Soc Midterm 1

Question 1

what is sociology?

Answer 1

the study of human beings in relation to one another (study of society)

Question 2

what do sociologists study?

Answer 2

interconnections between society

Question 3

macro-level

Answer 3

border social forces
idea that nothing is in your control

Question 4

micro-level

Answer 4

individual experiences/choices

Question 5

looking for ways that society shapes people’s choices instead of their actions being shaped solely by personal choices

Answer 5

strange in the familiar

Question 6

broader social patterns reflected in the actions of individuals

Answer 6

general in the particular

Question 7

society’s expectations of how we are supposed to be

Answer 7

norms

Question 8

people’s capacity to make choices, which then have an impact on people around them and the society they live in

Answer 8

agency

Question 9

the opportunities someone has based on various factors, including ethnicity and gender

Answer 9

life chances

Question 10

3 approaches to theorizing:

Answer 10

positivist
interpretive
critical

Question 11

ability to perceive interconnections between individual experiences and larger sociocultural forces

Answer 11

sociological imagination

Question 12

-person who defined the definition of sociology on the basis of the sociological imagination
-looked at difference between micro (biography) and macro (history)
-goal was a better, more equal society

Answer 12

C. Wright Mills (1916-1962)

Question 13

-signifiant forerunner to sociology
-looked at power dynamics within society and how certain hierarchies emerge

Answer 13

Khaldun (1332-1406)

Question 14

-time in which there was a change in the order and thinking of the universe
-power of religion declined, power of science grew (turning to more evidence-based thinking)

Answer 14

French Revolution (1789-1799) and the accompanying Enlightenment

Question 15

-coined the term sociology
-suggested that scientific method/empirical research could be applied to social phenomenon

Answer 15

Auguste Comte (1798-1857)

Question 16

basic orientation of sociology

Answer 16

“society is greater than the sum of all its parts”

Question 17

sociological toolkit

Answer 17

-empirical research methods
-sociological theorizing
-critical thinking

Question 18

data collection that produces verifiable findings; carried out using systematic procedures

Answer 18

empirical methods

Question 19

propositions intended to explain facts/phenomenon

Answer 19

theory

Question 20

approach to theorizing that emphasizes explanation and prediction; quantitative, related to science
excludes information/context&raquo_space; flawed
Emile Durkheim

Answer 20

positive approach

Question 21

approach to theorizing that focuses on the ways people come to understand themselves, others, and the world around them
Max Weber

Answer 21

interpretive approach

Question 22

approach to theorizing that explores that explains the role power plays in social processes and emphasizes the importance of knowledge being tied to emancipation; power dynamic that needs to be examined
Michel Foucault and Karl Marx

Answer 22

critical approach

Question 23

time period:
distinct disciplinary boundaries (between Social, psych, anthropology, history, etc.)

Answer 23

20th century

Question 24

time period:
post-disciplinary and interdisciplinarity (boundaries between disciplines are being erased)

Answer 24

21st century

Question 25

-one of the founders of the functionalist view
-said science could be explained by society
-thought there were laws governing society and that’s how it’s able to operate outside of individuals
-did studies on suicide, discovered that catholics were less likely to commit suicide than protistans
-took positivist approach

Answer 25

Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

Question 26

-worked toward empathetic understanding (looked at context to understand self/others)
-interpretive approach

Answer 26

Max Weber (1864-1920)

Question 27

-had the idea that power cannot be overcome, it just shifts location
-repressive hypothesis - you are deluded if you are moving toward a utopian ideal
-critical approach

Answer 27

Michel Foucault

Question 28

-criticized capitalism and how it was unfair
-created a utopian end ideal
-idea that power can be overcome by dismantling it
-thought the way we organize society is why some people succeed and some don’t

Answer 28

Karl Marx (1813-1883)

Question 29

an intended function of one of society’s structures

Answer 29

manifest functions

Question 30

an unintended function of one of society’s structures

Answer 30

latent functions

Question 31

collectively shared criteria by which we determine whether something is right or wrong

Answer 31

values

Question 32

one of society’s structures no longer fulfills its function effectively

Answer 32

dysfunctional

Question 33

a feeling of normlessness

Answer 33

anomie

Question 34

-doesn’t acknowledge hierarchy in society
-how different aspects of society interact with each other
-everyone pays a functional role in society
-society is like a living organism working toward homeostasis

Answer 34

functionalist perspective

Question 35

traditional institutions in a society:

Answer 35

economy
family
politics
education
religion

Question 36

newer institutions in society:

Answer 36

science and technology
mass media
sport
military
medicine