BA Sociology and Anthropology Hons at Ashoka University, Sonepat Offline Course

The major in Sociology and Anthropology studies the behavior and conduct of people and groups in their social context. That exploration of what it means to be human ranges from the study of culture and social relations, to languages, to music, art and architecture, and to vestiges of human habitation. Providing us with different ways of understanding human behavior, the major will allow students to develop the analytical skills necessary to look more closely at particular behaviors and events. How, for example, might we explain the emergence of new rituals, such as internet-based marriage, or birthday parties? How do we understand the behavior of communities that might seem counter-productive or even abhorrent to us, such as inter-caste strife or the celebration of corrupt politicians? How might we interpret India’s wealth of statistical results which reveal trends we can’t easily explain, like the sharp decline in the participation of women in the labour market? It considers such fascinating questions as how peoples’ behavior changes over time, how people move about the world, why and how people from distant parts of the world and dissimilar cultures are different and the same, how the human species has evolved over millions of years, and how individuals understand and operate successfully in distinct cultural settings. Each of the fields teaches distinctive skills, such as applying theories, employing research methodologies, formulating and testing hypotheses, and developing extensive sets of data.