Department of Sociology

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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.Sharma, Rukmani

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    Bed Rest at Childbirth: Exploring Empirical Dimensions of Support and Vulnerability
    (University of North Bengal, 31-03-2023) Sharma, Rukmani
    phenomenon of childbirth is a social event, whereby women hailing from both conventional and modern societies bestow substantial credence upon their social counterparts for the provision of emotional and psychological sustenance. The established importance of obtaining social support from one’s biological kin has been widely recognised. It is of utmost importance to adopt a discerning perspective when dealing with this reliance and evaluate it from a sociological standpoint, rather than simply acknowledging it as a mundane occurrence. The inquiry into the selection process of women beneficiaries and benefactors in times of vulnerability may shed light on the uncharted rules and norms governing social support. A comprehensive evaluation of the care dependency of expectant mothers mandates a meticulous examination of the sociocultural milieu in which they are positioned. The ongoing inquiry pertains to a specific cohort of women who give birth within a biomedicalized urban setting, wherein modern techniques enable the detection of potential risks with unparalleled efficiency. Expectant mothers are often troubled by the possibility of being classified as high-risk throughout the duration of their gestation period. Pregnancies that present a heightened risk are subject to meticulous oversight, diagnostic evaluations, and targeted pharmacological interventions. Although bed rest is a commonly prescribed intervention for the management of pregnancies with a high risk of complications, its effectiveness cannot always be assured. It is widely acknowledged that a considerable segment of the women lacks the requisite resources and capabilities to comply with the recommended protocols of prolonged antenatal and postnatal bed rest. The present study endeavours to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the organizational culture of Prakash Hospital, with a specific emphasis on the impact of unique social and economic determinants on the assimilation of bed rest norms among women. In a general sense, the discussion regarding the notion of bed rest pertains to the capacity of women to alleviate potential risks via reliance on their maternal kinship networks (baper bari).
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    Changing Birth Practices and Rituals among the Bengali Women in Siliguri
    (University of North Bengal, 2022-03) Sharma, Rukmani
    In this paper, I have attempted to make sense of the social ways in which Bengali women find themselves when they go through birth giving. Based on ethnographic study of Bengali women in Siliguri city, this work aims to understand the dynamics of cultural change and continuity vis-à-vis the practice of birth rituals in contemporary times. It examines the ways in which birth practices provide both the context and the medium for the social formation of gender, caste and community relations. The fieldwork insights demonstrate the decaying significance of traditional birth rituals and builds on women’s narratives about the birth as a social event in their personal and family lives. The work draws upon the conceptual and theoretical insights from the sociological literature on child birth and social and cultural experiences, social classification, identity and socialization.
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    Childbirth Practices and Midwifery: Exploring Social Changes in Indian Context
    (University of North Bengal, 2019-03) Sharma, Rukmani
    Healthy women represent health standards of any nation, although the maternal health care throughout the world is severely damaged. The paper discusses changes in the social location of Dais and their socio-cultural roles over the decades till the contemporary society. Many scholars have brought to light the way politics of knowledge works, and how the knowledge based on experience, skill, insights and culture is denounced. State has taken several measures in maternal health care but has failed in yielding good results. The paper tires to compare birth practices in different parts of India and tries to evaluate the reasons behind the similarities and differences. Three major areas of the problem have been located in childbirth practices. First, despite of government measures the rural and poor women continue to face discrimination in the maternal health care, particularly those who depend on unskilled birth attendants; second, the over-medicalization of childbirth; and third, the continued practice of homebirth.