ISC Class 12 Sociology Syllabus

ISC Class 12 Sociology Syllabus

Sociology is a vital branch of social science that aims to answer questions about our society. It examines the definition of sociology and the difference between social psychology and anthropology. It is a systematic study of human society, interpersonal connections on a group level and culture. Sociology educates the candidate on how individuals in a marriage feel about their partner. It investigates collective patterns, such as why certain cultures believe males should have several wives while others do not.  

In short, sociology investigates the ‘big picture’ on a collective level, whereas social psychology studies the attitudes and feelings of individual people. Students who want to study this subject must be aware of the ISC Class 12 Sociology Syllabus before the start of the academic year. To help out the students, Extramarks offers the updated ISC Class 12 Sociology Syllabus for free for all students.

ISC Class 12 Sociology Syllabus 2023-24- Semester (1 & 2)

The sociology syllabus has been divided into two semesters, as represented in the table below:

Students may click on the chapters mentioned in the ISC Class 12 Sociology Syllabus to access the study material pertaining to the respective chapter.

A brief of the ISC class 12 Sociology Syllabus is as under.

1. Social Institutions:

• Definition and features of social institutions.
• Types of social institutions: Marriage and Family
• Kinship: Types of kinship and classificatory kinship.
• Marriage: Meaning and its functions.
  • Rules of marriage: endogamy and exogamy.
  • Forms of marriage: monogamy and polygamy.
• Family: Functions of family explaining the reasons for its universal existence.
• Different Types of the family
  • Matriarchal and patriarchal families
  • Joint and nuclear families.
• Structural changes (dissolution of the joint family), functional changes; 
• Factors responsible for the changes: Nuclear family norms.

2. Religion & Society:

• Definition/concepts of religion and science
  • Beliefs, rituals, superstitions, taboos. 
• Theories of religion
  • Animism
  • Totemism
  • Naturism
  • Functional approaches.
• Religion’s functions and dysfunctions: positive and negative functions to be explained here.
• Secularism in a plural society, communalism and fundamentalism: providing relevant examples of how the States cope with the above crises to maintain Unity in Diversity.
• Morality and social control
  • Relation between religion
  • Morality and social control
  • Moral code
  • Religious code.

3. Political Organization & its role in bringing about change in society:

• Definition of Panchayati Raj (Village Panchayat)
• Definition of a political organisation
  • Zila Parishad and Block Samiti  – the 73rd constitution (three-tier)
  • Amendment Act
  • Bal Panchayats
• Discussing the role of the Panchayat in the empowerment of women and children.

4. The Economic Organisation:

• Economic Organization
• Economies of Indian tribes: 
  • Food gathering; 
  • Agriculture: shifting of axe cultivation; 
  • Handicraft making;
  • Pastoralism; 
  • Industrial labour.
• Jajmani system, The Agrarian Economy and the Rural Employment. 
  • Exchange of services and caste-based occupations. 
  • Land relations – owner, tenant, a sharecropper. 
• A brief understanding of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and its involvement. 
• Weekly markets and barter exchange.

5. Tribal India: Past, Present & Future:

• Definition of tribe, features and classification.
• Dormitories in Tribal India
• Connection of tribes with broader society (assimilation, acculturation and isolation; tribal evolution).
• Current problems, conditions and solutions.
• Economic, political (regionalism and separatism), social and cultural conditions and problems.

6. The Social stratification

• The elements, inequality, features, and differences.
• The class system:  its nature, development, types (lower, middle, upper-class group).
• The caste system: concept, caste origin, caste and class comparison, its features; caste in modern  India.
• Race and Ethnicity
• Gender roles: patriarchal ideology and the status of women in independent India. We will briefly discuss the latest amendments and bills: 
  • The Anti-Dowry Act
  • The Anti-Rape Bill
  • The Inheritance Bill
  • The Domestic Violence Act.

7. Social Change and Development:

• The aspects of development: Industrialisation, urbanisation, modernisation, globalisation and sustainable development.
• Social Movements: its meaning, causes, and role in society.
• The Role of Education in Creating Social change: Right to Education (RTE) and its implications to be discussed briefly.

Students may refer to the latest ISC Class 12 Sociology syllabus on Extramarks to prepare for the examination. 

ISC Class 12 Sociology Syllabus Examination Pattern And Marking

As per the revised CISCE board guidelines, the ISC Sociology Semester 1 exam will last 1 hour and 30 minutes. The paper will be entirely based on objective type questions with multiple-choice options. This will have 70 questions with a maximum scoring of 70 marks. For each correct answer, the candidate will receive one mark. There will be no negative marking for incorrect or unanswered questions. 

Candidates can refer to the study material with reference to ISC Class 12 Sociology syllabus prepared as per ISC guidelines from Extramarks. 

In addition to the notes, candidates can access the following by clicking on the respective links.  

ISC & ICSE Syllabus

ICSE Solutions

ICSE sample question papers

ICSE important questions

ICSE question paper