Sociological Perspectives On Modernity | NPTEL Course by Prof. Sambit Mallick
Course Details
| Exam Registration | 186 |
|---|---|
| Course Status | Ongoing |
| Course Type | Elective |
| Language | English |
| Duration | 12 weeks |
| Categories | Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit Points | 3 |
| Level | Undergraduate/Postgraduate |
| Start Date | 19 Jan 2026 |
| End Date | 10 Apr 2026 |
| Enrollment Ends | 02 Feb 2026 |
| Exam Registration Ends | 20 Feb 2026 |
| Exam Date | 26 Apr 2026 IST |
| NCrF Level | 4.5 — 8.0 |
Sociological Perspectives On Modernity: A 12-Week NPTEL Course Guide
How do we understand the world we live in? Is our pursuit of progress, science, and rationality a universal truth or a culturally specific project? The free NPTEL course, Sociological Perspectives on Modernity, taught by Prof. Sambit Mallick of IIT Guwahati, offers a deep dive into these fundamental questions. This 12-week intellectual journey is designed to unravel modernity not as a given, but as a complex socio-cultural product shaped by history, power, and ideology.
About the Course and Instructor
This course aims to equip students with the theoretical tools to critically analyze modernity and its constituents—like science, industrialization, and development—as practices deeply embedded in culture and society. It moves beyond a celebratory view of progress, encouraging a rationalist and interrogative perspective on everyday life and global structures.
The course is led by Prof. Sambit Mallick, a Professor of Sociology at IIT Guwahati's Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. Specializing in the sociology of science and technology, historical sociology, and philosophy of the social sciences, Prof. Mallick brings an interdisciplinary rigor to the subject. His popular NPTEL courses have successfully reached a vast and diverse audience, including learners from remote areas across India and abroad.
Who Should Enroll?
The course is intended for a wide range of students at the Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels. The intended audience includes:
- BE/ME (Engineering)
- MA/MS (Arts & Sciences)
- BSc/MSc (Sciences)
- PhD scholars
- Any learner interested in social theory, philosophy, and critical studies
12-Week Course Layout: A Roadmap to Understanding Modernity
The course is meticulously structured to build your understanding from foundational concepts to advanced critiques. Here’s a week-by-week breakdown:
| Week | Topic | Key Themes |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Introduction: Modernity as a project of Enlightenment | Origins, reason, individualism, secularization. |
| Week 2 | Modernist paradigm in sociology | Role of modern science, industrialization, and the ideology of development. |
| Weeks 3-5 | Sociological modernism: Marx, Weber and Simmel | Capitalism & alienation; rationalization & disenchantment; metropolitan life. |
| Weeks 6-7 | Structuralist interpretation: Levi-Strauss and Althusser | Underlying structures of culture, thought, and ideology. |
| Weeks 8-9 | Western Marxism: Lukacs, Gramsci and Touraine | Class consciousness, cultural hegemony, and social movements. |
| Week 10 | Synthesising modernity: Wallerstein, Giddens and Habermas | World-systems theory, reflexivity, and the unfinished project of modernity. |
| Week 11 | Deconstructing modernity | Postmodern critiques, non-Western contexts, and the idea of alternative or multiple modernities. |
| Week 12 | Reflexivity | Dialectic of engaging with and interrogating modernity; course synthesis. |
Essential Reading List
The course draws on a rich corpus of seminal texts. Key books and references include:
- A. Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity
- J. Habermas, The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity
- K. Marx & M. Weber (works on capitalism and rationalization)
- E. Said, Orientalism
- J.F. Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition
- Z. Bauman, Intimations of Postmodernity
- J. Alam, India: Living with Modernity
- F. Jameson, Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism
- P. Abbott and C. Wallace, An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspectives
Why Take This Course?
This course is more than an academic syllabus; it's a framework for critical thinking. It helps you:
- Decode the World: Understand the historical forces that shaped contemporary society, from global inequalities to digital cultures.
- Challenge Assumptions: Move beyond a Eurocentric view of progress and explore the vibrant discourse on multiple modernities.
- Gain Interdisciplinary Insight: Bridge philosophy, history, and social theory to analyze science, technology, and culture.
- Learn from the Best: Access high-quality IIT education from an expert in the field, completely free through NPTEL.
Whether you are a student of sociology, engineering, science, or simply a curious mind seeking to understand the roots of our modern condition, Sociological Perspectives on Modernity offers a transformative learning experience. Enroll to begin your journey of interrogating the very fabric of contemporary life.
Enroll Now →