STRATIFICATION & MOBILITY

1 STRATIFICATION & MOBILITY

A. Core Concepts: Inequality, Stratification, Class/Status

1. What is the difference between natural and social inequality? Give examples from caste and class dimensions. (2018)
2. Critically examine the functionalist tradition in Sociology. (2013)
3. Write short note: Stratification of class. (2012)
4. Examine the conceptual distinction between social inequality and social stratification. How do the nature and forms of the social stratification system determine the patterns of social mobility? (2003)
5. How would you distinguish between the stratified and the unstratified social positions? What explanation would you prefer for the universal existence of the social stratification in human society? (1999)
6. Write short note: Social class and social status. (1995)
7. Elaborate the concepts of ‘status-consistency’ and status-inconsistency. State the factors responsible for ‘status-inconsistency’ in modern societies. (1992)
8. Write short note: Status inconsistency. (1990)

B. Theories of Stratification (Marx, Weber, Functionalism, Conflict)

1. Does the structural-functionalist perspective on social stratification promote a status quo? Give reasons for your answer. (2025)
2. Explain Max Weber’s theory of social stratification. How does Weber’s idea of class differ from that of Marx? (2023)
3. Critically examine Max Weber’s theory of Social Stratification. (2021)
4. Davis and Moore made it clear that social stratification is a functional necessity and also an unconscious device. Discuss. (2019)
5. Compare and contrast the contributions of Marx and Weber on social stratification in capitalist society. (2019)
6. Differentiate between ‘Life-chances’ and ‘Life-style’ with suitable examples. (2019)
7. Why is gender a dimension of social stratification? How does gender intersect other dimensions of inequality based on caste, class, race and ethnicity? (2019)
8. Evaluate if social stratification is functional for society. (2018)
9. What is Weberian critique of Marxist notion of social stratification? (2017)
10. Elucidate the basic premises of Davis’ structural-functional theory of social stratification. How far is it relevant in understanding contemporary Indian society? (2016)
11. Differentiate between Marxian and Weberian theories of Social Stratification. (2015)
12. “According to Max Weber, ‘class’ and ‘status’ are two different dimensions of power.” Discuss. (2014)
13. For Marx, class divisions are outcomes of ‘exploitation’. Discuss. (2014)
14. How do Karl Marx and Max Weber differ in terms of their analysis of social stratification? (2013)
15. Briefly discuss the Conflict Perspective on social stratification and examine the view that social inequality in India is the function of a rigid social stratification system. (2004)
16. Explain Melvin Tumin’s critique related to the theory of social stratification. (2002)
17. Write short note: Role conflict as a source of deviation. Analyze critically the functional theory of social stratification. (1999)
18. ‘Social inequality is the device by which societies ensure that the most important positions are filled by the most qualified persons.’ Explain this viewpoint and state the grounds on which it is refuted. (1992)
19. Write short note: Functional theory of stratification. (1991)
20. Write short note: Functional theory of stratification. (1988)

C. Power, Hierarchy, Exclusion

1. Discuss the dimensions of power in the construction and maintenance of social hierarchies in a society. (2024)
2. How are Hierarchy and Exclusion the major impediments in the transformation of societies? Discuss. (2020)
3. How does hierarchy get built into the systems of natural and social inequalities? (2008)

D. Gender, Race, Ethnicity

1. Is the social stratification theory gender-blind? Elucidate. (2025)
2. Do you think that the boundary line between ethnicity and race is blurred? Justify your answer. (2023)
3. How do sociologists construct gender in their analysis on social inequality? (2022)
4. Explain the growing salience of ethnicity in the contemporary world with illustrations. (2021)
5. Examine gender, ethnicity and race as major dimensions of social stratification. (2017)
6. What do you understand by gender? How does it shape ‘male identity’? (2014)
7. Analyse the gender bias in the present society with examples. (2013)
8. Write short note: The problem of Gender. (2011)
9. Write short note: Ethnicity and Development. (2010)

E. Caste and Its Changing Form

1. Analyse the changing nature of caste as a status group. (2024)
2. Write short note: Caste-system as a principle of social stratification. (2006)
3. Write short note: Class within Caste and Caste within Class. (2004)
4. Write short note: Caste as a class. (1998)
5. Write short note: Intergenerational mobility in a caste society. (1986)

F. Poverty & Social Exclusion

1. How is poverty a form of social exclusion? Illustrate the different dimensions of poverty and social exclusion. (2023)
2. Can we equate ‘poverty’ with ‘poor living’? Elaborate your answer. (2017)
3. Discuss the relationship between poverty and social exclusion. (2016)
4. Distinguish between people being socially excluded and people excluding themselves socially in societies. (2013)
5. Distinguish between people being socially excluded and people excluding themselves socially in societies. (2010)

G. Social Mobility (Concepts, Types, Determinants, Systems)

1. What is social mobility? Critically examine the classification of ‘closed’ and ‘open’ models of social stratification. (2024)
2. Discuss social mobility in open and closed system. (2022)
3. Explain the concept of social mobility. Describe with illustrations how education and social mobility are related. (2021)
4. Critically assess social mobility in closed and open systems. (2020)
5. Is social mobility possible in closed systems of stratification? Illustrate from research work. (2018)
6. “Vertical mobility brings structural change even in a closed social system.” Comment. (2016)
7. “No society can either be absolutely open or absolutely closed.” Comment. (2015)
8. How are open and closed systems of stratification undergoing transformation in the emergence of new hierarchical social order in societies? (2013)
9. In our society hierarchical relations are influenced by social mobility. Explain how. (2012)
10. What do you mean by social mobility? Discuss the major sources and causes of mobility. (2011)
11. Examine how open and closed systems of stratification are undergoing transformation in the emergence of new hierarchical social order. (2010)
12. Write short note: Social mobility in open and closed systems. (2008)
13. Write short note: Vertical social mobility. (2006)
14. How is vertical and horizontal social mobility problematic in society? Suggest solutions. (2005)
15. Write short note: Social Mobility and social change. (2002)
16. Write short note: Inter-generational mobility. (2000)
17. Discuss the nature and characteristics of social mobility. Can the nature and the rate of social mobility be treated as an index of economic development? (1999)
18. Write short note: Vertical and horizontal mobility. (1998)
19. Write short note: Types of mobility. (1997)
20. Write short note: Social class and vertical mobility. (1993)
21. Write short note: Intergeneration mobility. (1991)
22. Write short note: Open and Closed Models of Mobility. (1989)
23. Write short note: Social Mobility. (1985)

H. Affirmative Action

1. What is affirmative action? Substantiate theoretical positions on affirmative actions with examples. (2019)

I. Role Conflict, Socialisation & Social Control

1. Write short note: Role-conflict and its resolution. (2007)
2. Write short note: Role conflict. (2000)
3. Write short note: Role conflict as a source of deviation… (1999)
4. Write short note: Role-Conflict and its resolution. (1996)
5. ‘Socialisation and social control are complementary to each other in maintaining social order.’ Elucidate with illustrations. (2004)

J. Modernisation, New Middle Class

1. Modernisation presupposes class society; however, caste, ethnicity and race are still predominant. Explain. (2019)
2. Present a sociological review on the ‘new middle-class’. (2019)