Sociological Imagination
Define the sociological imagination
The intersection of biography and history OR the link between private troubles and public issues.
According to Mead, what are the two components of the self.
The I and the Me.
What is face work?
The active, ritualized efforts we make to maintain our positive social image, or "face," during social interactions.
What are the two main classes according to Marx and Engels?
Proletariat = the working class, those who labor for a wage
Bourgeois = the elite class, those who own the means of production and make money from the labor of the proletariat
Define the 3 forms of cultural capital
Embodied = Knowledge, ways of carrying yourself, that you pick up growing up (manners, style of dress, sense of ease in different settings, etc.)
Objectified = Physical objects that convey one’s cultural capital, through interaction with it (e.g. designer brands, playing the violin, responding to a painting)
Institutionalized = Recognized/measurable form of cultural capital with objective value like a credential (e.g., degree we possess), job rank, etc.
What are the essential components of society?
What is the difference between the two components of the self according to Mead?
I = creative, agentic aspect of the self
Me = socialized aspect of the self, formed through the internalization of societal norms, expectations, and the attitudes of other people
What does it mean to "take a line" according to Goffman?
To do what is expected in an interaction ritual, to follow the unspoken "script" required of us in a given situation. A "line" refers to a possible course of action to take to try to save, regain, or protect “face” (one’s own and the other person's).
How do Marx and Engels define class?
Class = a group of people who all have the same relationship to the economic system. Materialist definition of class.
How might the 3 different kinds of capital (social, economic, cultural) be converted into one another according to Bourdieu. Define the 3 types of capital in your answer.
Answers may vary, but should define:
Economic capital = material resources
Cultural capital = knowledge, dispositions, tastes
Social capital = using the people you know (directly and indirectly) as a resource
Use your sociological imagination to analyze falling rates of marriage among young people in the US over the last 20 years.
Answer should include an analysis that links someone's personal "trouble" (declining to marry, marrying early, divorce, etc.) to a public "issue" (changing job landscape, changing norms around love, normalization of divorce).
The generalized other is an internalized understanding of the collective norms, values, and expectations of a society or social group that we use to guide our behavior and develop our sense of self. The generalized other exists within us, though it is based on what we expect other people think about us and is informed by our interactions with others.
What is the difference between corrective and preventative face work?
Corrective = response used (line taken) when one's "face" is under threat
Preventative = response used (line taken) to decrease the likelihood of a face-threatening act occurring
What does it mean to say Marx and Engels' theory of class is "relational"?
They view class as a relationship between those whose labor is exploited and those who exploit that labor (rather than viewing it from a "stair stepping" point of view). They see the two classes as being in direct conflict with one another.
What is "habitus" according to Bourdieu, and how does it relate to cultural capital?
The deeply ingrained habits, skills, dispositions, and ways of thinking, feeling, and acting that individuals develop through their life experiences and social upbringing. Our habitus informs the kinds of cultural capital we acquire.
Use your sociological imagination to explain the steep decline in the number of Americans who read for fun in that past 20 years.
Answers should explain the link between a private "trouble" (less time for reading, disinterest in reading, trouble accessing books, etc.) and a public "issue" (increasing pace of work and school, rise of social media and streaming services, cost of books/funding cuts to libraries, etc.)
Define socialization, then differentiate between primary and secondary socialization.
Socialization = “The process through which individuals internalize the
values, beliefs and norms of a society and learn to
function as its members” (Craig Calhoun)
Primary socialization = the norms we learn as kids
Secondary socialization = more specialized knowledge, usually specific to a place
What is the difference between defensive and protective practices according to Goffman?
Defensive = self-focused efforts to maintain one's image
Protective = audience-focused efforts to uphold the shared social reality (working consensus) being presented
What is the difference between a class-in-itself and a class-for-itself?
Class-in-itself = group of people who all have a similar relationship to the economic system
Class-for-itself = group of people who all have a similar relationship to the economic system and understands themselves as a class (that is, they have "class consciousness")
What is the relationship between concerted cultivation and cultural capital. Define concerted cultivation in your answer
Concerted cultivation = active parental involvement in fostering a child's talents and skills through organized activities, structured routines, and deliberate development of language and reasoning abilities.
Concerted Cultivation provides children with forms of cultural capital that benefit them in school by teaching them to be entitled (compare to Accomplishment of Natural Growth, which teaches kids to be constrained in school).
Explain something--a trend you've seen, something you've experienced, something that happened to a TV character, etc.--using your sociological imagination.
Can the self change over time according to Mead?
Yes, Mead's theory leaves room for human agency. The interaction between the I and the Me allows us to change and develop our "selves" over time.
Demonstrate Goffman’s theory of the interaction ritual by giving an example of someone breaching it and the other people in the interaction doing face work to try to help repair the interaction. Incorporate and define some of Goffman’s terms in your answer.
Answer should explain the breach, why it was a breach, and how the breach was resolved (or people tried to resolve it) using face work (should mention specific types of face work).
To what extent the theory of class as exploitation is useful for understanding economic inequality in the US today?
Answer should include a discussion of finance and the importance of wealth in our contemporary economy.
What does Jack mean by the "privileged poor" and the "doubly disadvantaged"?
Privileged poor = low-income students who attended elite private, boarding, or preparatory high schools before entering college (and thus gain forms of cultural capital that are valued in college)
Doubly disadvantaged = low-income students who attended underfunded, often racially and socioeconomically segregated public high schools (and thus do not gain the same cultural capital as the privileged poor)