Families' Midterm Questions

Below are the questions from the families which I accepted and will appear on our upcoming midterm exam (Thurs. 3/20). There was one similar question that two families proposed, and I decided to accept the version that was closer to the kind of question I would have asked. As you will also note, I did edit some of the questions you submitted. And for those families which submitted more than the required three, I simply discounted the additional ones. All participating family members receive 5 points and two of the families earned an additional bonus point. So, here they are:

YELLOW FAMILY (Patrick, Shane, Justin P., Jessica) One bonus point.

1. What was the central interest of the Philosophes/Enlightenment thinkers? (2)

ANSWER: "...The attainment of human and social perfectibility in the here and now rather than in some heavenly future. They consider rational education and scientific understanding of self and society the routes to all human and social progress." (p. 11)

2. Name and briefly define ONE of the two principal varieties of status quo conservatism. (2)

ANSWER: (a) evolutionism -- society changes slowly and is self-corrective in the process OR (b) functionalism -- society is similar to an organism with interrelated structures that meet needs and perform functions.

BLUE FAMILY: (Brent, Jessie, Bryant, Jennie)

1. In advocating the use of interviews, Harriet Martineau also saw the need to do what to guard against the possible bias from interviewing just a few individuals? (1)

ANSWER: she saw the need to select a RANDOM SAMPLE.


BLACK FAMILY: (Tye, McKenzie, Scott, Phil, MC) One bonus point

1. Define "social realism" and identify one theorist who strongly advocated social realism. (2)

ANSWER: social realism is the idea that society exists in its own right and is above and apart from the individuals in society. Durkheim was a strong advocate (or, Comte)

2. The authors of our text introduced three Research Traditions in Chapter 1, at least two of which we have encountered so far. Identify and briefly describe ONE of these two research traditions and identify ONE sociological theorist who is associated with that tradition. (3)

ANSWER: (a) Positivism: search for scientific laws of society. (Comte, Martineau, Saint Simon, or Durkheim) OR (b) Critical theory: antagonistic to positivism; seeks to envision a better society and promotes change. (Marx, Engels, Lenin, or Luxemburg)



See you tomorrow, when we'll wrap up Chapter 5 on Marx and Engels and get into and perhaps finish Chapter 6. I'll also set aside some time for review and questions.