Soc 102:
Tutorial 2: Exam Review
Josh Curtis
Department of Sociology
University of Toronto
Fall 2013
Goals of Today’s Class
1. Introduction

Contact info
2. Discuss the exam

Breakdown- where questions come from

Types of multiple choice questions
3. Important themes/ Discussion Questions
4. Remaining time: small group discussion
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Contacting Me
 Office Hours: Wednesday 10:00-12:00pm or by
appointment
 Office: Room 333, 725 Spadina Ave
 Email: josh.curtis@mail.utoronto.ca
 Homepage: http://joshcurtispolisoc.com
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Exam Breakdown
 Chapters
Habits of Inequality: Intro, 1, 2, and 3.
Questioning Sociology: 2, 3, 13, 20, and 21.
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Where questions come from
Questioning Sociology (21 questions):
Chapter 20: 7
Chapter 3: 10
Chapter 21: 4
Habits of Inequality (58 questions):
Intro: 12
Chapter 1: 18
Chapter 2: 15
Chapter 3: 13
Lecture (21 questions):
#1: 4
#2: 6
#3: 7
#4: 4
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Types of questions: HOI
 sociological terms
 sociological Figures
 Facts/trends about society
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From H O I
Where do the questions come from?
1) Bolded terms
“Sociology can be defined as_____”
2) Important Sociological Figures
“According to C. Wright Mills, the sociological imagination is ________”
3) Major theoretical applications
“Functionalist theory would interpret population growth as________”
4) Empirical findings, historical events, etc
“Two revolutions that particularly influenced the rise of sociology were the
__________ and the ___________.
From lectures
 Key areas:
Sociological figures (marx, Weber, Durkheim).
Definitions associated with theories (i.e., alienation,
exploitation, etc.)
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Questioning SOC: Chapter 20 / 1
 Exploitation and the class structure
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Big picture: Re social class
 Social classes have evolved, but still matter
 Our goal is to understand how classes have changed,
and how we should conceptualize them today in order
to understand their continued influence.
 Under what economic conditions might classes become
more influential?
Traditional Class Structure: Marx (1)
 Two class system: (1) Bourgeoisie; (2) Proletariat
 Inherently exploitative:
“The general law of capitalist accumulation,” Marx argues,
is “that in proportion as capital accumulates, the lot of
the labourer, be his pay high or low, must grow worse…
accumulation of wealth at one pole is, therefore, at the
same time accumulation of misery, agony of toil, slavery,
ignorance, brutality, mental degradation, at the opposite
pole” (45).
Traditional Class Structure: Marx (2)
 Capitalism increased class conflict as well as the
conditions for class formation.
 Three important conditions:
(1)Changes in the production process
-
Homogenization and mechanical solidarity
-
Changes in production would dissolve skill differences, all
would be ‘semi skilled’
Traditional Class Structure: Marx (3)
(2) Power in numbers
- Class structure would polarize
(3) Organization
-
Broad levels: local unions, then industrial levels, followed
by national.
Politics is the democratic class struggle.
Traditional Class Structure: Weber (1)
 Conflict occurs over status.
 Classes are distinguished by differences in the possession
of marketable, income producing skills and services.
 There would be stratification among the w.c.
Traditional Class Structure: Weber (2)
 An expanded middle class would mean mobility for the
working classes
-the development of white collar, technical specialists, and
professionals
 Status groups cut across all classes.
- Diminishes homogeneity based on economics.
Modern Class Structure (1)
1. How has the class structure changed since the days
of Marx and Weber?
 Growth of middle class
 Decline in size of traditional working class
2. How have the conditions of the working class
changed since the days of Marx and Weber, and
why?
 Much more affluent, increased health and life expectancy,
greater education
 Changes due to worker mobilization (unionization) and
increased economic development
Modern Class Structure (2)
3. Who is the “new” middle class?
– Educated professionals and managers
– Largely in the public sector
4. What is the impact of the growth of the middle
class on politics?
 Postmaterialism—allegedly freed of material
concerns and thus can concentrate on other so-called
post-materialist issues
 Weakening of working class
 Weakening of left parties Anthony Downs: parties
converge on the median voter
Modern Class Structure (3)
In Canada today:
Decline of the petty bourgeoisie
-Self-employment declined from 25% in 1931 to about 15%
today.
Both were broadly correct about the decline of the petty
bourgeoisie, but:
-it’s decline has not been uniform across all industry
-Long-term trends have been somewhat reversed in the last 25
years.
Growth of the new middle
-Increasing in numbers. Distinct.
Sharp increase among high earners
Chapter 20: economic transitions
Important ideas:
 Marx, economic production, and social class.
 Feudal society?
 Weber religion?
 Jennifer Jarman: changing occupational structures?
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Discussion Questions
Is social class still important in our society today?
Has our society become so complex that class doesn’t
matter?
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Questioning SOC: Chapter 3
Important ideas:
Differences between sex and gender
The Transsexual Empire ?
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Create some sample questions
Based on the topics on the previous slide, create multiple
choice questions.
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Chapter 21
 Foucault and governance?
 Moral regulation?
 What is the points system. Where do most immigrants
come from today?
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Habits of Inequality: Intro
 Weber’s concept of ‘life chances’
 Lenski and Status inconsistency?
 Which groups are most likely to be socially mobile?
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Chapter 1
 Know Marx and Engels well:
How would society change?
How do the define social class
Class conflict and Class consciousness
Alienation
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Discussion question
 How do marx and weber’s position on social class differ?
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Group discussion / office hours
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