Theories
Based on this theory, sociology should apply the same rigorous scientific methods to the study of society that physics or chemistry uses to study the physical world.
Positivism
the ability to understand how your own personal experiences and troubles are connected to wider social, historical, and structural forces
Sociological Imagination
Today, in many semi-preparatory countries as well as former Eastern Bloc countries, we can observe a type of democracy in which the elections are rigged and political rights are respected only in paper. Which type of democracy is best explained in the above statement?
Formal Democracy
The dominance of one social, cultural, or political group over others, often achieved not through force alone but by persuading the subordinate groups to accept the dominant group's values and way of life as natural and beneficial
Hegemony
The following statement describes which pre-modern era?
"But the gap between best practice and the machines that were adopted and put into widespread use was large, and few inventions were recorded in the stream of technical writings; therefore, they had no significant impact on economic growth".
Renaissance
In this theory, Durkhiemt posits that social cohesion arises from either shared beliefs and values or through the interdependence of specialized labor.
Solidarity
Mechanical and Organic Solidarity
the movement of an individual, family, or group from one social status to another, often related to economic or social class
Social Mobility
When more people pursue a Ph.D. for limited opportunities, it ultimately diminishes the relative value of the degree. The above example elaborates on which of the concepts we learn about in mass education?
Credential Inflation
Based on Wallerstein, what are the 2 types of world-systems?
World-Empire
World-Economy
The following example refers to which type of sociological research?
This well-known study details the experiences of families facing eviction in Milwaukee, offering an in-depth examination of the lives of both tenants and landlords.
Ethnography: fieldwork
Marx argues that just as ....had united to overthrow the ... order, capitalism would be supplanted by...
capitalists
feudal
communism
Based on Wallerstein's world-system theory, within a world economy, what are three basic types of economic units? Explain them briefly
Core: domination in the capitalist world-economy and exploitation of other countries
Periphery: Subject to surplus expropriation by the core, and being exploited by the semi-periphery.
Semi-periphery: Being exploited by the core and exploiting the periphery.
A country relies on exploiting resources from underdeveloped countries while still transferring more surplus value to industrialized countries than it receives. How would you categorize this country within the world-economy?
Semi-periphery
Compare wealth and income.
Both together depict the stratified nature of the U.S. society. Income indicates a short-term income security. Wealth shows a more stable, permanent, and long-term economic security.
What is the difference between causation and correlation?
Correlation describes a relationship where two variables change together, while causation means one variable directly causes a change in another
What is the main difference between Max Weber's perspective and Marx and Durkheim's?
For Weber, the complex interplay of actions in society shapes social structure
For Marx and Durkehiem, structure existed external/independent of individuals
Explain the 4 types of sociological questions based on Giddens
Factual
Comparative
Developmental
Theoretical
The Meiji Restoration in Japan (1868):
Following decades of isolation, a coalition of high-ranking samurai overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate and restored imperial rule under Emperor Meiji.
The Meiji Restoration can serve as a notable example of the type of revolution we have studied.
revolution from above
Why do all hegemonies decline?
A general Theory of hegemonic decline:
1.Favoring a free trade policy provides opportunities for competitors to learn the secrets of the hegemon’s success and imitate them.
2.Other core countries can team up on a hegemon and weaken it!
3.Internal obstacles, such as declining productivity, efficiency, and ineffective organizational structure.
4.The high standard of living leads to inefficiencies for the hegemon
Differences Between Japanese and Western Capitalism
1.The organizational structure of Japanese companies
2.Labor management relations in Japanese companies
3.Japanese companies are known for Keiretsu: collaboration over competition between companies
4.Japanese capitalism is more collectivist
5.A marked asceticism characterizes Japanese capitalism
Name three contemporary theoretical approaches in sociology and explain which is most appropriate for macro-level analysis and which is most appropriate for micro-level analysis.
Conflict Perspective: Macro
Functionalism: Macro
Symbolic Interactionism: Micro
What does "Keiretsu" mean in the Japanese economy?
independent companies are linked through cross-shareholdings and long-term relationships, fostering cooperation and stability
"Rooting the fall of the Soviet Union in the overextension of its empire, which led to severe economic costs, particularly in military buildup, became unbearable over time" is an example of which sociological phenomenon and why?
State Breakdown: A Weberian geopolitical argument
The Soviet Union was ultimately an unsustainable system. Thus, the geopolitics of the USSR led to its economic breakdown
In the mid-1980s, Gorbachev initiated political and economic reforms in the Soviet Union. Name and explain those reforms.
Perestroika: economic reforms:
The Soviet Union granted greater autonomy to state enterprises and local managers, moved toward a market economy by introducing limited private ownership of cooperative businesses, and extended its trade with the West.
Glasnost: Political reforms:
Openness in political and social life, greater freedom for the mass media, increased tolerance of intellectuals’ and artists’ freedom of expression, and holding public elections, as well as the political expression of the USSR’s move toward reintegration into the capitalist world economy.
Why did so little of technological creativity during the pre-industrial era translate into economic progress?
•Lack of economic incentives: slavery provided discouragements for the introduction of worker-replacing technology.
• Technological advances were blocked at times: governments sought to control technological progress to exercise power and prevent social unrest.
• Traditions oppressed classical civilizations and they showed little interest in new technology.