The Department of Sociology was integrated with the newly established Poona University in 1948-49,
though it was started in Deccan College in 1939. It enjoys the reputation of a distinguished department to offer specialized training in Sociology.
The Departmental syllabus is renowned for its originality nationwide.
It seeks to incorporate a wide range of subjects and issues under its purview,
an approach which is highly conducive for interdisciplinary orientation in contemporary times.
The faculty members of this department have had the presence of such personalities like Prof.
Irawati Karve, Prof. Y. B. Damle, Prof. D. N. Dhanagare, Prof. A. Ramanamma, Vidyadhar Pundalik, Prof. U.B.Bhoite,
Prof. Anuradha Bhoite, Dr. Meera Kosambi, Dr. P. J. Jogdand, Prof. Sujata Patel, Prof. S. M. Dahiwale, Prof. Gail Omvedt, Prof. Sharmila Rege and Prof.
Swati Shirwadkar.
The department attracted educationists from abroad like Jayant Lele from Canada,
Kathleen Gough and Donald Attwood from Canada, Michele Burroway, Arjun Appadorai,
Richa Nagar from the U. S. A. and Pertti Koistenen from Finland and a couple of scholars including
Prof. Martin Tamcke and Prof. Ursula Witter-Backofen from Germany.
In recent years the department has widened its area of interest with a more nuanced focus on themes
including informal sector labour and citizenship rights, gender and land rights,
issues of multiple exclusions among DTNT communities and an overall focus on Substantive dimensions of democracy and Citizenship.
Prof. Shruti Tambe works on gender and development, urban studies with a focus on informal sector and social and intellectual history of Maharashtra.
With Prof. Shruti Tambe taking over leadership in August 2017 the Department is now focused to deliver
much needed skills to students to meet challenges in the outer world. With Dr. Kolekar and Dr. Chari-Wagh,
the department is now prepared to attract students from across India and abroad alongside students
from affiliated colleges of S. P. P. U. and other Universities in Maharashtra to create an inclusive and department milieu with
state of the art infrastructure and intellectual resources.
