1. Sociological Theory and Theorists

Question 1

What type of social structures does functionalism focus on?

Answer 1

Macrostructures

Question 2

What type of social structures does conflict theory focus on?

Answer 2

Macrostructures and global structures

Question 3

What type of social structures does symbolic interactionism focus on?

Answer 3

Microstructures

Question 4

Who are the main thinkers of functionalism mentioned in the textbook?

Answer 4

Emile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons

Question 5

Who are the main thinkers of conflict theory mentioned in the textbook?

Answer 5

Karl Marx, Max Weber, C.W. Mills, Gramsci, Foucault

Question 6

Who are the main thinkers of symbolic interactionism mentioned in the textbook?

Answer 6

Weber, Mead and Goffman

Question 7

Who are the main thinkers of feminism mentioned in the textbook?

Answer 7

Martineau and Adams

Question 8

What did Durkheim say and what theoretical tradition did he belong to?

Answer 8

He was a functionalist.

1. Pioneered work on suicide
2. Insisted behavior must be understood within a larger scale context
3. Amongst late nineteenth-century Europe, suggested that the creation of new associations of employers and workers would lower worker’s expectations of what they could get out of life and this could be something they’d agree on, thus raising social solidarity and lowering the rate of suicide and strikes
4. It was a conservative response to the current social unrest at the time (a more liberal alternative would’ve been that discontent could be lowered by figuring out how workers could get more out of life)

Question 9

What did Talcott Parsons say and what theoretical tradition did he belong to?

Answer 9

He was a functionalist.

1. Institutions (family, schools, religions, military) are necessary for society to function and have manifest (intended) functions, latent (accidental) functions, and dysfunctional (generate social instability) functions
2. Was criticized for exaggerating the degree to which members of society share common values and social institutions contribute to social harmony

Question 10

What did Karl Marx say and what theoretical tradition did he belong to?

Answer 10

He was conflict theorist.

1. Society is fundamentally divided between growing class of poor workers and shrinking class of wealthy owners
2. Group identifications affect your place in society
3. Class consciousness would eventually encourage growth or workers’ organizations that would one day seek to end capitalism and install a communist system
4. Importance of economy and conflict

Question 11

What did Max Weber say and what theoretical tradition did he belong to?

Answer 11

He was both a conflict theorist and a symbolic interactionist.

Regarding conflict theory, he said that:

1. Capitalism created a new, middle class, which stabilizes society, who enjoy higher status and income than manual workers
2. Showed that class conflict isn’t the only factor driving history (other factors are politics and religion)

Regarding symbolic interactionism, he said that:

1. The rise of capitalism wasn’t only a result of favorable economic traditions but also an unintended consequence of protestant ethic, which led people to increase their savings and investment
2. Emphasized the importance of understanding people’s motives and the meanings they attach to things, method of “verstehen” - idea that any complete sociological analysis requires the analysis of subjective meanings and motives

Question 12

What did Gramsci say and what theoretical tradition did he belong to?

Answer 12

He was conflict theorist.

1. Bourgeoise influenced media and created a sense of social consensus in culture that actually prioritized their views and traditions, leading to cultural hegemony (control of a culture by dominant classes to the point where their values are universally accepted as common sense)
2. Subordinate classes can resist cultural hegemony only if they develop ideas and institutions that express and support their own cultural preferences

Question 13

What did Foucault say and what theoretical tradition did he belong to?

Answer 13

He was conflict theorist.

1. Developed the notion that culture is the site of ongoing conflict
2. Studied new forms of regulation that result in new structures of control in modern institutions, in which authorities can easily observe the behavior of their subordinates
3. Exercise of power is unstable - Dominant groups and individuals must continuously renew their power relations, and when they fail they provide subordinates with a chance of asserting their interests
4. Postructuralism denied the stability of social relations and of culture (structuralists typically categorized elements of social relations and culture as binary opposites, like male/female, civilized/uncivilized)
5. Power is exercised in every social interaction, but is always subject to resistance by subordinates

Question 14

What did C.W. Mills say and what theoretical tradition did he belong to?

Answer 14

He was a conflict theorist.

1. Laid the foundation for modern conflict theory
2. Said power is highly concentrated in the US, making it less of a democracy than we are led to believe

Question 15

What did Mead say and what theoretical tradition did he belong to?

Answer 15

He was a symbolic interactionist.

1. “We learn who we are by taking the role of other people as we interact with them and by seeing ourselves as they see us”
2. Focused on how a person’s sense of self is formed through interaction with other people

Question 16

What did Goffman say and what theoretical tradition did he belong to?

Answer 16

He was a symbolic interactionist.

1. People help create their social circumstances, not merely react to them
2. Studied the variety of ways people represent themselves to appear in the best possible light
3. Considered social interaction a staged play, people’s social categories may influence them but there’s still plenty of room for imagination

Question 17

What did Martineau say and what theoretical tradition did she belong to?

Answer 17

She was a feminist.

1. Undertook critical studies of slavery and factory laws
2. Wrote about gender inequality
3. Was an advocate for voting rights and higher education for women, as well as more gender equality in the family

Question 18

What did Adams say and what theoretical tradition did she belong to?

Answer 18

She was a feminist.

1. co-founded a shelter for homeless people in Chicago
2. Fought for social justice and provided an opportunity for sociologists at the University of Chicago to conduct research at the Hull House shelter

Question 19

What type of social structures does feminism focus on?

Answer 19

Micro and macrostructures

Question 20

What are the characteristics of functionalism?

Answer 20

1. Relates social structures with individual’s behaviors, stating that they:
   a. govern human behavior
   b. are able to either maintain or undermine social
   stability
   c. are based mainly on shared values or preferences
2. Re-establishing social equilibrium is the best way to solve social problems

Question 21

What are the characteristics of conflict theory?

Answer 21

1. Conflict between classes/groups over scarce resources (social life is an ongoing struggle between classes)
2. Social change involves conflict, but conflict doesn’t have to involve violence
3. Analyzes how social inequality produces social stability or social change
   a. Privileged - try to maintain their advantages (social
   stability)
   b. Subordinates - struggle to increase their
   advantages (social change)
4. Less privilege = more welfare

Question 22

What are the characteristics of symbolic interactionism?

Answer 22

1. Considers humans as more complex than functionalists tend to; think human agency plays a stronger part than social structures in shaping decisions
2. The reasons why someone makes a decision is more important than the decision itself

Question 23

What are the characteristics of feminism?

Answer 23

1. Women are less involved in important matters because of lack of opportunity and historical background, not for being incapable
2. Partners should divide domestic chores equally and men and women should be treated the same

Question 24

What is social constructionism (1) and queer theory (2)?

Answer 24

1. Argues that apparently natural or innate features of life are often sustained by social processes that vary historically and culturally
2. Takes social constructionism a step further by denying the existence of stable identities