SOCIOLOGICAL THINKERS-2 (SEMESTER-6) G.H. MEAD

George Herbert Mead is a major figure in the history of American philosophy, one of the founders of Pragmatism along with Peirce, James, Tufts, and Dewey. He published numerous papers during his lifetime and, following his death, several of his students produced four books in his name from Mead's unpublished (and even unfinished) notes and manuscripts, from students' notes, and from stenographic records of some of his courses at the University of Chicago. Through his teaching, writing, and posthumous publications, Mead has exercised a significant influence in 20th century social theory, among both philosophers and social scientists. In particular, Mead's theory of the emergence of mind and self out of the social process of significant communication has become the foundation of the symbolic interactionist school of sociology and social psychology. In addition to his well- known and widely appreciated social philosophy, Mead's thought includes significant contributions to the philosophy of nature, the philosophy of science, philosophical anthropology, the philosophy of history, and process philosophy. Both John Dewey and Alfred North Whitehead considered Mead a thinker of the highest order.

SOCIOLOGICAL THINKERS-2 (SEMESTER-6) ERVING GOFFMAN

The best way to understand human action is by seeing people as actors on a ‘social stage’ who actively create an impression of themselves for the benefit of an audience (and, ultimately themselves).

SOCIOLOGICAL THINKERS-2 (SEMESTER-6) PIERRE BOURDIEU

Pierre Bourdieu, an eminent French Sociologist wrote in a time when Structuralism and Structural Marxism were the dominating schools of thought. However, Bourdieu was critical of their approach towards humans and their actions. In his ‘The Outline of a Theory of Practice’, Bourdieu brings in the concept of Habitus to elaborate on how individuals act. According to him, an individual’s practices are produced by the Habitus of an individual in a given social structure.

SOCIOLOGICAL THINKERS-2 (SEMESTER-6) PETER BERGER AND LUCKMANN

This article straddles a dubious boundary between philosophy and sociology. The subject of the book is the sociology of knowledge, and, from the title, it should be understood that reality is socially constructed. 

SOCIOLOGICAL THINKERS-2 (SEMESTER-6) ADORNO

CHAPTER 1- THE CONCEPT OF ENLIGHTMENT

For Kant, Enlightenment liberates us from authority. Those who hold authority—have mystery. The priest has special access to the mystery of religion; it is through him where God comes towards us. The Enlightenment says that human reason is capable of answering all the questions that the previous authority had answers to. When you have a rational claim, you’ve laid a path that someone else can easily follow to the same conclusion. The light of the Enlightenment leads to knowledge in this respect. For Kant, this frees us from authoritarianism; we now understand the light of the world from our own reason.

RESEARCH METHODS-2 (SEMESTER-6) RESEARCH PROCESS

Social research is the act of gathering data that can help a person to answer the questions about the various aspects of the society. These questions can be generalized, or very specific in terms of the problems.

RESEARCH METHODS-2 (SEMESTER-6) FIELD (Akhil Gupta and James Ferguson + MN Srinivas)

In the context of sociological research, the term ‘field’ refers to the members of a social group which is the prime object of study for a social scientist. In its early phase, Malinowski and Radcliffe-Brown laid the foundations of intensive fieldwork among anthropologists in Britain. However, in Indian context, it was M.N. Srinivas who strongly advocated for the ‘field-view’ of Indian society in place of the ‘book-view’. Book-view of Indian society was largely championed by the Indologists like B.K. Sarkar, G.S. Ghurey, Radhakamal Mukerjee, Irawati Karve. Indologists claimed that Indian society could be understood only through the concepts, theories and frameworks of Indian civilization. They believed that an examination of the classical texts, manuscripts, archaeological artefacts, etc. should be the starting point for the study of the present. 

RESEARCH METHODS-2 (SEMESTER-6) OBSERVATION

The observation method is the primary technique for collecting data on non- verbal behavior. It most commonly involves sight or visual data collection, but might also include data collection via the other senses, such as hearing, touch or smell. Observations are often codices preliminary to surveys, and sometimes also be conducted jointly with document study or experimentation. There are two chief types of observation - participant and non-participant.  

RESEARCH METHODS-2 (SEMESTER-6) HYPOTHESIS

The Function of the Hypotheses A hypothesis states what one is looking for in an experiment. When facts are assembled, ordered and seen in a relationship, they build up to become a theory. This theory needs to be deduced for further confirmation of the facts, this formulation of the deductions constitutes of a hypothesis. As a theory states a logical relationship between facts and from this, the propositions which are deduced should be true. Hence, these deduced prepositions are called hypothesis. 

RESEARCH METHODS-2 (SEMESTER-6) SAMPLING

Sampling is the statistical process of selecting a subset (called a “sample”) of a population of interest for purpose of making observations and statistical inferences about that population. Social science research is generally about inferring patterns of behaviors within specific populations. And since we cannot study entire populations because of feasibility and cost constraints, and hence, we must select a representative sample from the population of interest for observation and analysis.

RESEARCH METHODS-2 (SEMESTER-6) INTERVIEW STUDIES

ADVANTAGES OF INTERVIEW STUDIES