Sociology Quiz 1

Why is the term "queer" used to describe queer theory?

It emphasizes the importance of difference and rejects a single gay or lesbian identity.

Why did C. Wright Mills think that it is important for everyone, even people who will never take a sociology class, to develop a sociological imagination?

Many people are unaware of the connections between their own lives and the larger course of history.

Researcher Christine Williams looked at patterns of occupational sex segregation by examining the ways large-scale social structures create the constraints within which individuals live their lives. Her work would be characterized as what kind of sociology? symbolic interactionist

macrosociology

Sarah believes that thanks to the ability of science and technology to create progress, problems will be solved and life will improve. Sarah would best be described as a

modernist.

There is a close relationship between sociology and the other social sciences. Given how much overlap there is between these fields, why does sociology still exist as a separate discipline?

All the other fields are more specialized, but sociology is a field that considers a huge intellectual territory.

Max Weber believed that modern industrialized societies were characterized by which of the following institutions?

bureaucracies

What did Karl Marx think the lower classes needed to develop in order to end their oppression?

class consciousness

Critical race theory is associated with which of the major theoretical perspectives or schools of thought in sociology?

conflict theory

What term did Karl Marx use to describe the fact that most of the population accepts inequality even when it does not benefit them personally?

false consciousness

Unlike earlier religious traditions that attempted to determine the ultimate cause or source of reality, Auguste Comte developed positivism in order to

identify laws that describe the behavior of a particular reality.

Unlike sociologists, the knowledge that most people possess about the world can be described as

practical.

The Egg McMuffin is a vastly more efficient version of eggs Benedict. Egg McMuffins are cheaper, ready almost instantly at drive-through windows, and can be eaten with one hand while driving. However, they do not improve on the taste of or experience eating eggs Benedict. Max Weber might have described the Egg McMuffin as the ________ of breakfast.

rationalization

According to Émile Durkheim, industrialized societies function via organic solidarity. What is the basis for organic solidarity?

shared experiences and similar beliefs

In 2007, the richest 1 percent of the American population owned 35 percent of the country's wealth and the bottom 80 percent of the population owned 14 percent. Karl Marx would call this

social inequality.

The divorce rate has steadily increased over time and now more than a quarter of all marriages end within the first four years. What sort of factors would C. Wright Mills suggest investigating to explain this increase?

structural

Sociologists observe society by

studying the various parts of a society and the ways they interact and influence one another.

Max Weber believed that as the Industrial Revolution progressed, society became increasingly rationalized. How did he define rationalization?

the application of economic logic to all aspects of social life

Even though we are not all trained academically as sociologists, we can all be considered "everyday actors" because

we are all members of society and have background knowledge about how society works.

What did W. E. B. Du Bois have in common with Harriet Martineau?

Both were intrigued by America's democratic promise, but disappointed in its hypocritical injustices.

You are looking over the courses that are offered at your school and you see a class called "The Sociology of Media and Popular Culture." You don't think you need this course because you listen to lots of music, watch a wide variety of television, and often go to the movies. What would a sociologist tell you?

You only have "reciped," or practical knowledge.