SOC 101/McClure Exam #1 Study Guide

Exam #1: Thursday, 02/07

The Sociologically Examined Life, Ch. 1: "Making Sense of the World" Under what circumstances does a sociology class leave only a faint impression on students? This failure is most likely to occur when courses aim primarily to teach about sociology as a discipline.when sociology is taught as a body of work created by strangers, it can seem like an exotic and fanciful thing--something that one can take or leave, depending on how interesting it is to listen in on the sayings of sociologists. If this is how sociology comes across, most people will tune it out before long. What sociologists say among themselves is less interesting than social life itself. This lack of interest is what may leave a faint impression What is sociological mindfulness? How common is it? Why? The practice of tuning-in to how the social world works. We are all tuned-in to some extent just by being members of society. To be truly mindful of the social world we must learn to see it for what it is and learn the ideas necessary to see what makes the social world a unique phenomena. Sociological mindfulness is the practice of paying attention in these ways. A person who tells a racist joke may intend only to be funny but even if no one is offended when the joke is told, in the long run people can be hurt. It is quite rare in our society because: - it doesn't seem like much fun: people want to live life rather than analyze it to death - some people may believe it doesn't matter: some people feel powerless and feel as if they cant make a difference in the world - american individualism: as americans we learn that we can only rely on ourselves which can blind us to our interdependence with others - desire for money and status may so preoccupy us that we fail to think much about how society works or how other people experience it - how we are brought up: if life seems like a race, few people may want to stop to analyze what all the racing is about or where it is leading, they fall behind. - it goes against the grain in Western society and many impulses instilled in us as americans Does American individualism support sociological mindfulness or hinder it? It hinders it because as americans we learn that we can only rely on ourselves which can blind us to our interdependence with others

What are Schwalbes assumptions about a good life and our responsibilities as humans? That a good life is stimulating, intense, joyful, purposeful, caring, and dignified. It can only be had in a society that is peaceful, cooperative, egalitarian, and minimally regimented. He also believes everyone has an equal right to a good life and so no one should enjoy power and privilege at the expense of others. His third belief is that because human lives are intertwined , we are obliged to consider how our actions affect others, especially their chances of living a good life. According to Schwalbe, are people naturally selfish, competitive and cowardly? No.

The Sociologically Examined Life, Ch. 2: "Inventing the Social World" Social construction of reality: Social world is made up of ideas, shared patterns/beliefs If the social world exists only because of ideas then is it merely illusion? Why or why not? No it does not mean it is an illusion.Institutions consist of people doing things together in recurrent orderly ways. That is really what the social world is made of: patterns of activity. What is the role of habit and routine in making the social world invisible? many of the ideas that hold the social world together are invisible because they are built into habit.Once upon a time we were told or figured out why we should do a certain thing and now we do it without thinking. The guiding ideas are still there, though visible only as habits. What difference does it make if we forget that the social world is a human invention? the difference it makes is like that between using one's tools with an awareness of what they are good for and letting those tools take charge. makes humans invisible. What is reification?

The failure to see the social world as humanly made. The tendency to see the humanly made world as having a will and force of its own, apart from human beings. How can we see the social world being made? pay attention in the right way to what is going on all around us all the time. - first look for people solving problems together to see habits and routines being formed. After more and more people solve problems and form routines and habits day after day, an institution is formed - ask who benefits from certain ways of doing things because solutions for some can create problems for others. some benefit but some suffer. this shows that conflict underlies the social world - watch how labels and categories of people are formed and how these people react to the labels and how they construct their social lives - be mindful of labels and categories you create yourself and why look for assumptions people make and why -watch how people create among themselves versions of the truth and why. Do humans act as social products, social forces, or both? both.

The Sociologically Examined Life, Ch. 12: Studying and Changing the Social World What is logical deduction? Can we make mistakes in using logical deduction to make sense of the world? this is when you only have to know a single fact to deduce whether a statement is true or false. it is one way to know things or to find out the implications of what we know. Yes we can make mistakes because if our knowledge ends up being wrong, then logically deducing something might not give us the right answer if our premises are wrong. What other sources of knowledge do we rely on? How can they lead us astray? we rely on what others tell us or what we learn from personal experience or observation. They lead us astray because we do not know if what someone is telling us is wrong. Its is also easy to misjudge an observation or experience or overgeneralize something. What is systematic research? careful research to create valid and reliable knowledge about the state of the

social world and how it works Advantages to systematic research? - using standard, widely accepted means of finding things out, we can control personal biases. if we do this we are less likely to mistake what we would like to be true from what is really true. doing systemic research will eliminate biases - research can get us beyond personal experience and casual observation because to research is to look beyond what is obvious to us from where we stand - systemic research also lets us check up on each other. if we use methods that others agree are proper or unproper, they will share their opinion 4 types of questions 1. empirical questions- they are answerable by measuring, counting, or looking to see what happens 2. aesthetic questions- questions about what is subjectively pleasing to the senses 3. moral questions- calls for a judgement about what is right to do 4. questions of interpretation- raising a question about any fact, object, gesture, phrase, behavior, or anything that has meaning ("What does this mean?") Of the 4 types of questions listed, which are best answered through systematic research? empirical and interpretive What is mindful skepticism? - being skeptical of knowledge that we already possess and that strikes us as new and strange. - mindful skepticism toward knowledge keeps us inquiring, observing, and trying to make better sense of things; it keeps us trying to create more accurate, complete, and useful representations; it keeps us open to new information; and it keeps us connected to others as we try to do this - being mindful of new information without being indiscriminately skeptical. paying attention to how information is created, by whom, and for what purposes, puts us on alert against fraud without cutting us off from learning. - seeking alternative views helps us see the limits of our knowledge. If we are determined can we learn the whole truth about something? no.

The Practical Skeptic, Reading #2: How History & Sociology Can Help Todays Families Does a socio-historical analysis solve social problems? no but a historical perspective can help us place our personal relationships into a larger social context, so we can distinguish individual idiosyncrasies or problems from broader dilemmas posed by the times in which we live. understanding the historical background and the current socioeconomic setting of family changes helps turn down the heat on discussion of many family issues. it can reduce insecurity, personal bitterness, or sense of betrayal that all of us bring to these issues. What are some of the key historical changes that have increased teenparent conflict? - childhood has been prolonged, if it is measured by dependence on parents and segregation from adult activities - rolelessness in modern society. today's adolescents have very few opportunities to do socially necessary work. The issue of rolelessness has been building ever since the abolition of child labor, the extension of schooling, and the decline in farm work that used to occupy many youths in summer - high schools were originally designed for the most privileged and now high school degrees have lost value and college degrees are necessary - readiness for adulthood comes about two years later than the adolescent claims and about two years before the parent will admit - from the point of view of the parents it is more important than ever for kids to stay in school rather than seek full time work, and to delay marriage or pregnancy - puberty is coming sooner and adulthood is coming later. the gap is widening between puberty and adulthood Why do teens today tend to strain at the [parental] leash? they not only know a lot more than their folks about modern technology but they feel that they also know more about the facts of life than yesterday's teens. this makes them strain at the leash. What can social science tell us about male-female conflict? family history and personal history is relevant How does the concept of situated social power help us to understand malefemale conflict? - situated social power: various groups in society have unequal access to economic resources, political power, and social status, and these social

differences limit how fair or equal a personal relationship between 2 individuals from different groups can really be. Such social imbalances affect personal behavior regardless of sincere intentions of both parties to not let it make a difference. - it is the party with the most power who always assumes that other people can act totally free of outside constraints. - when a person with power pretends not to have it, people with less power feel doubly vulnerable. - so they clam up or get sore which leaves the more powerful person feeling that his or her big hearted gestures are being rebuffed If men are privileged, then why are so many men unhappy and or in emotional pain? (pg. 15) - not all men can be at the top of the pyramid. the contrast between rhetoric and reality is very painful for men whose race, class, health, or even height does not allow them to wield power, exercise authority, or just cut a figure imposing enough to qualify as a real man. - the competitive, hierarchical environments men are encouraged to operate in cut them off from intimacy and penalize them for letting down their guard Be familiar with the solution to male-female conflict sociologists suggest on pg. 16) - the solution is not for men and women to feel each other's pain but to equalize their power and access to resources - men must be willing to give up their advantages over women if they hope to build healthy relationships with either sex - women must be willing to accept tough criticism and give up superficial privileges such as being able to cry their way out of a speeding ticket if they hope to develop inner resources to be high achievers

The Sociologically Examined Life, Ch. 3: Seeing Connections Need an individual intend to harm someone for their actions to harm others? individuals do not often realize the effect that their actions have on others What are indexes? What is a nonobvious index? reading behavior, appearance, and possessions to a persons character and wealth How can an analysis focused on our historical participation in slavery allow us to see connections to modern day racial relations and realities?

Some people argue that sociologists make too big a fuss over little things. What does Schwalbe say about examining the little things? Why might people become defensive when we ask them to change the little things they do that are connected to sexism, racism, etc.?

The Practical Skeptic, Reading #8: Queer Customs What is the definition of culture evoked by anthropologists? Culture is that part of the environment that is the creation of man. to be human is to be cultured. refers to the distinctive ways of life of such a group of people. How does culture differ from society? society refers to a group of people who interact more with each other than they do with other individuals and cooperate with each other for the attainment of certain ends. you can see and count the individuals that make up a society but you cannot do the same with a culture What are some of the basic categories of all cultures? (pg. 73) - language - aesthetic expression and aesthetic delight - standard orientations toward deeper problems such as death - perpetuate a group and its solidarity - meet the demands of individuals for an orderly way of life and for satisfaction of biological needs - sex, birth control, sexuality and sex ceremonies etc. - perceptions of nature - marriage ceremonies What does it mean to say some aspects of culture are explicit? the explicit culture consists in those regularities in word and deed that may be generalized straight from the evidence of the ear and the eye. cultures have standards for conduct and belief, making certain things explicit. This is a result of rituals and patterns.

The Practical Skeptic, Reading #9: Body Ritual Among the Nacirema What is the point of this piece?

the article tries to show how things could be misinterpreted and ethnocentric views cloud judgement and understanding of another's open mindedness. it shows Americans what they might look like to other civilizations that we have viewed in the past or currently as exotic and mystical cultures among the people of the world. it humbles the modernized and westernized cultures and the arrogance of Americans of their lacking cultural respect and efforts to understand, instead of pointing fingers and looking through the glass a different way What trick is built into the case of the Nacirema? What does this tell us about how we approach our understandings of other cultures? It is America spelled backwards. This tells us that we look at other cultures as primitive and uncivilized, backward and illogical, but the article depicts Americans as a strange and savage culture convincingly to other Americans Be familiar with the concept of ethnocentricity. centered on a specific ethnic group, usually one's own. belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group.

Miscellaneous Know the definitions of personal troubles and public issues. Why does it help to be able to distinguish between the two? Does it make our problems disappear? - personal troubles- problems that occur within the individual, within their character, or just within their private social setting. It is something they have no control over. There are not a significant number of others in society suffering from this same problem. Therefore, the individual is responsible for addressing this personal trouble. - Public issues- have to do with things outside of the individual's immediate setting, their character, and outside of themselves. They are being affected by something outside of their own control. Only society can really address a public issue. The individual has little control. A public issue affects a significant portion of the population. - it does not make our problems disappear Can we understand individual lives without understanding the history of society and vice-versa? no. they are correlated. correlation is not causation What is sociology?

Sociology is the scientific study of social interactions and social organizations. Individuals are born into a ready-made social world. our social environment shapes most things about us. The social world is created by shared ideas that we act upon.