Study Guide, Exam 4, SOCY1001 Spring Semester 2013
Prof. Hunter
****note that the exams contain questions from the Witt textbook,
recitation readings/discussion and lecture.
*Highlights suggest central questions, but you are responsible for making use of the entire study guide –
and remember that it’s only a guide!
Social Class

Why does Witt use The Nanny Diaries to open this chapter?

What is social inequality? Social stratification? Life chances? What is their association?
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How does the infant mortality rate reflect life chances?
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What does the “digital divide” have to do with life chances?

What types of characteristics form the basis for social stratification? How are they related?

What is status value? Can you give some examples?

Can you describe how life chances vary across the globe? Why is there such tremendous variation?

What about within countries? Do life chances vary there too? Can you describe?
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Can you define the different types of stratification systems and give examples?

What types of “slavery” exist today?
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Is the U.S. a pure class system? Why or why not?

What is meant when Sociologists argue that the U.S. class system actually perpetuates inequalities in power?

Can you give examples of the ways in which non-material and material culture help categorize individuals by
social class?

What is social mobility? Can you define the different types of social mobility and give examples?

Why might people with incomes well above average identify themselves as middle class?

Can you describe trends in occupational mobility? Income and wealth mobility? Differentials in mobility by
race/ethnicity? By gender?

Into which class would you place most of the people in your community? Are there relatively clear boundaries
between class neighborhoods where you grew up?

What is the “American Dream” with regard to social mobility? How frequent is that this “dream” is achieved
across generations?

Can you describe different Sociological perspectives on stratification, such as that put forward by Marx, Weber,
and Bourdieu? Can you describe (and recognize) the different elements in each of these perspectives? For
example, the “bourgeoisie” and “proletariat” as put forward by Marx? Status group as put forward by Weber?
Cultural capital as put forward by Bourdieu? (there are others – these are just examples – be thorough in your
review)

What is cultural capital and what does it have to do with class?

What are two ways that Sociologists describe the relative social class positions people occupy? What do these
have to do with cultural capital?

Can you offer a general picture of the prestige rankings of occupation? What does this have to do with social
class? Cultural capital?

What is the difference between income and wealth? Can you describe income inequality in the US?

What is meant by the “shrinking middle class?” What are the factors that are causing this social phenomenon?

What are the ways in which poverty can be defined? Can you describe the differences between these
measurements – and their strengths and limitations?

How does the poverty rate in the US compare with other countries?

Who are the poor? What is the “underclass” and what social processes have led to the emergence of this social
class?

Witt states “The issue of poverty is ultimately about more than just money.” What does he mean?
Chapter 11: Global Inequality
 What does the Industrial Revolution have to do with global inequality?
 How does the Gross National Income per capita vary across the globe?
 Can you describe inequalities across nations in infant mortality? Fertility? Total population? Urban concentration?
Military spending? Exports? (see “Going Global” boxes in this chapter)
 What is modernization and what does it have to do with global inequality? Does modernization necessarily have all
positive consequences for social and environmental well-being? Can you give examples to justify your response?
 What do Sociologists (and others) mean when they say that terms such as “modernization” and “development”
exhibit an ethnocentric bias?
 What is the difference between colonialism and neocolonialism? Can you give examples?
 Can you describe the World Systems Theory? How is it linked to processes of colonialism and neocolonialism? What
is dependency theory and how does the WST relate?
 What are core, peripheral and semi-peripheral economies and what does this categorization have to do with worldsystems theory? Can you give examples of these economies and what does this categorization have to do with life
chances?
 What does the global debt crisis have to do with dependency, the WST, colonialism, etc?
 What is globalization? What roles do the IMF and World Bank play within this process? How might these roles be
associated with neocolonialism?
 What are multinational corporations? Can you describe them and give examples? Do they play roles in
globalization? What types of impacts do they have on origin and receiving economies?
 What types of responses exist to global inequality? Can you describe these and give examples?
 What does stratification across nations have to do with stratification WITHIN nations?
 Can you describe global inequality in income and wealth? What does gender have to do with such inequality?
 Can you describe patterns of global patterns of poverty? What does the Millennium Project have to do with
poverty? What is the GNP?
 How does the US compare to other nations with regard to foreign aid?
 Other than government aid, what strategies exist for reducing global poverty? Can you give examples?
 Can you describe intergenerational mobility across nations? What is the most socially significant type of mobility
experienced in large development nations? How does gender shape mobility?
 Can you describe social stratification in Mexico as related to the economy, race, gender, and issues along the
borderlands?
 Can you describe the various (and highly conflictual) dimensions of emigration from Mexico to the US? What are
remittances and how significant are they to Mexican households and their economy?
 How do racial categories in Mexico (and their contrast to racial categories in the US) illustrate the “social
construction” of race?
 What is meant by the term “human rights?” What does this have to do with global inequality? Can you give
examples of the connection?
 Can you describe different forms of human rights activism?
 What are the main points from this week’s recitation reading assignment?
Social Change

In Sociological terms, what is social change? Can you give examples?

What are social movements? Can you give examples? What characteristics lead to their success in achieving
social change?

What are “new social movements” and how do they differ?

What does Professor Hunter means when she says “Sociology is a verb?”