Sociology

History

Year of Establishment : 1975, fucntional-1976

History of the department : The Department of Sociology at University of Calcutta was set-up in 1975 and functional in 1976 and currently running M.A., M.Phil. & Ph.D coursework. It will complete forty eight years in 2024. With semester system of teaching and examination the department offers a 1000 marks Master degree having compulsory components of Fieldwork and Term paper writing and a choice from various optional papers.

Incidentally, Sociology was being taught as a subsidiary in M.A. Economics since 1909 and also as a special paper in Political Science. It was in 1975 that the University Grants Commission approved the Department of Sociology at the University of Calcutta with Bela Dutta Gupta, then Reader in the Department of Political Science, as Head of Sociology. Subsequently, Prof. Bela Dutta Gupta, a nationally acclaimed Sociologist became Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Chair Professor at Calcutta and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement by Indian Sociological Society in October 2009.

Other faculties were Professor Debkumar Banerjee, Prof. Swapan Kr. Bhattacharyya, Prof. Swapan Kr. Pramanik, Prof. Bholanath Banerjee, Dr. Krishna Chakraborty, Prof. Bula Bhadra, Prof. Basabi Sur and Prof. Gayatri Bhattacharyya all of whom have retired.

Departmental faculties are in regular interface with larger society in new sub areas like Sociology of Ageing, Sociology of Media and Culture etc. The faculties of this Department regularly contribute in generating academic knowledge and its application through interventions with other organizations in the new areas as mentioned in their capacity as experts and advisors to different local and national bodies.

At present, the Department has four full time teachers and ten guest teachers.

Dr. Sudeshna Basu Mukherjee
- An Alumnus, Professor.
Dr. Mallarika Sarkar (Das)
- An Assistant Professor.
Dr. Susmita Bhattacharyya
- An Alumnus, Assistant Professor
Dr. Clare Lizamit Samling
- An Assistant Professor.

There were four UPE-UGC major collaborative projects with Applied Psychology, Linguistics, History and Library & Information Science departments under UPE-1, an interdisciplinary ICSSR Major with the departments of Economics and Business Management, an interdisciplinary UPE-II, UGC-Major Research Project- 2019 Major with the departments of Economics, Business Management and Commerce and A Comparative Study among Tribes of North East and Central India - Asiatic Society Research Project-2019 with the department of Home Science, CU. Status of girl child education in Kalimpong District, West Bengal under the ICSSR sponsored short –term empirical research project ( Collaborative) is the ongoing project of the Department (2023 -2024).

Most faculty members of the Department contribute to different non-governmental organizations and to both print and electronic media as experts very often. Most faculty members are involved in outreach activities.

The Department has already produced a number of students who are and were employed in different national and international Institutes of repute.

Name	Institution
Prof. Biswajit Ghosh	Burdwan University
Prof Ranu Jain	TISS Mumbai
Prof. S.A.H. Moinuddin	Vidyasagar University
Prof. Shuita Chopra Chatterjee	IIT Kharagpur
Prof. Anirban Banerjee	Burdwan University
Prof. Ramanuj Ganguly	West Bengal State University
Dr. Ritu Sen Chaudhuri	West Bengal State University
Dr. Piyali Sur	Jadavpur University
Dr. Nabamita Das	Presidency University
Dr. Arpita Mitra	KISS Law- Bhubaneswar
Dr. Anindya Bhattacharyya	Gourbanga University
Dr. Sudarsana Sen	Gourbanga University
Mr. Subhasis Banerjee	BE College-IIEST Sibpur
Dr. Ananda Mohon Kar	Burdwan University
Dr. Pujasree Chatterjee	Vidyasagar University
Dr. Srabanti Chaudhuri	Netaji Open University
Ms. Sreyosi Ray	Heritage Institute of Management Studies

Annually held Prof. BelaDutt Gupta Memorial Lecture
- 1st “ Selective Appropriation of Gender Ideology: The Mahila Aghadi of the Farmers’ Movement in Maharastra, 1996-2004” - by Prof. D.N. Dhanagare, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla
- 2nd “ Gender Representation in Higher Education: Going Beyond Numbers” , by Prof. Karuna Chanana (Rtd), Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University
- 3rd “Revisiting Indian Sociology in 21st Century”, was delivered by Prof. K.L. Sharma (Retd), Pro-Chancellor, Jaipur National University, on 27th March 2017
- 4th ‘’Sociology of, in and for India: Thematics of a Discourse’’ was delivered by Professor Narayana Jayaram, Former Professor Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai on 30th January, 2019
- 5th “Environment and Sustainable Development: Indian Context”, was delivered by Prof. Manish Kr. Verma, Babasahib Ambedkar University, Lucknow, on 27th March, 2024.
- 6th “The Past in the Present: Culture and the Conundrum of Tradition and Modernity in Indian Sociology”, was delivered by Prof. Maitrayee Chaudhuri, President Indian Sociological Society and Former Professor of Sociology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, on 16th May, 2024
- 7th “ Doing Disciplinary History: Challenges of Preserving the Heritage of Sociology in Universities”, was delivered by Prof. R. Indira, Former Professor of Sociology, University of Mysore, on 9th July, 2024

Academic

Faculty Members :

Name	Designation	Area of specialization	Email/Phone number
Dr. Sudeshna Basu Mukherjee [Profile]	Professor	Research Methodology, Sociological theory	[email protected] 9830021103
Dr. Susmita Bhattacharyya [Profile]	Assistant professor & Head	Sociology of Culture, Sociology of Media , Sociology of Industry	[email protected] 9830108659
Dr. Mallarika Sarkar (Das) [Profile]	Assistant professor	Social Gerontology, Urban Sociology , Sociology of Development	[email protected] 9007828531
Ms. Clare Lizamit Samling [Profile]	Assistant professors	Environmental Sociology, Rural Sociology , Urban Sociology	[email protected] 9163112925

Visiting faculty members :

Name	Institutions attached with	Period of appointment
Prof. Bula Bhadra	INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, JOKA,	2006 (August-October)
Prof. Bula Bhadra	FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF BRAZIL, RIO-DE-JANEIRO	AUGUST 2012
Dr. Sudeshna Basu Mukherjee	Department of Sociology Vidyasagar University Visiting Fellow	March 2012- 2013

Courses :

Programme	Eligibility	Intake capacity
P.G. in Sociology	B.A. in Sociology	65
Ph.D Course work		As per vacancy

Research

Research scholars :
A list of scholars pursuing research in the department

Name	Research topic	Name of the supervisor
Moumita Ghosh	Lone Motherhood in India: Apprehension and Challenges	Sudeshna Basu Mukherjee
UjjalHaldar	Female Domestic Workers in Kolkata: A Study on Commuters from Sundarban
NehaDasgupta	A Study of Street Food Vendors as Entrepreneurs in the Commercial Hubs of Kolkata.
ChaitaliSinha	Perception and Preference for Marriage and Selection of Partners among Young Adults in Kolkata’
Zeno Lepcha	Food Culture and Identity: A Sociological Study on the Lepchas of Kalimpong district.
Sritama Choudhury	Food Delivery Apps: A profile in emerging food consumption in double income families of Kolkata	Mallarika Sarkar
Esmotara Khatun	Emerging Marriage Rites And Rituals Among Muslim Community: A Study Of Malda And Murshidabad District, West Bengal, India	Mallarika Sarkar
Namrata Bassu	The Social Fabric Of Change Among Dual Career Couples In Urban Kolkata: A Sociological Investigation	Susmita Bhattacharyya
Amrita Gupta	Satyajit Ray’s film’s: Understanding the Portrayal of relationship
Promita Roy	Leisure Trends in Kolkata: Changes and Development
Nagma Begum	Muslim Women Professionals in Kolkata: A Study of Opportunities, Issues and Challenges
Soumen Das	Redefining Intimacy: A Sociological Study on Changing Perception of Romantic Love among Young Adults in Kolkata	Bula Bhadra
Deepika Singh	Networked Individual and Networked Family in India:A Sociological Exploration of Youth of Kolkata	Bula Bhadra
Shinjini Ray	M.N. Srinivas’s contributions To Indian Sociology: The Early Writings	Gayatri Bhattacharyya
Sohini Kundu	Women tea plantation workers in a tea garden in north Bengal: an sociological study
Arundhati Ghosh Dastidar	School as a Social System
Rinki Kamat	The pattern and characteristics of migration among the slum dwellers of Kolkata: A Sociological Study of the slums in the Kolkata Municipal corporation area	Independent

Project :

Project title	Funding agency	Principal investigator	Duration
Social, Economic and Political Empowerment of Women: The Role of Microfinance Interventions in Diverse Cultures	ICSSR Major Project;	Co-Director Sudeshna Basu Mukherjee	2017-2019
Sustainable Economic, Social and Political Empowerment of Women through Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): Strategic Learning from South & South East Asia.	UGC-UPE-II, Project	Sudeshna Basu Mukherjee Co-PI	2019
Reproductive Health Behaviour of Women: A Comparative Study among Tribes of North East and Central India	Asiatic Society, India	Sudeshna Basu Mukherjee Co- Investigator	2019
Contemporary linkages of Tagore’s Chitrangada, Binodini and Srimati- Saga of Different Women	UGC-minor	Susmita Bhattacharyya-PI	2017
Status of Girl Child Education in Kalimpong District, West Bengal	ICSSR short term Project	Susmita Bhattacharyya, Clare Lizamit Samling and Sudeshna Basu Mukherjee Co- Investigator	2023-2024

Thrust areas in teaching and research of the academic department/ centre :

TEACHING :

INDIAN SOCIOLOGICAL THINKERS
WESTERN SOCIOLOGICAL THINKERS
WESTERN SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY,POST-COLONIAL THEORY
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY& SOCIAL STATISTICS
INDIAN SOCIETY
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL & SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
SOCIOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT
SOCIOLOGY OF ORGANIZATION
SOCIOLOGY OF INDUSTRY & LABOUR
SOCIOLOGY OF AGEING
RURAL SOCIOLOGY
URBAN SOCIOLOGY
SOCIOLOGY OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

Currently Interdisciplinary researches are undertaken :

Sociology of Ageing, Gender, Culture and Empowerment, Economy, Social Movement, Sociology and Literature.
Changing spheres of life in the context of rise of an information and networked society, families and individuals and the weaker sections.
Sociology of education, sports, gendered realm of medical and legal professions,
Sociology and fashion in everyday social life, contemporary youth friendship.
Technology-Society Interface and its Challenges and Prospects,
Gender, Empowerment and Diaspora in the Rural community

Teaching support :

e- learning is encouraged and resources are provided for better reference

Research support :

Name of the equipment	Brief description	Funding agency
LCD Projectors	Class room teaching	UNIVERSITY
Internet	For research scholars and students	UNIVERSITY

Major activities :

Students were placed in Webcon Consulting India limited: 2016
Students were placed in Irvine Infocom Private Limited: 2017- As content analysts

International and National Lectures :

Why do the Nation States of Europe Need Protection in Legislation? The example of Swedish language policy and legislation since 2000; Sally Boyd Professor of General Linguistics Dept of Philosophy, Linguistics & Theory of Science, University of Gothenburg , Sweden, 8th December 2010. Funded By CU.
“Female Body Image: Traditions, Social Construction and Commodification in the Global Marriage market’ Dr. Aditi Mitra of Colorado University, 11th of January 2011. Funded by CU.
'Health, Environment and Gender Intersections’ Prof. Laura Corradi, University of Calabria, South- Italy, February 28, 2011; Funded by CU – BI
Collapse of Aryan Invasion/Immigration Theory and the Establishment of Indigenism; Prof. Nicholas Kazanas; Director, IMILOS Meleton Cultural Institute, Greece, 2011 Funded by CU.
Human Rights from a Sociological Perspective; Prof. Bandana Purkayastha, University of Connecticut; 24 April 2012. Funded by Department.
Reinterpreting Vivekananda; By Prof. Tapan Raychaudhuri; on the occasion of 150 years of Swamiji; 6th March 2013.
Indian Calendar Art: origins and Recent Developments; Prof. Bradley Hartel, Virginia Tech University; 26th March 2013. Funded by CU.
“ Imagining the racial other during the British colonial period” By Dr. Ashok Malhotra, British Academy Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Institute of Collaborative Research in the Humanities, Queens University, Belfast, 3rd September 2015. Funded by CU – BI
'Re-imagining Indian Sociology. Challenges confronting the Discipline'.Prof. Sujata Patel Hyderabad Central University and First Women President of the Indian Sociological Society, 22nd January, 2016 Funded by CU – BI
Variations in Portrayal of Durga on Bengali Greetings Card Traditional-Modern-Contemporary and Calendars; Prof. Bradely Hartel; Tech University; 2017; Funded by CU – BI.
Immigrants and the USA-Moving the Clock Back, Shalini Choudhury, Faculty, Arkansas University USA., 6th August 2018.
Black women incarceration and critical black feminism in context of the USA., Farzana Khandaker Rahman, Associate Professor, Department of Criminology at University of Dhaka, Bangladesh , 3rd May, 2024.

National and International Seminars :

University of Calcutta,ICSSR and UNDP sponsored Post-Centenary Golden Jubilee International seminar on “Globalization: Potentialities and Predicaments” January 2007.
Workshop on HIV/Aids was conducted by West Bengal State Aids Prevention & Control Society and Trustee AMITIE TRUST, Half-Day Workshop, April 7, 2011.
“International Seminar on Childhood and Ageing: Contemporary Scenario”, Sponsored by I C S S R, New Delhi, University of Calcutta and Save The Children, BalRaksha, Bharat, Participation by luminaries from Australia, Prof. Michael Fine, University of Macquarie, an eminent scholar in the field of Aged Care and internationally acclaimed scholars from in and around India. 3rd-4th February 2011,
“Locating Social, Political and Gender Issues in the Works of Rabindranath Tagore” 26th of September 2011.
In the INTERNATIONAL YOUTH, year (2010-2011) ORGANIZED; “Meeting Youth Needs in the 21st Century CANADA and INDIA: Youth work, Young people and Youth policy.” Sponsored by Shastri-Indo-Canadian Institute, New Delhi & University of Calcutta, 28th & 29th November 2011.
Louis Dumont: A Tribute, National Seminar, Funded by CU – BI , 28 March 2012

Additional information :

Departmental faculties are in regular interface with larger society and regularly contribute in generating academic knowledge and its application through interventions with other organizations in the new areas as mentioned in their capacity as experts and advisors to different local and national bodies.
Faculty is members of P.G. Board of studies of West Bengal State University, CMIG Kolkata and RAC of other state universities.
Faculty is members of ETHICAL COMMITTEE of Indian Institute of Health and Hygiene and Fortis health care Limited.

Contact

Campus : Alipore (Shahid Kshudiram Siksha Prangan)

Address for communication : Department of Sociology, 1 Reformatory Street, Alipur, Kolkata 700027

University of Calcutta