Contents
Part I—Concepts, Theory and Methodology
1. The Study of Human Society
2. Sociological Perspectives : Units and Methods
3. Theories of Society
4. Scientific Method and Social Research
5. Types of Human Collectivities
6. Social Order
7. Social Process
8. Social Change
9. Social, Culture and Personality
Part II—Indian Society : Structure, Process and Change
10. Family and Kinship
11. Caste and Class
12. Economy and Society
13. Polity and Society
14. Education and Society
15. Law and Society
16. Formal Organizations
17. Occupations and Professions
18. Religious Pluralism
19. Linguistic Diversity
20. Urban, Peasant and Tribal Communities
21. Women and Society
22. Youth and Society
23. Social Movements
24. Social Deviance
25. Social Change in Independent India
Name Index
Subject Index

SOCIOLOGY may be viewed as a composite social science. It not only employs modern tools and techniques of research but also draws on cognate disciplines for a comprehensive theory of human society. Apart from the description and analysis of the social phenomena in relation to time and space, it also seeks to study the dynamics of human society, the ways in which the individuals and groups interact, mobilize for collective action, and attain the social goals. Further, sociology analyses the social processes such as co-operation,
conflict, adaptation, and integration for a precise understanding of human behavior. Finally, it analyzes the dimensions of social change, which include changes in and of society. These are the steps through which sociology seeks to build up a comprehensive view of society wherein facts, values, and ideologies are analyzed with the help of concepts and theories. A sociology of India has grown up in recent years. The complex social institutions and social groups of Indian society are studied in sociology both in their structural and processual aspects. The legal system in India has been associated in various ways with the transition of society from tradition to modernity. It has created new codes of behavior and new institutions and new organizations to facilitate nation-building in post-independent India. These spheres of interaction between law and society include polity, economy, administration, and judiciary. This book explores these aspects in considerable detail. ---provided by publisher