Exam 3 Review Guide
Readings and Other Materials
The exam will focus on the final third of the course (i.e., edgework and cultural theories of risk).
I may, however, include an essay that asks you to compare and contrast different theories of risk.
Readings Covered:
Arnoldi, Jakob. 2009. Risk: An Introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press. Chapters 3 (pp. 38-46), 6,
and 8.
Cater, Carl I. 2006. “Playing with Risk? Participant Perceptions of Risk and Management
Implications in Adventure Tourism.” Tourism Management 27: 317-325.
Fine, Gary Alan and Bill Ellis. 2010. “Migrants: Disease in the Body Politic.” Pp. 95-122 in The
Global Grapevine: Why Rumors of Terrorism, Immigration, and Trade Matter. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Lois, Jennifer. 2005. “Gender and Emotion Management in the Stages of Edgework.” PP. 117152 in Edgework: The Sociology of Risk-Taking, edited by Stephen Lyng. New York:
Routledge.
Sanders, Teela. 2004. “A Continuum of Risk? The Management of Health, Physical and
Emotional Risks by Female Sex Workers.” Sociology of Health & Illness 26(5) 557-574.
Sheridan, Lynnaire M. 2009. “Delving into the Migrant’s World.” Pp. 31-79 in “I Know it’s
Dangerous:” Why Mexicans Risk their Lives to Cross the Border. Tucson: The
University of Arizona Press.
Topics
Edgework
 What is the central question that Lyng’s theory is meant to answer?
 How does his theory of edgework improve upon prior theories (i.e., cognitive science,
personality predisposition model, intrinsic motivation approach) – that is, what are their
limitations and what does edgework add?
 Are there any limitations to his theory?
 What ‘edges’ are explored through edgework?
 Be able to describe the theory in detail – ‘activities,’ ‘goals,’ ‘consequences,’ ‘how,’ and
‘why’
 What is sociological about the theory – that is, which part of the explanation of voluntary
risk taking is rooted in sociological thought?
 Does edgework differ by gender?
 From Sanders
o What is ethnography?
o What three preferences did indoor sex workers juggle?
o What are the major categories of risk discussed in the article and which is the
most significant?
o What strategies did sex workers use to manage these risks?
o What is unique to sexwork when compared to other forms of edgework (if you
view sexwork as edgework or not; hint: stigma)


From Lois
o Four stages
 Preparing
 Performing
 Completing
 Maintaining the illusion of control
o What are the major gender differences identified in the article? How does Lois
explain them?
o What are the main contributions to a better understanding of edgework?
 Gender
 Emotional side of edgework
 Meso-level focus (i.e., role of the group)
From Cater
o Flow
o Authenticity
o Commodified fear
o Fear versus actual risk
o Adventure tourism as performance
o The fear paradox
Migration and Identity [Fine and Ellis; Sheridan]
 Be able to describe a social constructionist account of identification (how national
identities are created, maintained, etc.)
o Boundaries – these create a distinction between ‘us’ and ‘them;’ the focus is on
the process of boundary maintenance
o Cultural content – what stuff is relevant for dividing people into groups? Can it
change?
 Why do people migrate? (hint: Sheridan briefly reviews Everette Lee’s structural theory:
push, pull, barriers, context)
 What sources of information do migrants use to inform their migration?
 What risks do undocumented immigrants from Mexico face and how do they deal with
them?
 How does US migration policy impact migration to the US?
 How do other actors influence the risk of undocumented migration (e.g., the Mexican
government, organizations in civil society, the print media, artists, musicians)
 Be able to briefly discuss a few critical treaties/policies that shape federal immigration
policy in the US (e.g., Operation Gatekeeper)
 How do people often view immigrants? Why? [hint: they are ‘others,’ competition; think
embodiment, hybridity, liminality, territoriality]