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Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA)
Programme Code: BDP
Course Code: ESO-11
Assignment Code: ESO-11/
AST/TMA/2011-2012
Section – I
Answer the following in about 500 words each.
1. Describe the major concerns of Sociology and discuss its nature and scope. 20
Solution: Sociology concentrated heavily on society and its major units and their dynamics. It has been striving to analyse the dynamics of the society in terms of organised patterns of social relations.
Firstly, the major concern of sociology is sociological analysis. It means the sociologist seeks to provide an analysis of human society and culture with a sociological perspective. He evinces his interest in the evolution of society and tries to reconstruct the major stages in the evolutionary process. An attempt is also made "to analyse the factors and forces underlying historical transformations of society". Due importance is given to the scientific method that is adopted in the sociological analysis.
Secondly, sociology has given sufficient attention to the study of primary units of social life. In this area, it is concerned with social acts and social relationships, individual personalty, groups of all varieties, communities (urban, rural, and tribal), associations, organisations and populations.
Thirdly, sociology has been concerned with the development, structure and function of a wide variety of basic social institutions such as the family and kinship, property and religion, economic, political, legal, educational and scientific, recreational and welfare, aesthetic and expressive institutions.
Fourthly, no sociologist can afford to ignore the fundamental social processes that play a vital role. The social process such as co-operation and competition, accommodation and assimilation, social conflict including war and revolution; communication including opinion formation expression and change; social differentiation