Unit I: Introduction to Sociology
- Meaning of Sociology
- Subject matter of Sociology
- Auguste Comte
- Herbert Spencer
- Emile Durkheim
- Max Weber
- Sociology and Other Social Science
- Major Concern of Sociology
Unit II: Theoretical Perspective in Sociology
- Theoretical Perspective and Functionalism: Meaning, context, basic tenets or key assumptions: Functionalism of Emile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons (Basic ideas with criticism).
- Interactionist Perspective: Meaning, context, basic tenets or key assumptions: Interactionism of George Herbert Mead and Herbert Blumer (Basic ideas and criticism).
- Conflict Perspective: Meaning, context, basic tenets or key assumptions: Conflict theory of Karl Marx and Max Weber (basic ideas and criticism).
- Post-Modernism Perspective: meaning, context, basic tenets or key assumptions: Post Modernism of Fredric Jameson and Jean Baudrillard (basic ideas and criticism).
- Fredric Jameson
Unit III: The foundations of society
- Society: Meaning, Definition, nature, and types (Industrial and pre-industrial).
- Culture: Meaning, definition, features, and functions; types (material and non-material); subculture (youth, ethnic, and age subculture via society and organization, e.g. Consumer behavior, organizational culture)
- Social Norms and Values.
- Status and Role: meaning, definition, and types; linkage to business and management
- Socialization: Meaning, definition, and function of socialization; agents of socialization;
- Types of socialization (primary and secondary socialization); theories of primary socialization; personality and socialization;
- Stages of Socialization by Fred
- Group and organization: Group- meaning, definition, and features; types (various types with focusing on primary and secondary groups). Organization- meaning, definition (view from founding fathers of sociology); formal and informal organization; Max Weber’s Bureaucracy; sociology of organization; work and leisure;
- Group Dynamics
- Dynamics of social capital;
- Sexuality: understanding sexuality;
- Sexual issues like (Pornography,
- Teen Pregnancy,
- Prostitution, and
- Sexual Violence,
- Sexual Abuse)
- Crime and Deviance: Meaning, definition, and difference between them and
- Types of Deviance
- Social Control
- Conformity: meaning and definition
- Social Sanction: meaning and definition
- Community
- Social Group
Unit IV: Social stratification
- Social stratification: Meaning, definition, and features
- Functional and conflict approach to social stratification
- Social Inequality
- Social Class, Caste System, Ethnicity and Gender as various aspects of social stratification- Meaning, definition, features and Nepalese context.
Unit V: Social Institution
- Social Institution: Meaning, definition, and features; Functions,
- Family,
- Kinship,
- Marriage,
- Political Institution(polity),
- Economic Institution,
- Religion (along with dysfunction),
- Educational Institution
- Conflict and functional approach to religion and education
- Nepalese context.
Unit VI: Social change
- Social change: Meaning, definition, and features
- Factors of Social Change
- Theoretical Lens of Social Change
- Application and experiences in Nepalese society.