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Sociology 201A Final Exam Study Guide Giddens et al.: Chapter 13. Government, Political Power, and Social Movements (7)(7) Know about the following: Government - political apparatus in which officials enact policies and make decisions Politics - use of power to affect government actions Power - capacity to achieve one's aims even against the resistance of others, and it often involves the use of force Authority - use of power is legitimate, deriving from the consent of those being governed State - comprises a political apparatus (government institutions), including civil service officials, ruling over a geographically defined territory; its authority is backed by a legal system, and it has the capacity to use force to implement policies Nation state - governments have sovereign power within defined territorial areas, and populations are citizens who know themselves to be part of single nations Civil rights - freedoms and privileges guaranteed to individuals by law Political rights - ensure that citizens may participate in politics (by voting, for example) Social rights - guarantee every individual a minimum standard of living (basis for welfare state) Welfare state - supports citizens who cannot support themselves Democracy - rule by the people Participatory democracy - (also called direct democracy ) occurs when everyone is involved in all decision making, although this can be cumbersome for larger groups Constitutional monarchy - includes a royal family whose powers are severely restricted by a constitution putting authority in the hands of democratically elected representatives
Political party - an organization oriented toward achieving legitimate control of government through an electoral process Liberal democracy - system in which citizens have a choice to vote between at least two political parties for representatives who will be entrusted with decision making Two-party system Multiparty system - provide the possibility of choosing who exercises power Interest group - limits the degree to which ruling elites can concentrate power in a few hands Democratic elitism - theory of the limits of democracy, which holds that in large- scale societies democratic participation is necessarily limited to the regular election of political leaders Max Weber - Pluralist - model for ethnic relations in which all ethnic groups in the US retain their independent and separate identities, yet share equally in the rights and powers of citizenship C. Wright Mills, the power elite - Revolution - overthrow of an existing political order by a mass movement, using violence Social movement - involve a collective attempt to further common interests through collaborative action outside the sphere of established institutions Marx - argued that class struggles deriving from the contradictions (7) , or irresolvable tensions, within society lead to revolutionary changes James Davies - argues that social movements occur from relative deprivation , a discrepancy between people's lives and what people believe to be possible Charles Tilly - analyzes revolutionary change from a broader context of collective action , which refers to action that contests or overthrows an existing social order Theda Skocpol - Smelser - treats social movements as responses to situations that undergo a series of stages Touraine - argues that social movements rest on his (7)toricity , the idea that people know that social activism can shape history and affect society
Stepfamilies – family in which at least one partner has children from a previous marriage, living either in the home or nearby Cherlin - The effects of divorce on children - Single-parent families - David Popenoe - Judith Stacey - Arlie Hochschild - Families in the past Characteristics of the family in the United States today Female-headed African-American families Patterns of remarriage The second shift Changes in household size throughout the history of the United States - Gay-parent families Betty Friedan Chapter 17. Religion in Modern Society(7) Religion – set of beliefs adhered to by the members of a community, incorporating symbols regarded with a sense of awe or wonder together Sociological definition of religion - Theism - belief in one or more supernatural deities Sociological questions about religion - Relationship between religion and norms and values Appeal of religion New Age religious movement Karl Marx - religion contains a strong ideological element: Religion justifies inequalities of wealth and power in society Emile Durkheim - religion is important because it serves cohesive functions, especially ensuring that people meet regularly to affirm common beliefs and values Max Weber - religion is important because of its role in social change, particularly
the development of Western capitalism Alienation - sense that our own abilities as human beings are taken over by other entities Sacred - describing something that inspires attitudes of awe or reverence among believers in a given set of religious ideas Profane - that which belongs to the mundane, everyday world Religious economy approach - theoretical framework within the sociology of religion, which argues that religions can be fruitfully understood as organizations in competition with one another for followers “Spiritual shopping sprees” (Roof) Church – large body of people Sect - religious movements that break away from orthodoxy Cult - fragmentary religious groupings to which individuals are loosely affiliate, but which lack any permanent structure New religious movements - associations of people who join together to seek to spread a new religion or to promote a new interpretation of an existing religion Denomination – a religious sect that has lost its revivalist dynamism and become an institutionalized body, commanding the adherence of significant numbers of people Charismatic (leaders) – inspirational quality capable of capturing the imagination and devotion of a mass of followers World-rejecting movements - Secularization - challenge of scientific thinking, as well as the coexistence of competing religions, leads to the complete demise of religion Monotheism - belief in only one god Christianity Islam Hinduism Judaism Buddhism Polytheism - belief in two or more gods Lipset -
35. “The Ris (7)e and Fall of Mas (7)s (7) Rail Trans (7)it” (from Building American Cities (7): The Urban Real Es (7)tate Game) by Joe R. Feagin and Robert Parker How do Feagin and Parker explain the decline in mass rail transit in the United States? Discuss Feagin and Parker’s comparison of the rail transit systems in the US and Germany. How do Feagin and Parker characterize urban politics? Discuss urban development in Los Angeles. What are the various forms of mass transit? 39. From The Protes (7)tant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalis (7)m by Max Weber(3) What is the protestant ethic? What is the spirit of capitalism? Discuss Martin Luther’s idea of a “calling.” Discuss asceticism and modern capitalism.
40. “Love, Arranged Marriage, and the Indian Social Structure” by Giri Raj Gupta (3) What is the attitude toward love and arranged marriage in India? Describe the attitudes and norms associated with marriage and mate selection in India. 46. “Religious (7) Community and American Individualis (7)m” by Robert Bellah et al.(3) What kind of relationship do people have with their church? How actively religious are Americans? What is the emphasis of many religious beliefs? Discuss the comparison that Bellah et al. makes between the liberal and conservative church. What is pantheism? Discuss the religious beliefs of many influential 19th century Americans.
49. MARY PARDO, Gras (7)s (7)roots (7) Activis (7)m: Mothers (7) of Eas (7)t Los (7) Angeles (7)(3) Minority neighborhoods and communities are more likely to be located near what? How did Mothers of East Los Angeles come to existence? How has Mothers of East Los Angeles transformed women’s personal identities and their idea of “mothering”? Internet: "Democracy, Capitalis (7)m, and Trans (7)formation" by Immanuel Wallers (7)tein (article on the internet: fbc.binghamton.edu/iw-vien2.htm) Possible final exam essay question The following question concerns “Democracy, Capitalism, and Transformation” by Immanuel Wallerstein. How does Wallerstein interpret the history of democracy? What is the relationship between capitalism and democracy? What does he see as the future of the present world system? This question is worth 12 points. “Runaway World – Family” by Anthony Giddens (7) (article on the internet: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/events/reith_99/week4/week4.htm) Discuss the key changes affecting the family. Discuss the democratic family. Lecture material : Since Midterm4 (5) Democracy http://my.cuesta.edu/cp/grouptools/fileshare/5750/8836/democracy %20070723.pdf
