UPSC Sociology Syllabus 2026 for Paper 1 & Paper 2

Chapters

Topics

Sociology - The Discipline

• Scope of the subject and comparison with other social sciences.

• Modernity and social changes in Europe and emergence of Sociology.

• Sociology and common sense.

Research Methods and Analysis

• Qualitative and quantitative methods.

• Variables, sampling, hypothesis, reliability and validity.

• Techniques of data collection.

Works and Economic Life

• Formal and informal organization of work.

• Social organization of work in different types of society - slave society, feudal society, industrial capitalist society.

• Labour and society.

Sociological Thinkers

• Emile Durkhteim - Division of labour, social fact, suicide, religion and society.

• Talcott Parsons - Social system, pattern variables.

• Max Weber - Social action, ideal types, authority, bureaucracy, protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism.

• Mead - Self and identity

• Robert K. Merton - Latent and manifest functions, conformity and deviance, reference groups.

• Karl Marx - Historical materialism, mode of production, alienation, class struggle.

Sociology as Science

• Science, scientific method and critique.

• Major theoretical strands of research methodology.

• Positivism and its critique.

• Fact value and objectivity.

• Non-positivist methodologies.

Stratification and Mobility

• Theories of social stratification - Structural functionalist theory, Marxist theory, Weberian theory.

• Concepts - equality, inequality, hierarchy, exclusion, poverty and deprivation.

• Social mobility - open and closed systems, types of mobility, sources and causes of mobility.

• Dimensions - Social stratification of class, status groups, gender, ethnicity and race.

Politics and Society

• Protest, agitation, social movements, collective action, revolution.

• Sociological theories of power.

• Nation, state, citizenship, democracy, civil society, ideology.

• Power elite, bureaucracy, pressure groups and political parties.

Religion and Society

• Religion in modern society: religion and science, secularization, religious revivalism, fundamentalism.

• Sociological theories of religion.

• Types of religious practices: animism, monism, pluralism, sects, cults.

Social Change in Modern Society

• Development and dependency.

• Sociological theories of social change.

• Education and social change.

• Science, technology and social change.

• Agents of social change.

Systems of Kinship

• Lineage and descent.

• Patriarchy and sexual division of labour.

• Types and forms of family.

• Contemporary trends.

• Family, household, marriage.

Chapter

Topics

Introducing Indian Society

Perspectives on the Study of Indian Society

• Indology (G.S. Ghure).

• Marxist sociology (A. R. Desai).

• Structural functionalism (M. N. Srinivas).

Impact of colonial rule on Indian society

• Modernization of Indian tradition.

• Social reforms.

• Social background of Indian nationalism.

• Protests and movements during the colonial period.

Social Structure

Rural and Agrarian Social Structure:

• Agrarian social structure— evolution of land tenure system, land reforms.

• The idea of Indian village and village studies.

Caste System in India

• Untouchability-forms and perspectives

• Features of caste system.

• Perspectives on the study of caste systems: G. S. Ghurye, M. N. Srinivas, Louis Dumont, Andre Beteille.

Systems of Kinship in India

• Household dimensions of the family.

• Lineage and descent in India.

• Types of kinship systems.

• Patriarchy, entitlements and sexual division of labour.

• Family and marriage in India.

Rural and Agrarian Transformation in India

• Problems of rural labour, bondage, migration

• Programmes of rural development, Community Development Programme, cooperatives, poverty alleviation schemes.

• Changing modes of production in Indian agriculture.

• Green revolution and social change.

Religion and Society

• Social Changes in India

• Problems of religious minorities.

• Religious communities in India.

Tribal Communities in India

• Definitional problems.

• Colonial policies and tribes.

• Issues of integration and autonomy.

• Geographical spread.

Social Classes in India

• Industrial class structure.

• Agrarian class structure.

• Middle classes in India.

Visions of Social Change in India

• Education and social change.

• Constitution, law and social change.

• Idea of development planning and mixed economy.

Politics and Society

• Regionalism and decentralization of power.

• Political parties, pressure groups, social and political elite.

• Secularization.

• Nation, democracy and citizenship.

Industrialization and Urbanisation in India

• Evolution of modern industry in India.

• Working class: structure, growth, class mobilization.

• Slums and deprivation in urban areas.

• Growth of urban settlements in India.

• Informal sector, child labour.

Social Movements in Modern India

• Backward classes & Dalit movements.

• Peasants and farmers movements.

• Women’s movement.

• Environmental movements.

• Ethnicity and Identity movements.

Population Dynamics

• Components of population growth: birth, death, migration.

• Emerging issues: ageing, sex ratios, child and infant mortality, reproductive health.

• Population Policy and family planning.

• Population size, growth, composition and distribution.

Challenges of Social Transformation

• Ethnic conflicts, communalism, religious revivalism.

• Illiteracy and disparities in education.

• Poverty, deprivation and inequalities.

• Violence against women.

• Caste conflicts.

• Crisis of development: displacement, environmental problems and sustainability.

Book name

Author

Sociological Theory

Ritzer George

Political Theory

O P Gauba

Book name

Author

Indian Society and Culture

Nadeem Hasnain

Persistence and Change in Tribal India

M.V. Rao