optional · CSS study notes
📝 Past Paper 2023
Source: FPSC BS-17 Competitive Examination-2023, Sociology paper (Part-II only shown: 80 marks, pick 4 of 7 questions).
Part-II question map
| Q | Topic | Notes page |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Education through conflict and functionalist lenses; which fits Pakistan | Social Institutions → Education section (model 20-mark answer included) |
| 3 | G.H. Mead's Mind, Self and Society; principles of Symbolic Interactionism | Theorist — G.H. Mead (full page, model essay structure included) |
| 4 | Ontology, epistemology, methodology, method — definitions and their role in research | Methods of Sociological Research (model 20-mark answer included) |
| 5 | Time-series, panel and cohort studies; problems with cost-benefit analysis | Methods of Sociological Research (model 20-mark answer included) |
| 6 | Theory of justice; Plato's theory of forms and allegory of the cave | Not a sociology-syllabus topic — see note below |
| 7 | Meaning and types of society; culture, material vs. non-material | Society (types of society) · Culture (types section) |
| 8 | (i) Conversation Analysis; (ii) Volcano of civilization | See note below |
Notes on out-of-syllabus items (Q6, Q8)
- Q6 (Plato's theory of forms/allegory of the cave) is a political-philosophy topic, not core sociology syllabus content — if it recurs, treat it as a philosophy-of-knowledge tangent: the allegory illustrates the gap between perceived appearance and underlying reality, which can be bridged into sociology via Weber's verstehen (interpreting deeper subjective meaning behind observed action) or Marx's critique of "false consciousness" (people perceiving a distorted version of their real class interests) — both are legitimate sociological bridges if this resurfaces.
- Q8(i) Conversation Analysis — a qualitative research method (associated with ethnomethodology, Harold Garfinkel) studying the fine-grained structure of everyday talk/interaction to reveal how social order is produced turn-by-turn in conversation; ties to Symbolic Interactionism/Mead's emphasis on meaning built through interaction.
- Q8(ii) "Volcano of civilization" — not a standard sociological term; likely intended as a metaphor question (possibly linked to Ibn-e-Khaldun's cyclical rise-and-fall theory of civilizations, or to social-tension/eruption metaphors in conflict theory) — if this resurfaces, frame an answer around either Khaldun's cyclical civilizational theory or Marx's account of accumulated class tension eventually erupting into conflict/revolution.