St. Francis Xavier University
Department of Sociology
Sociology 302: Topics in Contemporary Theory
Dr. John Phyne
Annex 110A
Office Hours: Tuesday, April 17, Wednesday, April 18 and Friday, April 20 (10:00 AM
to 12:00 Noon each day)
Final Examination:
Date: Friday, April 20, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Place: PS 3046
Evaluation: 35% of your final grade
Format: Three questions worth 50 marks each. You must answer question 1 and either
question 2 or question 3.
Required Materials: Class lectures and the following readings in Kivisto (2011):
Structuralism, Poststructuralism and Postmodernity: Bourdieu (pp. 483-490), Baudrillard
(pp. 491-496), Foucault (pp. 497-502) and Bauman (pp. 503-510). World-Systems and
Globalization Theory: Wallerstein (pp. 521-527) and Kellner (pp. 550-570).
Issues to Consider:
1) Bourdieu argues that there is a correspondence between the production and
consumption of goods. Summarize his argument. What is the role of social class
in the connection between goods production and consumption?
2) Baudrillard provides a post-modern account of advertising. He argues that there is
a distinction between the products used in advertising and the images associated
with advertising. Discuss this distinction. What is advertising’s role in the
promotion of gratification and repression?
3) Outline the central differences between structuralism and post-modernism.
Discuss these differences with respect to the approaches of Bourdieu, Baudrillard
and Bauman to consumption.
4) Foucault argues that with the rise of surveillance, we get a different approach to
the governance of the body in space. Discuss this with regards to classification
and discipline in the prison, mental health asylum, school and workplace. Finally,
Foucault argues that with the rise of the panoptic, discipline is transferred to other
social settings. Summarize this argument.
5) Summarize Bauman’s approach to liquid modernity. In your answer, outline what
he means by liquid modernity and show how he applies this to the movements of
elites and those at the bottom of the social pyramid through space. What does
such movement mean for the issue of identity? Finally, how does dissatisfaction
with the self and consumption operate in liquid modernity?
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6) Globalization is not new; it has existed for over 500 years. Discuss with regards to
Wallerstein’s approach to hegemony in the capitalist world economy. In your
answer, summarize the factors he associates with hegemony, and the three
instances of hegemony that have operated for the 500 years leading up to 1980.
Finally, what does Wallerstein mean by core-periphery relations?
7) What are core-periphery relations? How does this relate to unequal exchange?
Finally, discuss core-periphery relations within the context of global commodity
chains.
8) Kellner argues that globalization “… is imposed from above and yet can be
contested and reconfigured from below”. Discuss with reference to the role played
by technology and the restructuring of capitalism in globalization, and the role of
technology in the operation of global social movements.