Question 1

Which theoretical area focuses on how modern knowledge, machinery, tools, etc. are more generally transforming both daily life and society?

Accepted Answer

Theories of Science, Technology, and Society focus on how modern knowledge, machinery, tools, etc. are transforming both daily life and society. This theoretical area examines the interactions between science, technology, and society and how they influence each other. It also looks at the impacts of technology on different areas of society such as politics, economics, and culture. Theories of Consumption focus on how people consume goods and services while Theories of Globalization focus on the spread and integration of economic, political, and cultural activities across national borders. Postmodern Social Theory questions the objective knowledge and universal truths claimed by traditional social theories.

Question 2

What does the agency-structure integration movement in sociological theory hope to link together?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What does the agency-structure integration movement in...

Question 3

What does the micro-macro integration movement in sociological theory hope to link together?

Accepted Answer

The micro-macro integration movement in sociological theory aims to link together individual people with large-scale social phenomena.

Question 4

While both are sociologies of everyday life, ethnomethodology focuses on what people do while phenomenology emphasizes what people think.

Accepted Answer

Ethnomethodology studies the methods people use in everyday life to construct social order and make sense of the world around them, focusing on actions and behaviors. Phenomenology, on the other hand, examines the structures of consciousness and experiences from the first-person perspective, emphasizing subjective experiences and the meanings individuals attach to them.

Question 5

Talcott Parsons became the dominant sociological figure in the United States by developing theories outside the European tradition.

Accepted Answer

Talcott Parsons became the dominant sociological figure in the United States primarily by synthesizing and extending European sociological theories, especially those of Max Weber and Émile Durkheim, into a comprehensive theoretical framework.

Question 6

Of all the women in early American sociology, Charlotte Perkins Gilman provided the most comprehensive theories of gender inequality.

Accepted Answer

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's extensive work on gender inequality includes her famous book "Women and Economics" and multiple essays on the subject, making her one of the most influential women in early American sociology in terms of gender studies.

Question 7

Herbert Spencer was more influential to early sociology in the Americas than in Europe.

Accepted Answer

While Spencer's ideas had some following in Europe, they had a greater impact on early American sociologists such as William Graham Sumner and Lester Ward. Spencer's emphasis on the survival of the fittest and individualism resonated with American values and contributed to the development of American sociology as a distinct discipline.

Question 8

In his lifetime, C. Wright Mills was a central figure in mainstream sociology.

Accepted Answer

C. Wright Mills was often considered an outsider or a critical sociologist who challenged mainstream sociology, focusing on issues of power and the elite, rather than aligning with the dominant functionalist paradigms of his time.

Question 9

Which theoretical area tries to overcome sociology's historical emphasis on production by focusing on the use of goods and services?

Accepted Answer

Theoretical area of consumption tries to overcome sociology's historical emphasis on production by focusing on the use of goods and services. It emphasizes the aspects of consumer culture, the practices of consumption, and the meaning and importance of consumption in contemporary society. The theories of globalization focus on the expansion of global capitalism and its impact on national and global political and economic systems. The theories of science, technology, and society explore the relationship between scientific knowledge, technology, and society. The postmodern social theory emphasizes the contingency and plurality of social processes and institutions.

Question 10

Which theoretical area focuses on the economic, political, and cultural transformation happening across and between different societies?

Accepted Answer

The theoretical area that focuses on the economic, political, and cultural transformation happening across and between different societies is the Theories of Globalization. The other options focus on different areas of study. Theories of Consumption focuses on the ways in which people consume goods and how consumption shapes society. Theories of Science, Technology, and Society focuses on the interplay between science, technology, and society. Postmodern Social Theory focuses on how language, power, and cultural norms shape social interactions.

Question 11

Contemporary theorists claim race ______.

Accepted Answer

Contemporary theorists argue that race is a social construction, meaning that it is a concept created by society and not based on any inherent biological differences. This perspective recognizes the historical and cultural construction of race and how social and economic factors shape our understanding of race. It also acknowledges the fluidity of racial categories and how they change over time.

Question 12

Both Talcott Parsons and George Homans thought theory should be constructed inductively, or from the ground up.

Accepted Answer

Both Talcott Parsons and George Homans believed in a deductive approach to theory construction. They believed that theories should begin with a set of abstract principles and then be tested through observation and empirical research.

Question 13

W. E. B. DuBois was a founding member of the Chicago School.

Accepted Answer

W. E. B. DuBois was an important sociologist and civil rights activist, but he was not a founding member of the Chicago School of sociology. The Chicago School emerged in the early 20th century at the University of Chicago and included scholars like Robert Park and Ernest Burgess who focused on urban sociology and the study of social ecology.

Question 14

What does the theoretical syntheses movement in sociological theory hope to link together?

Accepted Answer

The theoretical syntheses movement in sociological theory aims to link together fragmented sociological theories, creating a more unified and comprehensive understanding of social phenomena.

Question 15

Which theoretical area focuses on the recent and widespread changes that transformed almost everything about the modern world throughout the last half century?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which theoretical area focuses on the recent...

Question 16

Because they were committed to the Marxist tradition, the founding scholars of the Institute of Social Research (also known as "The Frankfurt School") rejected the work of both Max Weber and Sigmund Freud.

Accepted Answer

The founding scholars of the Institute of Social Research, including Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, did not reject the work of Freud. In fact, they drew heavily on Freud's theories of psychoanalysis in their own critique of modern society. However, they did criticize Weber's ideas for being too focused on rationality and efficiency at the expense of individual human experience.

Question 17

Because of the rampant sexism present during the early twentieth century, women were completely excluded from sociology and were not even able to work as a marginalized group of gender scholars.

Accepted Answer

While women faced discrimination and challenges in entering the field of sociology during the early twentieth century, there were still some women who became notable sociologists and gender scholars during this time period, such as Jane Addams and Harriet Martineau. However, their work was often marginalized and undervalued due to the prevailing sexism of the time.

Question 18

Throughout the twentieth century, the rise and fall of structural functionalism as a dominant theoretical paradigm mirrors the rise and fall of the United States as the dominant power on the globe.

Accepted Answer

Both structural functionalism and the United States enjoyed a heyday of dominance in the mid-twentieth century. However, as the world changed and new theoretical paradigms and global players emerged, both structural functionalism and the US faced challenges and declines in their power and influence.

Question 19

Ethnomethodology was developed as a critique of phenomenology.

Accepted Answer

Ethnomethodology was developed by Harold Garfinkel in the 1960s as an approach to study the methods people use to make sense of their everyday life, but it was not specifically a critique of phenomenology. Instead, it was influenced by phenomenology, particularly the work of Edmund Husserl and Alfred Schutz, focusing on the lived experience and the construction of social order.

Question 20

Talcott Parsons is best described as a structural functionalist because he theorized about both social structures and action systems.

Accepted Answer

Talcott Parsons focused on the interconnectedness and interdependence of social structures and action systems, which aligns with the core principles of structural functionalism.

Quiz 6: A Historical Sketch of Sociological Theory: the Later Years