Some brief analytical points about Sociology optional from my experience.

Click SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL to read more about Sociology topics

Download OAS Sociology Optional Syllabus PDF

Sociology is the most demanding optional subject in both UPSC civil services exam and OPSC civil services exam and other states PSC civil services also. The beauty of this subject is, you can correlate the content of this subject with the day to day happenings around you. Once you start understanding the subject you will fall in love with it. Various youtube videos and Blog posts are available by various UPSC qualified students and some famous websites. The study materials for this subject are flooded both offline and online. But the big question is, which materials or books should we follow particularly for OPSC OAS examinations? And the simple answer is the Sociology syllabus. Listen, both UPSC and OPSC syllabus for sociology are not exactly the same. The style of asking questions is not similar also. So while preparing for Sociology for OPSC we should always stick to our syllabus. Always the whole syllabus will be in front of us and each topic of the syllabus is a step towards scoring a huge 220+marks in each paper of the subject. If you want to score high marks, you have to put in hard labor. For an absolute beginner, I am telling you, try to build a strong foundation by following the below points I have summarised from my experiences.

Click SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL to read more about Sociology topics

Download OAS Sociology Optional Syllabus PDF

1.You start reading any Delhi based coaching materials of a reputed teacher. But my personal choice is Mohapatra sir's Notes. If you have time you can refer to other coaching materials also but Mohapatra sir's notes are sufficient. The Notes are written from the UPSC perspective so we have to prepare them from the OPSC perspective.

2. In the OPSC syllabus, there are 12 chapters in paper-1 and 12 chapters in paper-2. The chapters in paper-1 are the raw concepts of sociology and the chapters in paper-2 are the application of basic sociological concepts in Indian society.

3.There is no single book that can help us in preparing all the chapters so we should go to refer multiple materials and books and some pages or portions of those books are necessary only for our examinations.

4.After reading Mohapatra sir's Notes (You can freely download them from my blog), you can develop a certain background of the content inside your mind. Now you will promote yourself from knowing nothing to knowing at least something.

5.Now you have to go for the detailed analysis of the syllabus(topic wise) with the previous years' questions.

6.After analysis you will get to know that certain topics of the syllabus have been asked multiple times in the previous years' questions.

7. You need to find those areas of the syllabus and give your maximum focus on them. You start to find and consolidate your notes from various sources for those topics.

8.You can refer to Neha Bhosle's notes. You can download them from my blog. Some topics from her Notes are extremely useful for the OPSC perspective also. She has also summarised some snapshots of some toppers' answer copy which can help you to know how toppers are writing the answers in the exam hall conditions.

9.Now you will start feeling confident about sociology and with every piece of content you will read, you are going to correlate them with the happenings around you and it will start the process of internalization of the contents. It will help you immensely in the real exam hall conditions.

10. Don't neglect any topic and try to cover all the topics from the syllabus as far as possible.

Chapter-wise tips and booklist for Sociology

Click SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL to read more about Sociology topics

Download OAS Sociology Optional Syllabus PDF

Chapter-wise tips and booklist for Sociology

Paper-I

Foundations of Sociology

1. Sociology-The Discipline: Sociology as a science and as an interpretative discipline; impact of Industrial and French Revolution on the emergence of sociology; sociology and its relationship with history, economics, political science, psychology, and anthropology.

Note-This is the introduction chapter and it will ignite your interest to have a nice tour of the entire syllabus of sociology. For this chapter, Mohapatra sir's Notes and Neha Bhosle Notes are sufficient. Don't go with short cuts. It will cut short your aspiration also.

2. Scientific Study of Social Phenomena: Problem of objectivity and value neutrality; issue of measurement in social science; elements of scientific method-concepts, theory and fact, hypothesis; research designs-descriptive, exploratory and experimental, content analysis.

Note-This chapter will tell you why sociology is going to be more interesting ahead. For this chapter Mohapatra sir's notes and Neha Bhosle notes are sufficient. Read the introduction chapter and chapter-14 from Green Haralambos if you have time. It will give you a greater depth of the various perspective of sociology.

3. Techniques of data collection and analysis: Participant and quasi-participant observation; interview, questionnaire and schedule case study, sampling-size, reliability and validity, scaling techniques-social distance and Likert scale.

Note- This is the most scientific and logical portion of the syllabus. Mohapatra sir's notes and Neha Bhosle notes. For scaling techniques-social distance and Likert scale, you can refer to fundamentals of Sociology(paper-1) by Unique publication. Otherwise, I will give you some notes on that topic.

4. Pioneering contributions to Sociology: a) Karl Marx: Historical materialism, alienation and class struggle. b) Emile Durkheim: Division of labor, social fact, religion and society, suicide. c) Max Weber: Social action, ideal types, authority, bureaucracy, the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. d) Talcott Parsons: Social system, pattern variables. e) Robert K. Merton: Latent and manifest functions, anomie, conformity and deviance, reference groups.

Note- This chapter is the backbone and pulse of Sociology. So read this chapter multiple times and the true fragrance of Sociology. Mohapatra sir's Notes is the only document to master this chapter. He has explained this chapter with limpid and perspicacity. Read this chapter as many times as possible. The more you read, the more you feel the cuteness and sweetness of Sociology.

Click SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL to read more about Sociology topics

Download OAS Sociology Optional Syllabus PDF

5. Marriage and Family: Types and forms of marriage; family-structure and function; personality and socialization; Social control; family, lineage, descent, and property; changing the structure of family and marriage in modern society; divorce and its implications; role conflicts.

Note- This is a nice chapter as many things we already know from our day to day experience. You can refer to Mohapatra sir, Neha Bhosle, and C N Shankar Rao book (paper-1)

6. Social Stratification: Concepts-hierarchy, inequality, and stratification; theories of stratification-Marx, Davis and Moore, and Melvin Tumin’s critique; forms and functions; class different conceptions of class; class-in-itself and class-for-itself; caste and class; caste as a class.

Note- This chapter will tell you why there are inequality and the justification of inequality in our society. This is a very hot topic from exam point of view. Green Haralambos(Only read the topics mentioned in the syllabus not more than that) and Neha Bhosle Notes are sufficient.

7. Social Mobility: Types of mobility-open and closed models; intra-and intergenerational mobility; vertical and horizontal mobility; social mobility and social change.

Note- This is a small topic but very important as questions are asked from this topic very often. Mohapatra sir's Notes and Neha Bhosle Notes are sufficient.

8. Economic System: Sociological dimensions of economic life; the impact of economic processes on the larger society; social aspects of the division of labor and types of exchange; features of the pre-industrial and industrial economic system; industrialization and social change; social determinants of economic development.

Click SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL to read more about Sociology topics

Download OAS Sociology Optional Syllabus PDF

Note- For this chapter Mohapatra sir's notes, Neha Bhosle Notes, and C N Shankar Rao for paper-1 are sufficient.

9. Political System: The nature of power-personal power, community power, power of the elite, class power, organizational power, power of the unorganized masses; authority and legitimacy; pressure groups and political parties; voting behavior; modes of political participation-democratic and authoritarian forms.

Note-For this chapter Mohapatra sir's notes, Neha Bhosle Notes, and C N Shankar Rao for paper-1 are sufficient.

10. Educational System: Education and Culture; equality of educational opportunity; social aspects of mass education; problems of universalization of primary education; role of community and state intervention in education; education as an instrument of social control and social change; education and modernization.

Note- C N Shankar Rao is sufficient for this chapter.

11. Religion: Origins of religious beliefs in pre-modern societies; the sacred and the profane; social functions and dysfunctions of religion; monistic and pluralistic religion; organized and unorganized religions; Semitism and antisemitism; religion, sect, and cults; magic, religion, and science.

Note-C N Shankar Rao and Unique publication will provide some good content for this chapter.

12. Social Change and Gender Issues: Social construction of gender, Equality vs. Differences, the impact of globalization on women, the emergence of feminist thought, gender issues.

Note- For the Social construction of gender, follow Green Haralambos. You can also refer to Neha Bhosle and C N Shankar Rao.

Click SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL to read more about Sociology topics

Download OAS Sociology Optional Syllabus PDF

Paper-II

Indian Society

1. Historical Moorings of the Indian Society : Traditional Hindu social organization; socio-cultural dynamics through the ages; impact of Buddhism, Islam, and the West, factors in continuity and change.

Note- You can refer to Society in India by Ram Ahuja, C N Shankar Rao, and Nitin Sangwan.

2. Caste System : Origin of the caste system; cultural and structural views about caste; mobility in caste; caste among Muslims and Christians; change and persistence of caste in modern India; issues of equality and social justice; views of Gandhi and Ambedkar on caste; caste on and Indian polity; Backward Classes Movement; Mandal Commission Report and issues of social backwardness and social justice; the emergence of Dalit consciousness, backward caste movement.

Note- Neha Bhosle Notes, Ram Ahuja, and Nitin Sagwan are sufficient.

3. Class Structure : Class structure in India, agrarian and industrial class structure; the emergence of the middle class; the emergence of classes among tribes; elite formation in India.

Note- Mohapatra sir Notes, Neha Bhosle, Ram Ahuja, and Nitin Sangwan. Enrich your content from reading from these books.

4. Marriage, Family, and Kinship: Marriage among different religious and tribal groups, its changing trends and its future; family-its structural and functional aspects-its changing forms; regional variations in kinship systems and their socio-cultural correlates; impact of legislation and socioeconomic change on marriage and family; generation gap.

Note- Ram Ahuja is the most important book for this portion. Ask those who have written the main examination this time. Read all the bullet points from Ram Ahuja. You can supplement this by Neha Bhosle, C N Shankar Rao, and Nitin Sangwan according to the viability of times.

Click SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL to read more about Sociology topics

Download OAS Sociology Optional Syllabus PDF

5. Agrarian Social Structure : Peasant society and agrarian systems; land tenure systems-historical perspectives, social consequences of land reforms and green revolution; feudalism-semi-feudalism debates; emerging agrarian class structure; peasant movements.

Note- Mohapatra sir's Notes, Neha Bhosle are sufficient and you can supplement them with Ram Ahuja and others

6. Industry and Society : Path of industrialization, occupational diversification, trade unions, and human relations; market economy and its social consequences; economic reforms liberalization, privatization and globalization.

Note- C N Shankar Rao and Ram Ahuja are more than sufficient for this chapter.

7. Political Processes : Working of the democratic political system in a traditional society; political parties and their social base; social structural origins of political elites and their orientations; regionalism, pluralism and national unity; decentralization of power; Panchayati raj and nagarpalikas and 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments.

Note- C N Shankar Rao and Ram Ahuja are more than sufficient for this chapter

8. Education : Directive Principles of State Policy and primary education; educational inequality and change; education and social mobility; the role of community and state intervention in education; universalization of primary education; Total Literacy Campaigns; educational problems of disadvantaged groups.

Click SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL to read more about Sociology topics

Download OAS Sociology Optional Syllabus PDF

Note- C N Shankar Rao is sufficient for this chapter.

9. Religion and Society : Size, growth, and regional distribution of different religious groups; educational levels of different groups; problems of religious minorities; communal tensions; secularism; conversions; religious fundamentalism, religious reform movements.

Note- Mohapatra Sir's Notes, Neha Bhosle Notes, Ram Ahuja, and C N Shankar Rao are sufficient.

10. Tribal Societies : Distinctive features of tribal communities and their geographical spread; problems of tribal communities-land alienation, health, and nutrition, education; tribal development efforts after independence; tribal policy-isolation, assimilation, and integration; issues of tribal identity.

Notes- Mohapatra Sir Notes and Ram Ahuja are sufficient.

11. Social Change and Development: Endogenous and exogenous sources of change and resistance to change; processes of change-Sanskritisation and modernization; agents of change-mass media, education and communication; problems of change and modernization; structural contradictions and breakdowns; Migration, Determinants, and consequences of population growth, population policy and family welfare programs, child welfare programs.

Note- Mohaptra Sir's Notes, Neha Bhosle Notes, Ram Ahuja, and C N Shankar Rao are sufficient.

12. Major Social Issues Poverty, indebtedness, bonded labor, unemployment, depletion of forests, development-related displacement, corruption, alcoholism, AIDS, drug addiction, violence against women, dowry. Child labor; Maternal and infant mortality rate in Odisha.

Note- Social problems in India by Ram Ahuja is the most important book for this chapter and You can supplement it with Neha Bhosle and Mohapatra Sir's Notes.

READ All the bullet points from Ram Ahuja Book for those topics mentioned in the Syllabus. This will help you to score high marks on the paper-2. Always try to mention thinkers in your answer both for 20 markers and 60 markers.

You also try to collect some current happenings and supreme court rulings related to sociology, particularly for paper-1. For example, supreme court rulings related to Mandal commission report i.e Indira Sawhney vs Union of India, Vishakha case for the topic atrocities against women, etc. You can purchase Important Judgements that transferred India Book by Alex Andrews George which has a good collection of supreme court rulings. It is an extremely useful book to fetch some extra marks both in optional and General studies papers. Always keep in mind, The more you practice the less you bleed on the battlefield. Now the ball is in your court so enjoy the journey of sociology.

Click SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL to read more about Sociology topics

Download OAS Sociology Optional Syllabus PDF

All I can say, put in your hard labor and reap a success that very few people in our society can make it. You will read the relevant topics mentioned in the syllabus from those books I have mentioned. Most of the books I have mentioned are available in Pdfs formant freely on the internet. You can download most of them from my Blog.

Refer to reliableandvalid.com for topic wise analysis of NIOS and IGNOU Sociology Pdfs. This is absolutely a nice website for Sociology. You can also refer to Sleepy Classes Youtube channel.

N.B- This time (Odisha Civil Services exam 2020) there are 392 vacancies and Cut off for different categories is different. If this time you only need a selection anyhow, you can go for C N Shankar Rao for paper-1 and paper-2. This book will somehow help you to fetch some good marks. But if you want to score 220+ marks on each paper, you should put in some extra labor. The choice is yours. I only shared my experiences with you. Hope it will help you.

Click SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL to read more about Sociology topics

Download OAS Sociology Optional Syllabus PDF

NOTICE-

If you are a newcomer, you can join my online Sociology guidance-cum-test series program.
It will immensely help you as it is a one-to-one interaction program focusing on the different weak areas of the student.
Regular Google Meet Class.
FEES- Rs 599 Per Month
SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL- RS 599 Per Month
[It includes test series+ Regular class+materials+Essay]

It provides:
1. Topic-wise high-quality notes for the whole syllabus & Regular Google Meet Class.
2. Past Years' Exam Question Analysis.
3. One to one interaction for doubt clearing.
4. Part & Full Mock Test
5. Test copy Evaluation with proper feedback.
6. Notes will be sent to your WhatsApp on a daily basis.
7. It will help you to cover the whole syllabus gradually and smoothly.
8. English Essay writing practice
9. Tips & Tricks to score 400+ in Sociology & 100+ in Essay.
10. It will continue up to the Main Exam.
Interested students can contact the Author.
EMI[Easy Monthly Installments] facilities are there.
Paytm/Google Pay/PhonePe -9438546229

Here are my Paytm Payments Bank account details:

Name - MANASA CHANDRA PRADHAN
Account Number - 919438546229
IFSC - PYTM0123456
UPI ID - 9438546229@paytm
INTERESTED candidates contact the Author
WhatsApp- 9438546229