SOCI 287 Athabasca University | 80 Questions and Answers(A+ Solution guide)

UNIT 1 What is "sociological imagination"? How might it be used to study a particular issue? - A term coined by C. Wright Mills: "the awareness of the relationship between personal experience and the wider society. The capacity to shift from one perspective to another-from the political to the psychological; from examination of a single family to comparative assessment of the national budgets of the world." According to Marx, what is the basis of the conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat? - Marx argued that the capitalist bourgeoisie mercilessly exploited the proletariat. He recognized that the work carried out by the proletariat created great wealth for the capitalist. ... In this way, the capitalist, who controls the process of production, makes a profit. What area of social life does symbolic interaction theory attempt to explain? Provide an example. - Symbolic interactionism is an approach that looks at the meaning of symbolism in our daily lives. It focuses on individuals rather than larger social structures. It seeks to explain the meaning we communicate with one another about relationships, shared interests, and role models through symbols. An example of this would be two men giving each other a subtle nod, then engaging in a "bro" hug. What is a total institution? Why do they exist? What are some of the key features of total institutions? - A total institution is " a range of institutions in which whole blocks of people are bureaucratically processed, whilst being physically isolated from the normal round of activities, by being required to sleep, work, and play within the confines of the same institution". Examples: Prisons, psychiatric hospitals, monasteries, boarding schools, convents-and other institutions where residents are powerfully regulated, controlled, or manipulated by those in charge. Using Goffman's dramaturgical approach, explain the difference between "front stage" and "back stage" as they might apply to a restaurant. - The dramaturgical approach is a way of conducting research as if everyday life were taking place on the stage of a theater. Using the example of a restaurant, wait staff may act differently when in the "front stage" dining room area within the eye of customers, thanthey would when in the "back stage", behind the kitchen door with their colleagues. Goffman called this "impression management". What is the role of critical sociology and conflict theory? How is feminism related to conflict perspectives? - Critical sociology challenged both established sociological theories and the research that sociologists do. ITs aim is to make sure that professional sociologists do not lose sight of the goals of sociological inquiry, specifically to bring about meaningful social change. Because conflict theory is based on the idea that conflict exists in all large societies and breaks it down on the basis of "stress lines" caused by sex, ethnicity, race, gender, class, age, religion, I would assume that critical sociology leads to further refinement of sociology as a whole and conflict theory provides a theoretical base for the study of society.