Family Questions for the Midterm Exam

Below are the questions (and answers) I accepted from the families which will appear on our midterm exam this Thursday, March 25th. You'll note that I did a fair amount of editing of both the questions and answers you submitted.

RED FAMILY: (Frances, John, Sami, Natalie) 7pts (plus 1 bonus point for the quality of your questions and answers, even though I was only able to accept three of them because there was some overlap with questions submitted by other families.)

1. Harriet Matineau argued that the "heart of any inquiry" involved what particular type of research methodology and why? (2)

ANSWER: Participant Observation, because she argued that you cannot get a full picture of society or social behavior as an outside scientific observer. You needed to be sympathetic to those you studied, or see their lives from their point of view.

2. Which ONE of Durkheim's four types of suicide did I suggest best illustrates the power of "social facts" or social pressure? (1)

ANSWER: ATRUISTIC, which is the result of the over-attachment to society or excessive integration of the individual into the group.

3.According to Comte, why should sociology take its place at the top of the "hierarchy of the sciences?" (2)

ANSWER: Sociology, or the "queen of the sciences," was the culmination of all the other scientific disciplines. It would be the most comprehensive of all the sciences, for as one moves up this hierarchy the different scientific disciplines become more complex and concrete, sociology being the most complex and concrete.


GREEN FAMILY: (Kelsey, Emily, Tomas, Cam) 7pts

1. What is "Social Darwinism," which is a concept identified with Spencer and Sumner? (1)

ANSWER: Social Darwinism -- applying Darwinian ideas of natural selection or "survival of the fittest" (which is actually from Spencer) to the social realm, which implies that government not intervene to save or support the weaker elements or members of society.

2. Identify and briefly describe the TWO types of norms William Graham Sumner is credited with discovering. (2)

ANSWER: FOLKWAYS: informal rules that deal with day-to-day things such as dress, speech, etiquette which are taken for granted or assumed.
MORES: rules dealing with more serious matters that are usually written into law and are considered essential to the social order.

3. What is "social realism?" (1)

ANSWER: Idea that society is a reality greater than the individuals who comprise it. Or society has an existence over and above individuals.


BLUE FAMILY: (Alan, Jeremy, Melanie, Marshall, Jenny) 7pts

1. What is the central question about modern society that Durkheim provides an answer for in The Division of Labor in Society? (1)

ANSWER: How does the individual, while becoming more autonomous, also depend more on society?

2. At the end of The Division of Labor in Society, how does Durkheim propose to deal with the condition of "anomie," which he believed was undermining "organic solidarity?" What did Durkheim see as the ultimate solution to this problem? (2)

ANSWER: (a) the OCCUPATIONAL GROUP would help instill the sense of solidarity with one's fellow man. (b) a MORAL EDUCATION, which would nurture, develop, sustain the individual's socially oriented part, would be the ultimate solution.

3. What is the "reductionist" approach to society, which is the opposite of Durkheim's approach? (1)

ANSWER: The reductionist approach involves breaking society or social life down into its individual parts and analyze those parts to try to get an understanding of the whole.
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That's it. Again, look for the above questions on Thursday's midterm exam. Tomorrow we will wrap up Chapter 5 on Marx and Engels and get into Chapter 6. Also, remember to read those handouts on Marxism. I will also set aside some time for review for the midterm exam.

Reminders & Passage on "Alienation"

REMINDERS: First, don't forget that each family needs to submit 5 midterm exam questions and answers via email or hard copy to me by NOON FRIDAY, 19TH, THAT'S TOMORROW. I will post the questions I accept on this blog by next Monday at the latest. Also, please read over those handouts I gave you in class today. I should get to them in class next Tuesday. And read Chapter 6, although I am not sure at this point how far we may get in Chapter 6 next Tuesday. Finally, next Tuesday I will set aside some time for review for the midterm exam on Thursday, the 25th.
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Passage on "Alienation": the following passage is from Jonathan Safran-Foer's new book, "Eating Animals," (p. 256). I believe it provides a good contemporary illustration of the relevance of Marx's concept of alienation.

"Farmers have lost -- have had taken from them -- a direct, human relationship with their work. Increasingly, they don't own the animals, can't determine their methods, aren't allowed to apply their wisdom, and have no alternative to high-speed industrial slaughter. The factory model has estranged them not only from how they labor (hack, chop, saw, stick, lop, cut), but how the product is sold (anonymously and cheaply). Human beings cannot be human (much less humane) under the conditions of a factory farm or slaughterhouse. It's the most perfect workplace alienation in the world right now. Unless you consider what the animals experience."

Reminders & Passage on "Anomie"

REMINDERS: BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS BLOG POST WHICH DESCRIBES OUR FIRST FAMILY ACTIVITY -- MAKING UP MIDTERM EXAM QUESTIONS. WE ARE GOING TO BE DOING JUST THAT THIS WEEK IN PREPARATION FOR OUR MIDTERM EXAM NEXT WEEK THURSDAY, MARCH 25TH.
Also, we'll begin to talk about Chapter 5 on Marx and Engels, after I make some final comments about Durkheim.
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Passage on "Anomie": Last Thursday (3/11) I quoted the following passage from a different theory text than the one we are using. It is a good overview of the condition of "anomie," which Durkheim first talked about in The Division of Labor in Society:

"In general, the anomic state of modern society has led to a relatively unrestrained citizenry, wherein people primarily look out for their own interests and have disregard for those of others....The individual's social part, Durkheim insisted, is just as natural to humans as their individual (self-interest) part. The problems of modern society are due NOT to a basically anti-social human nature but to the structure of contemporary society, which does not adequately nurture, develop, and sustain the individual's socially oriented part."

Of course, as I also noted in class, "anomie" is often simply defined as "a condition of normlessness or a breakdown of moral guidelines." In the context of the above passage, such a breakdown Durkheim felt unleashed the forces of individual egoism which undermine the development of "organic solidarity."

PLEASE INCORPORATE THE ABOVE PASSAGE AND COMMENT IN YOUR NOTES.

See you tomorrow, and, again, be sure to check out the description of the family exercise on making up midterm exam questions.

FAMILY ACTIVITY: MAKING UP QUESTIONS FOR THE MIDTERM EXAM

For this family exercise I want each of the families (which I put on the board yesterday and also list at the bottom of this post) to come up with FIVE short-answer questions from anything we've covered in class and the text since the beginning of the term (xerox handouts included). Think of this as if you were teaching this class and had covered this material -- what would you consider important points to ask about. Use your class notes as a guide. Remember, by short-answer I do NOT mean true-false or multiple choice, although fill-in-the-blank is ok. I will give the families some time to confer on this next week, both Tuesday (3/16) and Thursday (3/18). I, then, want a family member to submit your five questions and answers NO LATER THAN NOON ON FRIDAY, MARCH 19TH. You may simply submit them to me via email or drop off a hard copy. I will then sort through these and try to select at least THREE questions from each family. For each additional question I accept, that family will earn a bonus point, so you may earn up to two bonus points for this exercise. I will then post the questions and answers I accepted on this blog by MONDAY, MARCH 22, so you will have them in plenty of time to study for the midterm on Thursday, March 25th. This exercise is worth 7 points, which all PARTICIPATING family members will earn, plus whatever bonus points.

FAMILIES:

Red Family: John R., Frances C., Sami N., Natalie D.

Green Family: Emily J., Kelsey L., Tomas M., Cameron R.

Blue Family: Jenny A., Jeremy M., Alan D., Melanie R., Marshall H.