Sociological Thoughts
Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya · LL.B. Semester 2 · LAIBTY4N
Unit I — Classical Thinkers and Foundations of Sociological Thought
Auguste Comte – Positivism; Law of Three Stages; Hierarchy of Sciences; Religion of Humanity. · Emile Durkheim – Social Facts; Division of Labour; Theory of Suicide; Religion and Collective Conscience. · Karl Marx – Historical Materialism; Class and Class Struggle; Alienation; Critique of Capitalism. · Max Weber – Social Action; Ideal Types; Rationalization; Power and Authority; Protestant Ethic and Capitalism.
- Contributions of Classical Social Thinkers
- August Comte: Positivism, Law of three stages, Social Staticsand Social Dynamics
- Emile Durkheim: Theory of Religion, Theory of Suicide, Division
- Karl Mar: Historical and Dialectical Materialism, Theory of Social
- Max Weber: Social Action and types, Power and Authority, Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism, Bureaucracy
Unit II — Sociological Foundations of Legal Thought
Jeremy Bentham – Utilitarianism; Concept of Justice; Codification of Law; Legal Reforms. · Roscoe Pound – Theory of Social Engineering; Jural Postulates; Law as a Tool of Social Control; Classification of Interests. · M. N. Srinivas – Village Studies; Dominant Caste; Sanskritization and Westernization; Religion and Society in India.
- Legal positivism Bentham's Utilitarian theory, Austin's Imperative/ Analytical theory, Prof. HLA Hart's Concept of Law, Hans Kelson's Pure Theory of Law
- Sociological school of law — Roscoe Pound's Social Engineering Theory
- Meaning, Characteristics, factors or causes of social change, processes of social change (Westernization, Modernization, Industrialization, Sanskritisation, Liberalization, Globalization)
Unit III — Structural and Critical Thinkers
Immanuel Wallerstein – World Systems Theory; Core-Periphery Structure; Global Capitalism. · Jurgen Habermas – Lifeworld and System; Communicative Action; Public Sphere; Colonization of Lifeworld; Critical Theory. · Pierre Bourdieu – Cultural, Social, Economic Capital; Habitus; Cultural Reproduction and Inequality.
Unit IV — Postmodern and Contemporary Perspectives
Jean Baudrillard – Simulation; Hyperreality; Consumer Society; Collapse of Meaning. · Zygmunt Bauman (optional addition) – Liquid Modernity; Risk; Individualization and Legal Uncertainty. · Contemporary Issues – Globalization, Media Influence, Identity Politics, Digital Surveillance and Law.
Unit V — Application of Sociological Thought in Legal Context
Theoretical application to: · Caste-based Discrimination and Social Justice · Gender Inequality and Legal Reform · Law and Global Capitalism