Paper 2 · Sociology · Code 05

UGC NET Paper 2 — Sociology (05)

Sociology (subject code 05) is the subject paper (Paper 2) for candidates in this subject. It carries 100 questions for 200 marks (+2 per correct answer, no negative marking), attempted together with Paper 1 in the single 180-minute combined session. The syllabus below is the verified official syllabus, organised unit-wise; chapters and practice questions appear as they are published, and nothing is marked complete before it exists.

100 questions

200 marks · +2 per correct · No negative marking · Paper 2 within the 180-min combined session

10 units · 39 topics

Full syllabus below, with topic summaries

40 practice questions · 39 premium chapters

Easy 10 · Medium 20 · Hard 10 — all original practice; verified PYQs live separately in the PYQ Library

Syllabus

Complete syllabus — all units and topics

Topic summaries are the unit study material already published on NETSaathi. Weightage badges are platform estimates from past-question frequency — they are not NTA guarantees.

Unit 1: Sociological Theory

समाजशास्त्रीय सिद्धांत · 4 bank questions · 5 premium chapters

Classical sociological traditions — Classical sociological traditions: Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Karl Marx.High weightage
Structural-functionalism and structuralism — Structure-functionalism and structuralism: Bronislaw Malinowski, A.R. Radcliffe-Brown, Talcott Parsons, Robert K. Merton, Claude Levi-Strauss.High weightage
Hermeneutic and interpretative traditions — Hermeneutic and interpretative traditions: G.H. Mead, Karl Mannheim, Alfred Schutz, Harold Garfinkel, Erving Goffman, Clifford Geertz.Medium
Postmodernism, post-structuralism, post-colonialism — Postmodernism, post-structuralism and post-colonialism: Edward Said, Pierre Bourdieu, Michel Foucault, Jurgen Habermas, Anthony Giddens, Manuel Castells.Medium
Indian thinkers — Indian thinkers: M.K. Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar, Radha Kamal Mukherjee, G. S. Ghurye, M.N. Srinivas, Irawati Karve.High weightage

Classical sociological traditions → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Structural-functionalism and structuralism → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Hermeneutic and interpretative traditions → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Postmodernism, post-structuralism, post-colonialism → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Indian thinkers → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Unit 2: Research Methodology and Methods

शोध पद्धति और विधियाँ · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters

Conceptualizing social reality — Conceptualizing social reality: philosophy of science, scientific method and epistemology in social science, hermeneutic traditions, objectivity and reflexivity in social science, ethics and politics.High weightage
Formulating research design — Formulating research design: reading social science research, data and documents, induction and deduction, fact, concept and theory, hypotheses, research questions, objectives.High weightage
Quantitative and qualitative methods and techniques — Quantitative and qualitative methods: ethnography, survey method, historical method, comparative method; techniques: sampling, questionnaire and schedule, statistical analysis, observation, interview and case study.High weightage
Interpretation, data analysis and report writing — Interpretation, data analysis and report writing.Medium

Conceptualizing social reality → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Formulating research design → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Quantitative and qualitative methods and techniques → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Interpretation, data analysis and report writing → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Unit 3: Basic Concepts and Institutions

मूल अवधारणाएँ और संस्थाएँ · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters

Sociological concepts — Sociological concepts: social structure, culture, network, status and role, identity, community, diaspora, values, norms and rules, personhood, habitus and agency.High weightage
Social institutions — Social institutions: bureaucracy, power and authority; marriage, family and kinship; economy, polity, religion, education, law and customs.High weightage
Social stratification — Social stratification: social difference, hierarchy, inequality and marginalization; caste and class; gender, sexuality and disability; race, tribe and ethnicity.High weightage
Social change and processes — Social change and processes: evolution and diffusion, modernization and development, social transformations and globalization, social mobility.Medium

Sociological concepts → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Social institutions → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Social stratification → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Social change and processes → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Unit 4: Rural and Urban Transformations

ग्रामीण और शहरी परिवर्तन · 4 bank questions · 2 premium chapters

Rural and peasant society — Rural and peasant society: caste-tribe settlements, agrarian social structure and emergent class relations, land ownership and agrarian relations, decline of agrarian economy, de-peasantization and migration, agrarian unrest and peasant movements, changing inter-community relations and violence.High weightage
Urban society — Urban society: urbanism, urbanity and urbanization; towns, cities and mega-cities; industry, service and business; neighbourhood, slums and ethnic enclaves; middle class and gated communities; urban movements and violence.High weightage

Rural and peasant society → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Urban society → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Unit 5: State, Politics and Development

राज्य, राजनीति और विकास · 4 bank questions · 2 premium chapters

Political processes in India — Political processes in India: tribe, nation state and border, bureaucracy, governance and development, public policy (health, education and livelihoods), political culture, grass-root democracy, law and society, gender and development, corruption, role of international development organizations.High weightage
Social movements, protests and civil society — Social movements and protests: political factions, pressure groups, movements based on caste, ethnicity, ideology, gender, disability, religion and region; civil society and citizenship, NGOs, activism and leadership, reservations and politics.High weightage

Political processes in India → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Social movements, protests and civil society → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Unit 6: Economy and Society

अर्थव्यवस्था और समाज · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters

Exchange, gift, capital, labour and market — Exchange, gift, capital, labour and market.Medium
Mode of production and property relations — Mode of production debates, property and property relations, state and market: welfarism and neoliberalism.Medium
Development models, poverty and labour — Models of economic development, poverty and exclusion, factory and industry systems, changing nature of labour relations, gender and labour process, business and family.High weightage
Digital economy, business and consumption — Digital economy, e-commerce, global business and corporates, tourism, consumption.Medium

Exchange, gift, capital, labour and market → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Mode of production and property relations → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Development models, poverty and labour → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Digital economy, business and consumption → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Unit 7: Environment and Society

पर्यावरण और समाज · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters

Social and cultural ecology — Social and cultural ecology: diverse forms; technological change, agriculture and biodiversity.Medium
Indigenous knowledge and ethno-medicine — Indigenous knowledge systems and ethno-medicine.Medium
Gender, forests, exclusion and degradation — Gender and environment, forest policies, adivasis and exclusion, ecological degradation and migration, development, displacement and rehabilitation, water and social exclusion.Medium
Disasters, pollution, climate and movements — Disasters and community responses; environmental pollution, public health and disability; climate change and international policies; environmental movements.Medium

Social and cultural ecology → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Indigenous knowledge and ethno-medicine → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Gender, forests, exclusion and degradation → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Disasters, pollution, climate and movements → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Unit 8: Family, Marriage and Kinship

परिवार, विवाह और नातेदारी · 4 bank questions · 5 premium chapters

Theoretical approaches to family and kinship — Theoretical approaches: structure-functionalist, alliance and cultural.High weightage
Gender relations and power dynamics — Gender relations and power dynamics; gender, sexuality and reproduction.Medium
Inheritance, succession and authority — Inheritance, succession and authority.Medium
Changing family, marriage and care systems — Children, youth and elderly; emotions and family; emergent forms of family; changing marriage practices; changing care and support systems.High weightage
Family laws and violence — Family laws, domestic violence and crime against women, honour killing.Medium

Theoretical approaches to family and kinship → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Gender relations and power dynamics → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Inheritance, succession and authority → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Changing family, marriage and care systems → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Family laws and violence → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Unit 9: Science, Technology and Society

विज्ञान, प्रौद्योगिकी और समाज · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters

History of technological development — History of technological development, changing notions of time and space, flows and boundaries, virtual community.Medium
Media, e-governance and surveillance — Media: print and electronic, visual and social media; e-governance and surveillance society; technology and emerging political processes; state policy, digital divide and inclusion.Medium
Technology, family, health and food — Technology and changing family relations, technology and changing health systems, food and technology.Medium
Cyber crime — Cyber crime.Medium

History of technological development → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Media, e-governance and surveillance → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Technology, family, health and food → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Cyber crime → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Unit 10: Culture and Symbolic Transformations

संस्कृति और प्रतीकात्मक परिवर्तन · 4 bank questions · 5 premium chapters

Signs, symbols, rituals and beliefs — Signs and symbols, rituals, beliefs and practices, changing material culture, moral economy.High weightage
Education, religion and commodification — Education: formal and informal; religious organizations, piety and spirituality; commodification of rituals; communalism and secularism.Medium
Cultural identity and mobilisation — Cultural identity and mobilization, culture and politics.Medium
Gender, body, art, ethics and sports — Gender, body and culture; art and aesthetics; ethics and morality; sports and culture.Medium
Pilgrimage, religion, economy and environment — Pilgrimage and religious tourism, religion and economy, culture and environment, new religious movements.Medium

Signs, symbols, rituals and beliefs → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Education, religion and commodification → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Cultural identity and mobilisation → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Gender, body, art, ethics and sports → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Pilgrimage, religion, economy and environment → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Study material