Family Final Exam Questions

The following are the questions I accepted from the families. Remember, these will be on the final exam. Each participating member earns three points for this activity, and the members of the GREEN FAMILY will each earn two bonus points.

BLUE FAMILY (Jessica H., Amanda, Grant, Natalie)

1. In what TWO respects did Weber have a different view of social change than Marx, Comte, and Durkheim? (2)

ANSWER: (a) Weber did not have any linear conception of social evolution or commitment to ideas of beneficial progress. (b) Weber was pessimistic about the dehumanization of modern rationalized, bureaucratized life.

2. In the context of the critical theorists discussed in Chapter 16, such as Max Horkheimer who you read about, what did they regard as "emancipatory theory" (which is also similar to Horkheimer's idea of objective reason)? (2)

ANSWER: not simply a way to make sense of the facts, but helping people to see and understand what IS so that they can see what MIGHT BE.


YELLOW FAMILY: (Megan, Matt, Claire)

1. Regarding Weber's view of race, I applauded his clear recognition that race is a ________________________ distinction NOT a _________________________ distinction. (2)

ANSWER: a SOCIAL not a BIOLOGICAL distinction

2. Although Weber predicted the development of an "iron cage" of bureaucracy or rationality in western capitalist societies, in what other type of society did he see bureaucracy becoming even more entrenched? (1)

ANSWER: socialist


GREEN FAMILY (Jessica G., Justina, Kristin, Lewis, Courtney) 2 bonus points

1. In "Freud and the Fundamentalist Urge," what did the author claim Freud saw as important for both a healthy psyche and a healthy body politic? (1)

ANSWER: a good deal of continuing tension

2. What was the "double-consciousness" DuBois spoke of? (2)

ANSWER: Being an American and Black: "two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideas in one dark body."

3. What did Weber mean by "rationalization?" (2)

ANSWER: "the process of making life more efficient and predictable by wringing out individuality and spontaneity in life."

4. Name any TWO of the three important things that Talcott Parsons accomplished in his first book, "The Structure of Social Action." (2)

ANSWER: Any two of the following: (1) introduced an Amercian audience to the work of some great European sociologists: Durkheim, Weber, Pareto; (2) took seriously the idea of society as a system or SOCIAL REALISM; (3) his theory of social action integrated fields of psychology, sociology, and anthropology.

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That's it. Remember, the exam is on TUESDAY, MAY 12 from 9-12. See you there.