Sociology 101 Fall 2009

Second Exam Review:  November 4, 2009

 

Format: Multiple-choice, short essay

Topic

Concepts

Reading

Elements of culture

Material

 

Nonmaterial

-  Normative: values; 3 types of norms (folkways, mores & taboos; laws); sanctions – formal / informal; negative / positive

 

- Cognitive:  beliefs; symbols – status symbols; gestures; language – Sapir Whorf hypothesis of linguistic relativity & its implications

 

- culture shock; ethnocentrism; ideal and real culture

- reflection theory

 

Subcultures & Countercultures - elements of each & examples

- Straight Edge Movement – key values? norms?

Conley, ch. 3

Gusfield (R16)

Media

Hegemony (Gramsci);  Cultural production

 

Racism and sexism in the media

 

Political economy of the media – shared monopoly; consumerism, advertising

 

Culture jamming – e.g. Adbusters

Conley, ch. 3

Sternheimer (R18)

Socialization

Effects of isolation

 

Agents of socialization: family, peers, religion, school / day care, workplace, media

- when and how important

 

Differential socialization

- gender: sex v. gender

- class: parenting & social class; implications

 

Lifelong:  desocialization, resocialization, anticipatory socialization; total institutions

 Conley, ch. 4

MSNBC clip: “Gender Wars”

Human Development

Emotional:  Looking-glass self (Cooley)

 

Mead: mind and self; I and me; 3 stages in development of self: taking the role of others, generalized other

 

Personality

Boas - Principle of cultural deteminism

Freud: 3 aspects - id, ego, superego

 

Cognitive: Piaget=s four stages and skills learned in each

Zussman (R1)

Micro-sociology

Ethnomethodology B breaching norms

 

Personal space - norms

 

Goffman: dramaturgy; presentation of self; face; impression management; expressions given and expressions given off

- setting and personal front

- back stage

- status and roles

- Performance disruptions: unmeant gestures;  inopportune intrusions; faux pas

- Preventive, defensive and protective practices; examples?

 

Impression management in public places: restrooms as backstage

Conley, pp. 133 – 144

 

 

 

Goffman (I)

 

Social groups

Definitions & characteristics:  dyad, triad (& political relations), small groups, parties, large groups; primary and secondary groups

- in- and out-groups

- reference groups

 

Formal and informal organizations

- Michel’s iron law of oligarchy

Conley, ch. 5

Bureaucracies

- characteristics of bureaucracy (Weber)

- “iron cage” of rationality

- terms: power, authority, calculability, impersonality

 

Negative effects of rationalization:   goal displacement; Peter Principle; Parkinson’s law; trained incapacity

 

- dysfunctions of bureaucracy: depersonalization; irrationality; alienation; disenchantment; dehumanization; inefficiency

 

McDonaldization of society

- characteristics: efficiency, predictability, calculability, nonhuman technology, control over uncertainty

Conley, pp. 414-415

 

Office Space clip - examples of characteristics and dysfunctions of bureaucracy

 

Social networks

Sociograms – network components

- nodes: bridge position

- ties: bridge tie; weak /strong; redundant/nonredundant; bridge ties; embeddedness

- implications of redundancy

- network characteristics: density, structural holes, structural fragility

Conley, ch. 5

McPherson, Smith-Lovin and Brashears (I)* (must access on campus or through Cook Library home page)