ICSE Board Sociology Syllabus for Class 11

1. To familiarise candidates with the basic concepts of Sociology and Anthropology.
2. To develop in candidates an understanding of various forces that constitute social life and social problems.
3. To create an awareness of the process of change and development in general and with reference to the Indian society in particular.
4. To provide candidates with the means whereby they can come to a better understanding of other cultures as well as of their own.
5. To form in candidates the habit of scrutinising social assumptions and beliefs in the light of scientific evidence.
6. To introduce a deeper study of the subject for the tertiary level.

                                      CLASS XI

There will be two papers in the subject.

Paper I - Theory:  3 hours ……70 marks
Paper II- Practical Work ……30 marks
PAPER - I  (THEORY) – 70 Marks

Part 1 (20 marks) will consist of  compulsory short

answer questions testing knowledge, application and skills relating to elementary / fundamental aspects of the entire syllabus.

Part II (50 marks) will consist of seven questions out of which the candidate will be required to answer fivequestions, each carrying 10 marks.

1. Origin and Development of Sociology and Anthropology

(i) Emergence of Sociology as a discipline.Discuss briefly the origins and growth of the discipline. 

(ii) Classical thinkers and theories.Discuss in brief the contribution of  Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber.

(iii) Nature and Scope of Sociology; Meaning and Definition of Society.General/broad definition of society.Relation of Sociology with other Social Sciences Political Science, Economics Anthropology, History, Psychology, Philosophy.

(iv) Research methodology. Formulation of the problem, Observation, Classification, Hypothesis, Verification, Prediction. 

(v)  Nature and Scope of Anthropology.Definition: Root words, general definition; growth of the discipline - travellers,explorers, administrators and missionaries;Branches of Anthropology: Physical Anthropology; Socio-cultural Anthropology - Ethnology, Archaeology, Linguistics; Applied Anthropology. 

2. The Nature of Society - Concepts and Characteristics

(i) Society and the individual: man as a social being.  Explain man as a social being, using the examples of the feral cases of Hauser, Amla and Kamala and Anna.

(ii) Types of Society (Rural and Urban Society). Discuss the nature of Rural and Urban Society.

(iii) Social Groups.Community and Association, Primary Groups (in-group), Secondary Groups (out-group) and Reference Groups.

(iv) Social Processes.Co-operation and conflict, folkways and mores, crowd and crowd behaviour.

3.  Race, Ethnicity and Culture (i) Concept of race.Definition, traits and racial types.
 
(ii) Notion and attributes of culture.Definition; material and non material culture;characteristics of culture.

(iii) Notion of Ethnicity.Definition and features of ethnicity.

(iv) Relationship between race and culture. Causes of prejudice: misinformation,ethnocentrism, economic advantages, political advantages, compensation for frustration.Remedies. 

(v)  Examples of ethnic separatism. Examples of ethnic separatism, e.g Jharkhand,  Chattisgarh, or any other similar movement.

4. 2atural and Social Selection – Heredity and Environment

(i)  Natural selection and heredity.Definition of natural selection and heredity survival of the fittest, mechanisms of heredity – basic process and terms; genetic  changes and acquired characteristics.

(ii) Social selection and Environment.Definition of social selection and environment; types of environment (natural and social); struggle for existence.

(iii) Interplay of heredity and environment.Self explanatory.

5.  Social Stratification 

(i) Social stratification: the elements.Definition of stratification, inequality, difference.

(ii) The class system: its nature, development, types of classes. Discuss briefly the growth and nature of the different classes (lower, middle, upper).

(iii) The caste system: concept, caste origin, caste and class comparison, its features; caste in modern India. Definition. Vertical and horizontal division of society. Characteristics - social, ancient, universal, diverse forms;  caste in modern India – reservation, caste and politics; social mobility-- brahminisation,sanskritisation and westernization - definitions only.

6.  Population and other Social Problems

(i) Over population, crime, juvenile delinquency,beggary, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, child labour. Inter relationships between the social problems.
 
(ii) Alleviating the problems.Discuss briefly the causes, consequences and solutions for the above social problems.

PAPER II (PRACTICAL WORK) – 30 MARKS

To do justice to the basic structural principles and theoretical orientation of the discipline, empirical and ethnographic substantiation is essential. In keeping with the significance of doing practical work and gaining a hands-on understanding of various social issues, candidates are expected to undertake  two studies. Topics for the studies should be chosen from within the overall syllabus, as there is ample scope for diversity.
Candidates will be expected to have completed  two studies from any chapter covered in Theory.Assessment for each study will be as detailed below:

List of suggested assignments:

1.  The problem of Child Labour in India.  
2.  Children and beggary.
3.  Pover
4.  The Population explosion and its impact on urban society.
5.  The policy of reservation in India  or The backward class movement.
6.  The significance of the Mandal Commission.
7.  The rising Middle Class in India.
8.  The nature of protest in rural India (example Singur)
9.  Race and examples of Racism (Apartheid/ American Racism).
10.  The birth of new states in India based on ethnic separatism.
11.  The changing nature of culture and tradition.
12.  Cultural fusion and Gen-X.
13. The Urban family, the role of Voluntary Associations or The Urban Neighbourhood.
14. Rural society in India or The village in India  (an example can be taken and elaborated upon), fore.g. Anna Hazare’s village Ralegan Siddhi).
15. Biographical sketch of one of the thinkers - Weber or Comte, etc