Department of Sociology

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://ir.nbu.ac.in/handle/123456789/3478

The present Department of Sociology was established as a combined Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology by the University of North Bengal in 1976. Professor Niren Ch. Choudhury, eminent anthropologist, was the first Professor and Head of the Department who provided the leadership in the formative years of the Department.Professor R.K.Bhadra and Dr.Namita Choudhury were associated with him since inception of this department and helped in the process of its development. The bifurcation between sociology and anthropology took place in 2001 and thus the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology was renamed Department of Sociology and a separate Department of Anthropology was established under the Science Faculty. From its beginning the Department of Sociology has been training students for three courses: M.A., M. Phil. and Ph.D. The Department has produced more than 30 Ph.Ds and more than one thousand Masters. Besides the two main programmes the Department invites visiting faculty, from the reputed national and international universities and the faculty of this department visit the universities abroad on visiting faculty programme and for attending seminars/conferences. The teachers of the Department encourage students to take part in academic discussions outside the class-room interaction and encourage them to present papers in seminars/conferences. In recognition of the good work done by the Department the University Grants’ Commission (UGC) has granted the Special Assistance Programme (DRS – 1) in 2007 which has facilitated undertaking a good number of research projects on issues relating to gender question and the problem of ethnicity in the North Bengal region. The Department has been organizing a national level seminar every year on the gender and ethnicity related issues, which constitute the focal theme of the SAP. As a part of the programme the Department publishes Occasional Papers and edited volumes based on the research articles that are produced under different SAP related programs.

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Author: search.filters.author.Beri, Suraj

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    Analysing Classification and its Implications: Inequality, Ideology and Power
    (University of North Bengal, 31-03-2023) Beri, Suraj
    Present paper endeavours to delve into the concept of classification and its pertinence within the realm of social sciences. Through an exploration of existing social science literature in anthropology, and sociology, this analysis undertakes a critical examination of the social and political processes involved in the classification of individuals, identities, groups, categories, and, ultimately, moral and cultural discourses. The potential exists for an ideological “misrecognition” of the historical context, whereby certain categories and concepts are emphasised over others, resulting in the eulogising of specific identities while rendering the articulation of certain forms of inequality impossible. The utility and ramifications of categorization are being discussed.
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    Education, Elites and Public Sphere: Exploring Inequality and Change in Bikaner
    (University of North Bengal, 31-03-2021) Beri, Suraj
    This paper aims to examine the contemporary dynamics of the educational field and its relation with the wider public sphere in Bikaner town of Rajasthan. Existing researches have focused on educational development mainly in rural areas and hence there is a lack of such research in urban contexts. This study looks at how this relationship between the education field and the public sphere is mediated by the status and role of elites in such urban locations. The initial growth of educational institutions in princely towns corresponds to the social and economic changes happening in the city. The institutionalization of public education in the post-independence period contest and complicate the relation between elites, public sphere, and education. This study, based on empirical research, shows that elites tended to control the public sphere in colonial Rajasthan and it is only with public education in the post-independence period that this sphere has acquired a democratic character. Besides, it would also examine the position of the field of education in the larger field of power of Bikaner town to map the changes in the elite structure as well. It concerns with position and role of traditional elites in the changing educational field and to what extent they can shape and control the dynamics of the contemporary public sphere in Bikaner’s context.
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    Elites and Field of Power: Methodological Reflections from Bikaner
    (University of North Bengal, 2019-03) Beri, Suraj
    This paper explains the relationship between elite practices and elite claims. It argues that empirical focus on the discrepancy between elite accounts of their self and their practices can be one of the core areas of the methodological dimensions of elite research. It would demonstrate the complex of nature social inequalities and its reproduction. It concludes by arguing that field work in elite research can be made more fruitful by paying close attention to observational data and hence empirical research may look beyond “what is said” and to reach closer to “what is done”