CSS Syllabus — Sociology

Sociology – 100 Marks

I. General Sociology

1. Individual

• Sociability or the sociality of man.

2. Culture

• Meaning and characteristics:
  • Culture is variable.
  • Culture is learned.
  • Culture is social.
  • Culture is shared.
  • Culture is transmissive.
  • Culture is dynamic.
  • Culture is adaptive.
• Types of culture:
  • Material culture.
  • Non-material culture.
• Functions of culture:
  • Transfer of knowledge.
  • Define situations.
  • Provide behavioral patterns.
  • Mould personality.
• Elements of culture:
  • Norms.
  • Values.
  • Beliefs.
  • Sanctions.
  • Customs.
• Culture and socialization.
• Formal and non-formal socialization.
• Transmission of culture.
• Cultural relativism.
• Sub-cultures.
• Ethnocentrism and xenocentrism.
• Cultural lag.
• High culture and popular culture.
• Multiculturalism.
• Assimilation and acculturation.

3. Society

• Meaning and characteristics of society.
• Community: meaning and characteristics.
• Individual and society.
• Relationship between individual and society.
• Two main theories regarding the relationship between man and society:
  1. Social Contract Theory.
  2. Organismic Theory.
• Social and cultural evolution of society:
  • Hunting and Gathering Society.
  • Herding and Advanced Herding Society.
  • Horticultural Society.
  • Agrarian Society.
  • Industrial Society.
  • Postmodern Society.

4. Social Interaction

• Caste and classes.
• Forms of social classes.
• Feudal system in Pakistan.
• Social mobility:
  • Nature of social mobility.
  • Determinants of social mobility in Pakistani society.
• Culture of poverty.

5. Social Control

• Mechanisms of social control:
  • Formal means of social control.
  • Informal means of social control.
• Anomie.
• Alienation.
• Social integration.
• Means of social integration in Pakistani society.

6. Social and Cultural Change and Social Policy

• Processes of social and cultural change.
• Discovery.
• Inhibitions to social and cultural change in Pakistan.
• Social planning.
• Directed social and cultural change.
• Effects of:
  • Industrialization.
  • Urbanization.
  • Modernization.
  • Modern means of communication on social change.

7. Public Opinion

• Formation of public opinion.
• Concept of opinion leader.
• Characteristics of opinion leadership.

8. Community

• Rural community.
• Traditional characteristics of rural life.
• Urban community.
• Rural–urban convergence.
• Urbanism.
• Future of cities in Pakistan.

9. Social Institutions

• Nature and genesis of institutions.
• Process of institutionalization.
• Functions of social institutions:
  • Family.
  • Religion.
  • Education.
  • Economy.
  • Politics.

10. Social Problems in Pakistan

• High population growth rate.
• Rural–urban migration.
• Issues of technical and vocational training.
• Deviance and street crime.
• Unemployment.
• Illiteracy and school dropout.
• Smuggling.
• Prostitution.
• Poverty.
• Drug addiction.
• Child labour and abuse.
• Bonded labour.
• Social customs and traditions affecting women in Pakistan.
• Violence against women.
• Domestic violence.
• Issues concerning the elderly in Pakistan.

II. Sociological Theory

Three Major Sociological Perspectives

1. Structural Functionalism.
2. Symbolic Interactionism.
3. Conflict Perspective.

Major Sociological Theorists

• Ibn-i-Khaldun.
• Herbert Spencer.
• Auguste Comte.
• Émile Durkheim.
• Max Weber.
• Karl Marx.
• Talcott Parsons.

III. Methods of Sociological Research

• Scientific method.
• Steps in research.
• Types of questionnaires.
• Research design.
• Surveys.
• Observation.
• Case studies.

Suggested Readings