About the Department

Thedepartment of Sociology, Khejuri College started its journey in 1^stJune, 1999 .The department of Sociology was a flag bearer to initiate the Programwhich is modern in content yet encompasses issues beyond its purview. Thus theinitiation of this department as one of the major   program opened a space for those studentswho basically wanted to understand one’s own society, community and group withproper methodology. From the beginning itself the department envisions to provide quality education aspiring students to caterknowledge on what we term as “Sociological”. The prime intention of thedepartment being that the students should be able to pursue the quest ofsociological understanding not only academically but also in a practical mannerso that they would be responsible and active participants in civic life and tolive generously in service to others.

TheDepartment of Sociology offers both Honours and General Courses. At thebeginning (1999), primarily the department had general courses for two yearsafter which in 2001 both Honours and general courses was offered to thestudents. Since the inception of the college(in 1999) the department was run bya senior teacher Mr.Sukumar Manna, later he was joined by a prominentprofessor, Dr. Subrata Chatterjee (joined in 2001) who acted as the Head of theDepartment since then. The department had many efficient and dedicated faculty from the beginning among whomMr.Sukumar Manna,Prof.Subrata Chatterjee, Ms.Purbali Panda, Mr.Asit Shee,Ms.SumatiBakra, Mrs. Swati Das were the pioneers.Dr.Subrata Chatterjee served as theHead of the Department since 2001 till 2018.He is one of the founding head ofthe dept. of Sociology, Khejuri College. After Dr. Chatterjee left college in2018(joined another institution) Ms.Smriti Rai is acting as Head of theDepartment (who had joined the dept.as Assistant Professor in 2016).At presentthe department is running with five faculty members with Prof.Priyanka Gupta(who joined in 2021), Mr.Sukumar Manna, Mrs.Swati Das and Mrs.Soma Rani Khatua withMs.Smriti Rai acting as H.O.D.

Sociologybeing a behavioural science with scope in undertaking social service as avocation, the department right from its inception had never failed to observethe social reality prevailing in an around the neighbouring/ surroundingvillages that encircles the institution/college. The effort on the part of thedepartment  thus  is always to motivate/encourage students forall round development of self as well as society, inspiring to be competent inevery field ( in academic and by participation in extracurricular activities)and boosting their confidence believing that a creation of an  educated society is possible through theirhands. Every year the department for sake of societal awareness organizes aneducational tour in the nearby places of importance for inculcating in them thesense of embeddedness within the society.

The Sociology faculty is a community ofscholars with diverse intellectual interests and expertise committed toexcellence in teaching and research, and is intellectually innovative andinformed, grounded in but not bound by our disciplines. Since the inception ofthe department, it has been balling very well. Many students got their honoursdegree from the department. The department has also produced first classholders of whom some secured position in degree level (like for eg, Mayamaya Das(2017), Seuli Das of (2020 batch) as well as in P.G examination. Two of thealumnus of sociology department Mrs.Swati Das and Mrs.Soma Rani Khatua areserving as the faculty member at present, besides many of our alumnusoccupy  important positions in differentother institutions today.

Aim and Objectives of the Department

Toprovide a platform to the students to exhibit their talents and creativity.

Toraise the standards of the students and make them employable.

Tocater positive attitude among our students and give them lessons of life.

Toinculcate social awareness, leadership skills, soft skills etc among ourstudents.

Todevelop the language skills of the students to use it effectively andefficiently in every situation

Sociology is thescience that deals with the study of the manifestations, systems and socialrelations, a careful analytical and descriptive study through the pursuit ofdifferent research methods, in order to reach the rules and laws governing theconduct of these phenomena and social relations.

The SociologyDepartment has 5 key Aims for students taking and completing the course:

1. Understandand be able to apply a sociological perspective proficiently to a range ofsocial issues, as demonstrated by:

-- Describingand giving examples of how a sociological perspective and the discipline ofsociology differs from and is similar to the other social sciences.

-- Describinghow a sociological perspective and the discipline of sociology contribute tothe liberal arts understanding of social reality.

-- Applying thesociological imagination, sociological principles, and concepts to their ownlives and to social problems.

2. Demonstratean ability to think critically, as evidenced by:

-- Usingsociological research and analytical skills to critically evaluate claims madeabout social reality.

--Showing howpatterns of thought and knowledge are influenced by culture and socialstructure.

3. Masterfundamental sociological theory and concepts, as demonstrated by:

-- Defining,giving examples, and demonstrating the relevance of the following: culture,social change, socialization, stratification, social structure, institutions,and differentiations by race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class.

-- Comparing andcontrasting basic theoretical orientations.

-- Applyingsociological theories and concepts to social phenomena, both locally andglobally.

4. Demonstrate acomplex understanding of how difference and patterns of inequality in Indiansociety as well as across the globe are produced and sustained, as demonstratedby:

-- Describingthe significance of empirical variation by race, class, and gender/sexuality invarious part of Indian society and international contexts.

-- Describingthe role of collective action, culture, structure, and the institutionalizationof culture and policies (both formal and informal) in constructing andsustaining difference and inequality.

-- Describingthe intersecting nature of structures of inequality and privilege and thevaried ways in which these are experienced by others and themselves.

-- Proficientlyapplying sociological concepts to analyze the great moral issues of our timeincluding poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia, genocide, war and peace,religious tolerance and intolerance, the defense of human rights, and theenvironmental impact of human activity.

5. Demonstrate athorough understanding of the role of evidence in sociological thinking and howempirical evidence may be collected and analyzed to answer sociologicalquestions, as demonstrated by:

-- Defining and explainingthe relevance of key qualitative and quantitative methodological concepts.

-- Describingthe general role of empirical investigation in building sociological knowledge.

-- Comparing andcontrasting the basic methodological approaches for gathering data.

-- Designing aresearch project in an area of choice and explaining why various decisions(concerning sampling, data collection, analysis etc.) were made.

The SociologyDepartment’s goal is that all students of sociology honours course would beable to achieve three levels of mastery by graduation -

Knowledge –Correct understanding via clear description/definition of key concepts.

Application –Correct use of key concepts to explain social phenomena.

Integration –Effective connection of key concepts/processes employed to explain socialphenomena.

This science also means understanding the natureof various social realities so that this society can draw up strategic plans,set goals and programs that will work to increase progress and raise society.