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.