[Optional Paper] IAS Mains 2014 Sociology Paper 1 Question Paper
Section A (Part 1)
Q1. Write short answer of the following in about 150 words each: 10×5=50
- How is objectivity different from value neutrality? Discuss with reference to Weber’s views on methodology.
- How did the emergence of industrial society change the family life in Western Europe?
- How is sociological approach to human actions different from that of psychological approach?
- In what way biographies could be used to study social life?
- How can we use reference group theory to understand fashion in society?
Q2.Answer the following: (20+20+10 marks)
- Which research technique would be most suitable for the study of consumer behaviour and its social correlates? Explain.20 marks
- Identify the similarities and differences between Marx’s theory of ‘alienation’ and Durkheim’s theory of ‘anomie’.20 marks
- How could one use Merton’s concept of deviance to understand the traffic problem in urban India?10 marks
Q3. Answer the following: (20+20+10 marks)
- What do you understand by gender? How does it shape ‘male ‘identity?20 marks
- “According to Max Weber, ‘class’ and ‘status’ are two different dimensions of power.” Discuss.20 marks
- Using Merton’s concepts of ‘manifest’ and ‘latent’ functions, explain the persistence of corruption in Indian society.10 marks
Q4. Answer the following: (20+20+10 marks)
- How does Weber use the notion of ‘ideal types’ in his theory of bureaucracy?20 marks
- In what way ‘interpretative’ method is different from ‘positivist’ approach in the study of social phenomena?20 marks
- Using Mead’s theory of symbolic interactionism, discuss the stages in the formation of gender identity.10 marks
Section B (Part 2)
Q5. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each: 10×5=50
- For Marx, class divisions are outcomes of ‘exploitation’. Discuss.
- What are the distinctive features of social organization of work in slave society? How is it different from feudal society?
- Discuss T. H. Marshall’s views on citizenship.
- Distinguish between Political Parties and Pressure
- “According to Durkheim, the essence of religion in modern society is the same as religion in primitive society.” Comment.
Q6. Answer the following: (20+20+10 marks)
- “Power is not a zero-sum game”. Discuss with reference to Weber’s and Parsons’s views.20 marks
- Critically examine the functionalist views on the institution of family. How do those help us in understanding family in the present times?20 marks
- What do you understand by institutionalization of ‘live-in-relationship?10 marks
Q7. Answer the following: (20+20+10 marks)
- How is religious revivalism different from communalism? Elaborate with suitable examples from the Indian context.20 marks
- Education is often viewed as an agency of social change. However in reality it could also reinforce inequalities and conservatism. Discuss.20 marks
- According to Marx, capitalism transforms even the personal relationships between men and women. Critically examine with illustrations from the contemporary Indian context.10 marks
Q8. Answer the following: (20+20+10 marks)
- How is the increasing use of technology changing the status of women in Indian society?20 marks
- Write a short essay on the Latin American perspective on ‘dependency’.20 marks
- What do you understand by social movement? How has the mobilization by Scheduled Castes helped them in constructing a new identity?10 marks
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