Date :	30 Apr 2025
Enrollment Ends :	28 Feb 2025
Exam Date :	17 May 2025 IST
NCrF Level	4.5
Exam Shift :	Shift - 1

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week – 1

1. Gandhi – Biographical Profile

2. Gandhi on Satyagraha and Non-violence

3. Gandhi and the Indian National Movement

Week – 2

4. Life Sketch of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

5. Dr.B.R.Ambedkar’s - Works and Methodology

6. Dr.B.R.Ambedkar’s views on Religion and Women’s Development

7. Social and Political Ideas of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

8. Perspectives of Gandhi and Ambedkar on Indian Society

Week – 3

9. Ethnography an Introduction

10. Ethnographers: From Regional to Transnational

11. Ethnography Studies in India

12. Doing Ethnography

Week – 4

13. Indology - an Introduction

14. History of Indological Studies - Some Basics

15. Comparative Philology in Indological Studies

16. Future of Indological Studies

Week – 5

17. Who are the Dalits?

18. Dalit Identity

19. Dalit Movements

20. Political and Social Transformation in Independent India

Week – 6

21. Mobility and Change

22. Sanskritization and Westernization

23. Nature of Social Change in India

24. Impact of Mobility, Change, and Modernization in India

Week – 7

25. Women and Patriarchy

26. Waves of Feminism and Third-World Feminism

27. Women's Movements in India

28. Aftermath–Constitutional & Legal Safeguards

29. Women’s Movement in Contemporary India

Week – 8

30. Peasant movements in the post-colonial India

31. Conceptualizing - Peasant and Indian Peasant Movements

32. Phases of Peasant Movement and Agrarian Struggles

33. Peasant Movements in Contemporary India

Week – 9

34. Introduction to Social Movements

35. Ethnic Movements - An Introduction

36. Assam Movement - An Introduction

37. Phases of Assam Movement

38. New Social Movements in India

Week – 10

39. Middle Class India and its Social Significance

40. Middleness in the Social History of the Indian Middle Class

41. Globalisation and Middle Classes in India

42. Mobility and Change in Indian Class Structure

Week – 11

43. Communalism - An Introduction

44. Communalism - Views of Indian Thinkers

45. Communalism - Types

46. Communalism - What We Need to do to stop its spread

Week – 12

47. Secularization and Theories of Secularism

48. Significance of Secularism

49. Indian Secularism

Week – 13

50. The Varieties of Secular Experiences in the Indian Context

51. Indian Ideology of Secularism

Week – 14

52. Gandhian Perspective on the Crisis of Indian Secularism

53. Nehru on Religion, Politics, and Secularism

54. Fundamentalism, Communalism, and Secularism

Week – 15

55. Citizenship, and National Identity

56. Nationalism and Nation Building

57. Types and Factors of Nationalism

58. From Nationalism to Globalism

Books and references

1. https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/18922/1/Unit-4.pdf

2. https://ddceutkal.ac.in/Syllabus/MA_SOCIOLOGY/MA_Sociology_paper_II.pdf

3. Amrita Verma (2019) Indian Social Movement Jaipur: ABD Publishers

4. Guha R and Parry (1999) Institutions and Inequalities, New Delhi: Oxford University Press

5. Nita Kumar (2007) The Politics of Gender, Community, and Modernity New Delhi: Oxford University Press

6. Ambedkar BR (1971) Annihilation of Caste Jullunder: Bheem Patrika

7. BB Misra 1963 The Indian Middle Classes : Their Growth in Modem Times Oxford University Press.

8. Ghanshyam Shah (1990) Social Movements in India: A Review of Literature New Delhi: Sage

9. Ghanshyam Shah (2001) Dalit Identity and Politics New Delhi: Sage

10. https://sociology.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/faculty/ray/Introsocmovements-1.pdf

Instructor bio

Dr.B.Geetha

Madurai Kamaraj University

Dr. B. Geetha is working as an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai Tamil Nadu. She bagged the Decennium Medal for the PG programme at Madurai Kamaraj University. During her scholar days, she was part of four impact studies conducted by the Government’s Nodal agency. Her Ph.D. is on Women's Development in Rural Areas which was awarded in the year 2009. She has research and teaching experience for twenty-two years and fifteen years respectively. Her areas of specialization are Social Change and Development Women’s Empowerment and Sociology of Health. She has completed a UGC Major Research project Social Exclusion and Higher Education – Challenges and Negotiations: A Gender Perspective. She has been regularly invited to present lectures at regional, national, and international conferences, seminars, and workshops. Under her guidance, six research scholars have completed their doctoral research. She has published 35 research articles in peer-reviewed and reputed journals both nationally and internationally. Currently, she is one of the Principal Investigators of the RUSA funded project on A Socio-Political Study on Emerging Model for Inclusion of Excluded. She has been involved in E-content development for the Sociology papers Sociological Theories and Social Demography. Later served as MOOCs Course coordinator for two courses Population Studies and Glimpses on Social Welfare and Social Legislation.

Further, she developed online MOOC courses on Sociology of India – I and Sociology of India – II in the SWAYAM platform. She has membership in professional bodies namely the Indian Sociological Society (ISS), Kerala Sociological Society (KSS), Indian Association for Social Sciences and Health (IASSH), and Regional Association for Women Studies (RAWS). She actively participates in academic and administrative activities.