Assistant Professor — Sociology

The Role

You will teach across BA and MA Sociology — classical and contemporary theory, Indian society, and research methods — and supervise the Varanasi-based ethnographic fieldwork built into the postgraduate curriculum.

The fieldwork is the distinctive part of this post. Caste, ritual, occupational community, urban informality, gendered space, religious economy and rural-urban migration are not abstractions here; they are visible within a few kilometres of the campus, and postgraduate students go out and study them. Supervising that work well — methodologically and ethically — is a substantial part of the role.

Full-time, on-site at Babatpur, Varanasi.

Responsibilities

Teaching

• Teach classical sociological theory — Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and the foundational traditions — at UG and PG level
• Teach contemporary and post-classical theory, including structural-functionalism, conflict, symbolic interactionism, and later critical approaches
• Teach Indian sociology and social institutions: caste, kinship, family, marriage, religion, tribe, village and urban studies, and the Indian thinkers — Ghurye, Srinivas, Dumont, Ambedkar, Béteille
• Teach social problems, social change, and development — agrarian change, urbanisation, migration, gender, and social movements
• Teach research methods with practical training in both qualitative and quantitative technique — sampling, interviewing, observation, questionnaire design, coding, and basic statistical analysis

Fieldwork supervision

• Design and supervise ethnographic fieldwork in and around Varanasi — site selection, access negotiation, method choice, and field supervision
• Train students in field practice: rapport-building, interviewing, participant observation, field-note discipline, and the reflexive work of writing themselves into the account
• Own research ethics for student fieldwork — informed consent, anonymisation, handling of sensitive material, the vulnerability of the communities students study, and a clear rule that no data is collected from anyone who has not knowingly agreed to give it. Establish and maintain this as departmental protocol.
• Ensure student safety and appropriate conduct in the field
• Guide MA dissertations from question formulation through data collection, analysis, and viva

Assessment, mentoring and department

• Set and evaluate internal assessments aligned to MGKVP examination patterns
• Mentor students toward NET/JRF, M.Phil and PhD admission, and the UPSC/UPPSC Sociology optional, which is one of the more popular choices among students in this region
• Contribute to departmental research output and, where possible, publication
• Contribute to institutional academic and co-curricular activity

Qualifications

Essential

• MA in Sociology from a UGC-recognised university
• UGC NET or PhD in Sociology — required for this appointment
• Ability to teach both classical theory and Indian sociology with equal command
• Comfort supervising fieldwork and student research
• Ability to teach at both undergraduate and postgraduate level
• Fluency in Hindi and English — students come largely from Purvanchal and Bihar, and teaching is bilingual.

Preferred

• Own ethnographic fieldwork experience — not only supervision of it. Someone who has spent months in a field site teaches it differently.
• Prior PG teaching experience
• Publications in sociology, or fieldwork-based research output
• Competence in qualitative analysis software (NVivo, ATLAS.ti) or quantitative tools (SPSS, R)
• Familiarity with the UPSC/UPPSC Sociology optional syllabus
• Experience with institutional research-ethics processes
• Experience guiding NET/JRF aspirants

Remuneration

As per institutional norms, commensurate with qualification and experience. Discussed at interview.

Apply: CV at bitevns.ac.in/careers#sociology, or email with the subject line \"Assistant Professor — Sociology — (Your Name)\". Include CV, covering letter, NET/PhD certificate, and publication list if any. Enquiries: +91 77040 33222 (Mon–Sat, 10 AM – 5 PM).

Applications close 31st August 2026.