Vol. 6, Issue 2, Part B (2024)

The paper aims at looking ‘Area Studies’ from the sociological point of view and explores how the ‘field’ can be enriched sociologically by the use of comparative and historical methods of study. The study explores the dual character of the discipline - which on the one hand studies the social life, social structure and its processes of a given geographical area and on the other hand comparing the same territorial space with other wider cultural and geographical areas. While, the scope of Area Study is confined to only a ‘specific geographical location’, which in other words is ‘territorial’ in nature, it is interesting to see how that ‘geography’ (or geographical community) produces distinctive historical, political and cultural communities contributing to the study of cultural diplomacy, emergence of the politics of ‘soft power’ and transnational ties with diverse societies allowing disciplines such as Law, Economics, International Relations and Diplomacy etc to see as well. Using sociological perspective, the paper will explore the cultural and historical study of Southeast Asia and India’s Northeast.