Sociology 2024 Paper I 50 marks 150 words Compulsory Critically examine

Q5

Answer the following questions in about 150 words each: (a) Describe various characteristics of a 'social fact'. How is rate of suicide a social fact according to Durkheim? (10 marks) (b) Explain G.H. Mead's idea of development of 'self' through the 'generalised other'. (10 marks) (c) Describe the differing principles of work organization in feudal and capitalist societies. (10 marks) (d) How is 'power' different from 'authority'? Discuss various types of authorities as theorized by Max Weber. (10 marks) (e) Critically examine the roles of science and technology in social change. What is your opinion on their increasing trend in 'online' education and teaching? (10 marks)

हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें

निम्नलिखित में से प्रत्येक प्रश्न का उत्तर लगभग 150 शब्दों में लिखिए: (a) 'सामाजिक तथ्य' की विभिन्न विशेषताओं का वर्णन कीजिए। दुर्खीम के अनुसार आत्महत्या की दर किस प्रकार एक सामाजिक तथ्य है? (10 अंक) (b) 'सामान्यीकृत अन्य' के माध्यम से 'आत्म' के विकास पर जी.एच. मीड के विचार की व्याख्या कीजिए। (10 अंक) (c) सामंती एवं पूंजीवादी समाजों में कार्य संगठन के सिद्धांतों की विभिन्नताओं का वर्णन कीजिए। (10 अंक) (d) 'शक्ति' किस प्रकार से 'सत्ता' से भिन्न है? मैक्स वेबर के द्वारा प्रणीत विभिन्न प्रकार की सत्ताओं की चर्चा कीजिए। (10 अंक) (e) सामाजिक परिवर्तन में विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी की भूमिकाओं का आलोचनात्मक परीक्षण कीजिए। 'ऑनलाइन' शिक्षा और अध्यापन में इनकी बढ़ती प्रवृत्ति के बारे में आपके क्या विचार हैं? (10 अंक)

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Directive word: Critically examine

This question asks you to critically examine. The directive word signals the depth of analysis expected, the structure of your answer, and the weight of evidence you must bring.

See our UPSC directive words guide for a full breakdown of how to respond to each command word.

How this answer will be evaluated

Approach

Critically examine demands balanced evaluation with evidence across all five parts. Allocate ~30 words each to (a)-(d) covering Durkheim's social fact characteristics and suicide rates, Mead's I/me and generalized other stages, feudal vs capitalist work organization (serfdom vs. Taylorism/Fordism), and Weber's power/authority distinction with ideal types. Reserve ~30 words for (e) to critically examine science/technology in social change and offer a nuanced opinion on online education. Each part needs precise theoretical terminology and brief empirical anchoring.

Key points expected

  • (a) Social fact: externality, constraint, generality; suicide rate as collective phenomenon beyond individual psychology (Durkheim 1897)
  • (a) Suicide types: egoistic, altruistic, anomic, fatalistic — linked to social integration/regulation
  • (b) Mead's self: 'I' (impulsive) vs 'me' (socialized); play, game, generalized other stages; self as social process not structure
  • (c) Feudal: status-based, ascriptive, reciprocal obligations, use-value production; Capitalist: contract-based, achievement, wage-labor, surplus value/exploitation
  • (d) Power (Macht): probability of imposing will despite resistance; Authority (Herrschaft): legitimate domination; Weber's three types: traditional, charismatic, legal-rational
  • (e) Science/technology: instrumental rationality, disenchantment, risk society (Beck); online education: democratization vs. digital divide, deskilling of teachers, surveillance concerns

Evaluation rubric

DimensionWeightMax marksExcellentAveragePoor
Demand-directive understanding20%10For (a)-(d), executes 'describe' and 'explain' with precision—distinguishes characteristics from examples; for (e), treats 'critically examine' as weighing both enabling and constraining dimensions of technology in education, not mere celebration or condemnation.Covers all five parts but treats (a)-(d) as descriptive exercises and (e) as opinion without systematic evaluation; directive verbs not fully operationalized.Misreads directives—describes when asked to explain, or offers opinion when asked to critically examine; significant parts underdeveloped or omitted.
Theoretical framing20%10Deploys Durkheim's Rules of Sociological Method precisely for (a); Mead's Mind, Self and Society stages for (b); Marx's mode of production contrast for (c); Weber's Economy and Society typology for (d); and Beck's risk society or Habermas's colonization of lifeworld for (e).Names theorists correctly but conflates concepts (e.g., mixes Mead's 'I/me' with Cooley's 'looking-glass self') or uses Weber's authority types without defining legitimacy.Theoretical vocabulary absent or misattributed; suicide discussed without Durkheim, authority without Weber.
Indian / empirical examples20%10For (a), cites Indian suicide data (NCRB 2022: farmer suicides, youth unemployment); for (c), references informal labor or gig economy as capitalist transformation; for (e), references PM eVIDYA, DIKSHA, or ASER 2023 findings on learning loss during pandemic-driven online shift.Generic references to 'India's digital divide' or 'farmer distress' without specific data points or reports.No Indian grounding; examples drawn from Western contexts only or entirely absent across all five parts.
Multi-paradigm analysis20%10Shows awareness of competing interpretations: for (a), methodological individualism critique (Watkins/ methodological holism debate); for (b), symbolic interactionism vs. structural functionalism; for (c), Brenner's agrarian class structure vs. Wallerstein world-systems; for (d), Foucault's power/knowledge vs. Weber; for (e), technological determinism vs. social construction of technology.Acknowledges one alternative perspective briefly in (e) only; other parts presented as settled theoretical consensus.Single-paradigm treatment throughout; no recognition that Durkheim's suicide thesis has been contested (Douglas, Atkinson) or that online education critiques exist.
Conclusion & sociological imagination20%10Synthesizes across parts: connects Durkheim's social facts to contemporary online education as emergent social fact; or links Weber's rationalization to platform capitalism's algorithmic management; conclusion demonstrates Mills's sociological imagination by connecting personal troubles (individual learning outcomes) to public issues (structural transformation of education).Concludes each part separately with summary statements but no cross-thematic integration; final sentence on online education lacks analytical depth.No conclusion or five disconnected endings; fails to demonstrate how classical sociology illuminates contemporary digital transformation.

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