SOCIOLOGY 210: EXAM 3
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
(GRADED A)
Modern Theory / Neoliberalism - ANSWER-Mildly like Modernization Theory in that:
-Economic Growth is essential to development
-Traditional societies are backwards and lack proper values
-Developing countries need to adopt modern institutions, tech and cultural values
that emphasize productive investment
Not similar in that:
-Development requires freeing the market and joining the global economy
"Law on the books" Vs. "Law in action" - ANSWER-Law on the books - Laws written
in statute(set in stone and part of official law passed by a legislative body)
Civil religion (Ritzer text/lecture) - ANSWER-Institutionalized set of beliefs about a
community's past, present, and future
-Values of a community expressed through public rituals, symbols, and ceremonies
on special days
What were the arguments of Weber, Marx and Durkheim's about Religion? -
ANSWER-Marx - Religion as a form of self-alienation
-tool for oppression of the subordinate
-Religion would weaken over time because it is premised as a misunderstanding of
social life
Weber - Religion would fade through rationalization and disenchantment
-Points to how religion and religious belief can transform society
Durkheim - Sacred is regarded with veneration and caution
-Profane is mundane, earthly, and common
-Religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices related to the sacred and
profane which united into a single moral community called a church
What is Collins' argument about modern sacredness? - ANSWER-We all believe that
we are special in ourselves and try to protect that significance
-Modern Sacredness - All rotates around the "Cult of Individual"
-Collective Effervescence follows this as we do not have to protect our inner self
when we are within a group
What are the trends in marriage and the family?
How does the US compare to other countries in terms of patterns of marriage,
children and divorce? - ANSWER-- Americans marry and cohabitate for the first time
sooner than people in most other Western countries
, - Higher proportion of Americans marry & divorce
- American marriages and cohabitations are less stable/fragile
- American children more likely to see dissolution of their parent's relationship as well
as experience the introduction of a new member of the household
- Large share of children will spend time in a single parent household
How do the "haves" come out in litigation? - ANSWER-The rich are more likely to be
a repeat player or have close ties to repeat players:
-Repeat players have advantages in structuring the litigation process
-Lawyers are a type of repeat player; having a standing relationship with a lawyer
provides advantage
Legal institutions set in motion by complaint(costs time & money) thus rules tend to
favor those already powerful
World System Theory(Wallerstein) - ANSWER-Immanuel Wallerstein belief about
countries around the world.
Three categories differentiate them:
-Core, Periphery, and Semi-periphery
-Core countries exploit dominant capitalist countries that exploit peripheral countries
for labor/materials
Institution - ANSWER-A complex of positions, roles, norms, and values lodged in
particular types of social structures and organizing relatively stable patterns of
human activity
Organization - ANSWER-groups of people and the governance arrangements they
create to coordinate their collective action
-Governed by rules
-Instrumental: Designed to achieve some goal or set of goals
De-institutionalization (de-naturalization) - ANSWER-A process by which something
assumed to be normal, universal, and accepted is challenged, and thus no longer
seems obvious or natural
-Marriage less a means to procreate or gain financially now than it used to be
Collective effervescense - ANSWER-The feeling of joy that an individual gains from
being part of a group or sharing values with something not completely themselves
-People being more comfortable with de
Repressive Vs. Restitutive Law - ANSWER-Repressive Law - Moral bonds that
restrict an individual
Ex. Crime hurts moral bond and must be punished publicly and severely to enforce
moral bonds/law further
Restitutive law - Requires an offender to pay for the harm he did to whoever was
affected, aids in maintaining normal contact and social intercourse
Bureaucracy - ANSWER-A component of formal organization that uses rules and
hierarchical ranking of offices to achieve efficiency
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
(GRADED A)
Modern Theory / Neoliberalism - ANSWER-Mildly like Modernization Theory in that:
-Economic Growth is essential to development
-Traditional societies are backwards and lack proper values
-Developing countries need to adopt modern institutions, tech and cultural values
that emphasize productive investment
Not similar in that:
-Development requires freeing the market and joining the global economy
"Law on the books" Vs. "Law in action" - ANSWER-Law on the books - Laws written
in statute(set in stone and part of official law passed by a legislative body)
Civil religion (Ritzer text/lecture) - ANSWER-Institutionalized set of beliefs about a
community's past, present, and future
-Values of a community expressed through public rituals, symbols, and ceremonies
on special days
What were the arguments of Weber, Marx and Durkheim's about Religion? -
ANSWER-Marx - Religion as a form of self-alienation
-tool for oppression of the subordinate
-Religion would weaken over time because it is premised as a misunderstanding of
social life
Weber - Religion would fade through rationalization and disenchantment
-Points to how religion and religious belief can transform society
Durkheim - Sacred is regarded with veneration and caution
-Profane is mundane, earthly, and common
-Religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices related to the sacred and
profane which united into a single moral community called a church
What is Collins' argument about modern sacredness? - ANSWER-We all believe that
we are special in ourselves and try to protect that significance
-Modern Sacredness - All rotates around the "Cult of Individual"
-Collective Effervescence follows this as we do not have to protect our inner self
when we are within a group
What are the trends in marriage and the family?
How does the US compare to other countries in terms of patterns of marriage,
children and divorce? - ANSWER-- Americans marry and cohabitate for the first time
sooner than people in most other Western countries
, - Higher proportion of Americans marry & divorce
- American marriages and cohabitations are less stable/fragile
- American children more likely to see dissolution of their parent's relationship as well
as experience the introduction of a new member of the household
- Large share of children will spend time in a single parent household
How do the "haves" come out in litigation? - ANSWER-The rich are more likely to be
a repeat player or have close ties to repeat players:
-Repeat players have advantages in structuring the litigation process
-Lawyers are a type of repeat player; having a standing relationship with a lawyer
provides advantage
Legal institutions set in motion by complaint(costs time & money) thus rules tend to
favor those already powerful
World System Theory(Wallerstein) - ANSWER-Immanuel Wallerstein belief about
countries around the world.
Three categories differentiate them:
-Core, Periphery, and Semi-periphery
-Core countries exploit dominant capitalist countries that exploit peripheral countries
for labor/materials
Institution - ANSWER-A complex of positions, roles, norms, and values lodged in
particular types of social structures and organizing relatively stable patterns of
human activity
Organization - ANSWER-groups of people and the governance arrangements they
create to coordinate their collective action
-Governed by rules
-Instrumental: Designed to achieve some goal or set of goals
De-institutionalization (de-naturalization) - ANSWER-A process by which something
assumed to be normal, universal, and accepted is challenged, and thus no longer
seems obvious or natural
-Marriage less a means to procreate or gain financially now than it used to be
Collective effervescense - ANSWER-The feeling of joy that an individual gains from
being part of a group or sharing values with something not completely themselves
-People being more comfortable with de
Repressive Vs. Restitutive Law - ANSWER-Repressive Law - Moral bonds that
restrict an individual
Ex. Crime hurts moral bond and must be punished publicly and severely to enforce
moral bonds/law further
Restitutive law - Requires an offender to pay for the harm he did to whoever was
affected, aids in maintaining normal contact and social intercourse
Bureaucracy - ANSWER-A component of formal organization that uses rules and
hierarchical ranking of offices to achieve efficiency
