The Department of Sociology at Punjab University was set up in 1954 with the help of Dr. John B. Edlefsen of Washington State University, Pullman, who came to the Punjab University under the Inter College Exchange Program. Regular MA classes were started in the Department of Sociology in September 1955 with 35 students, 26 males and nine females. From then onwards, the Department of Sociology has progressed well and is presently running ten different academic programs, while the number of students has risen from 35 in 1955 to100 in 2001 and to more than 2000 students in 2016. The department was up-graded to Institute of Social and Cultural Studies in December 5, 2006. The Institute is comprise of (i) Department of Sociology, (ii) Department of Gender Studies, (iii) Department of Population Sciences, (iv) Department of Criminology & Security Studies, (v) Department of Development Studies, (vi) Department of Public Health.
Our mission at the Institute of Social & Cultural Studies (ISCS) is to help our students and community by simply staying true to the ontological and epistemological traditions of our discipline. In an open and interactive environment, we encourage our students and faculty to pursue the shared resolve to understand ourselves as human beings, our interdependence on each other and the trends of cooperation and conflict that influence our mutual existence. As educators and social scientists, we endeavor to imbue our students with a sense of ‘self' that is innately connected to the ‘collective'. It is our hope and belief that our pedagogical style will promote peace and compassion through learning. We intend to create indigenous sociological knowledge and apply professional research skills to influence social policies for desirable social change in our own cultural domain. This has the aim of improving our social and cultural environment and raising the quality of life in Pakistan.
The main objective of education and research is to promote social justice and harmony in human societies, especially in the complex emerging global social system. The aim is to entrust our students with the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in building equitable and humane social institutions in Pakistan. We intend to create indigenous sociological knowledge and apply professional research skills to influence social policies for desirable social change in our own cultural domain. This has the aim of improving our social and cultural environment and raising the quality of life in Pakistan.
The Institute of Social and Cultural Studies (ISCS) is a student-centered and research-oriented institution. It offers a range of high-quality educational programs at undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels. The ISCS is dedicated to the discovery, sharing and application of knowledge to aid in the due progress of our society, and the nation. The core value of the ISCS remains the pursuit of useful knowledge for improving human life.
The promotion of free inquiry is a motto of the ISCS. Collaboration and cooperation among institutions and disciplines are emphasized. Our goal is imaginative edification and the improvement of the whole society and person. Students are expected to pursue knowledge that is good for the diverse needs of social organizations and human societies. The critical concern of the ISCS is to educate students so that they can create a good life for themselves and others.

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Students shall be academically prepared for careers both in academia and administrative.

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Faculty and students shall be encouraged and supported for national and international academic collaboration for academic scholarship.

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Students and Alumni shall be successful in applying analytical and research skills in their organizational endeavors or in other advanced studies.

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Zakar, M.Z. (2008). Poverty and human rights violations: A study of marginalized groups in Pakistan. UNESCO small Grant Publications. ( small Grants Program on Poverty Eradication: Building National Capacities for Research and Policy Analysis , edited by Chife Tekaya. France: The United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization). pp 230-236

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Zakar, M.Z. (2008). Internationalization of higher education in Pakistan: Challenges and opportunities . Knowledge Creates Development (17-18). Bonn, Deutsche Welle, Gremiensaal. Germany.

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CONFERENCE ON WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENTAND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION
INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL & CULTURAL STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB

The purpose of this two-day conference is to share and discuss visions, ideas and experi­ences of women's empowerment in the process of social transformation in Pakistan and the region of South Asia . The question of women's empowerment is one of the key concerns in nowadays national and international policy-making and civil society activities. Subsequent demands have been codified in international conventions and memorandums such as the Millennium Development Goals, the Beijing Platform of Action or national Gender Mainstreaming and Gender Equity initiatives.

The phenomenon of women's empowerment in Pakistan is a multifaceted, incremental process of social transformation, manifested in interrelated dimensions such as politics, economics, legal and socio-cultural institutions. Its gendered challenge is twofold:

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Gender Democracy, Gender Equity and Social Inclusiveness - Enabling women to (self-) determine their lives, exercise their rights and giving them an equal share in decision-making in all walks of life to build a tolerant and developed nation with men and women being partners;

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Political participation and women's empowerment in Pakistan - with possible case studies from other South Asian countries

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Micro credit schemes as a tool for women's economic empowerment in Pakistan - with case studies from Pakistani NGOs and, possibly, Bangladesh

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Education as a precondition for women's empowerment, e.g. HEC

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Legal rights, discriminatory practices and women's empowerment - The Women Protection Bill

Speakers are requested to send their abstract with a short CV until 28th of February 2007. Discussion papers should have a length of 10 to 15 pages (with bibliographical references) and should be submitted by electronic copy one week prior to the conference date (l5th of April 2007). Discussion papers will be posted at the Institute's conference website and the conference proceedings will be later on published as a book. The conference organizers will provide meals and accommodation on campus for invited speakers; travel costs will not be covered.

The conference will be organized and hosted by the Institute of Social and Cultural Studies, University of the Punjab , Lahore/Pakistan.

The Institute of Social and Cultural Studies is a multidisciplinary institute with a 'learner centred approach', inaugurated on 5th of December 2006. Its research activities are fo­cused on various dimensions of Pakistan 's social and political life. The promotion of so­cial harmony will remain the objective of the institute. The critical concern of the insti­tute is to entrust its students with the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in building equitable and humane social institutions. Currently, more than 500 students are enrolled in the various Bachelor, Master and PhD programs.