Soc 103:
Exam Review #1
Josh Curtis
Department of Sociology
University of Toronto
Summer 2014
Goals of Today’s Class
1.
2.
Introduction
 Introduction / contact information
Goal of the review periods

Expectations
PART 1:
3.
The exam

4.
Descriptive information / some themes
Study tips

Where questions may come from
PART 2:
5.
Question period / brief discussion of inequality
6.
Finish with office hours.
2
Contacting Me
 Office Hours: Monday 12:00-1:00pm: July 21st;
August 11th.
 Office: Room 333, 725 Spadina Ave
 Email: josh.curtis@mail.utoronto.ca
 Homepage: http://joshcurtispolisoc.com
3
Goal of the Tutorials (1)
 What I expect from you:
This is not a lecture.
Come to class having done the readings.
Come ready to talk. Come with questions, or problems
you’re having.
In other words, this is meant to be a class discussion.
4
Goal of the Tutorials (2)
 Use me as a resource to clarify problems with material:
•
Why? Exam1 draws from: 1) 10 chapters (180 pages); 2) 200
lecture slides.
•
Next tutorial: Email me (up until noon) topics you would like me
to address.
 Outline carefully what your up against.
• Where questions come from, how many from each
section, common themes.
5
The Exam (1)
Time: 6-8 on Wednesday, July 16th, 2014
Location: Exam Center, room 100
Material:
Starting points: 1-4
Questioning SOC: Intro, 1, 5, 8, 10, and 22.
Lectures: July 2, 7, 9 and 14.
6
The Exam (2)
Distribution of questions
SP: 30 (about 8 questions per chapter)
QS: 25 (about 5 questions per chapter)
Lecture: 45 ( about 10-15 per chapter)
Total 100 questions, 25 percent of your final grade.
7
Exam strategy (1): Starting Points
1) Sociological terms
2) Sociological figures: theorists, social paradigms.
3) Facts, trends, or patterns: Empirical contributions
8
Exam strategy (2): Starting Points
1) Bolded terms
“Human capital means _____”.
2a) Important Sociological Figures
“Present day sociology is concerned with how we know what we
know, an ‘epistemological’ problem first introduced to us by_______”.
2b) Major theoretical applications
“Functionalist theory would interpret population growth as________”.
3) Empirical findings, historical events, etc
“Two revolutions that particularly influenced the rise of sociology
were the __________ and the ___________.
9
Example: Theory question
The view that sex work exploits already poor and
marginalized women who have no other way to make
money reflects a __________ position on sex work.
a) western feminist
b) structural functionalist
c) symbolic interactionist
d) globalization theory
e) critical theory
10
Exam Strategy (3): Q.S.
 Study by thinking about testable questions
Why? Each chapter is about 5 pages. Create condensed
study notes that reflect: 1) key terms; 2) theorists; 3)
empirical trends.
May only be 5-10 contributions per chapter – you know
you’ll be asked about 5 questions per. Trying to predict
them in advance.
11
Exam Strategy (4): Lectures
 Questions (almost always) come directly from the lecture
slides.
 No surprises: read, and re-read all slides.
 Again, what material would you test students on?
 One advantage: slides track very closely to the main text.
 Pay close attention to theories, class thinkers, and
empirical trends.
12
Focus on: Lectures (1)
 What are some consequences of industrialization?
 What is labeling theory, and how does it shape human
behaviour?
 Understand empirical trends associated with population
growth: population size, population triangle (Canada),
etc
 Understand the difference between the major
sociological theories: They are fundamentally different.
Why? Which thinkers are associated with each theory?
What were their contributions?
13
Focus on: Lectures (2)
 What is the difference between positive and
preventative checks?
 Know your ‘classic’ thinkers: Weber, Marx, Durkheim,
Simmel, Merton, Parsons, Comte, etc.
14
Focus on: Starting Points (1)
 Micro versus macro sociology. Which social theories are
associated with each term?
 The Limits to Growth
 What is human capital?
 Know ALL social theories: i.e., “According to symbolic
interactionism…”
 What are manifest and latent functions?
 Focus on “3) Facts, trends, or patterns: Empirical
contributions”
15
Focus on: Questioning SOC(1)
 Very THEORIST and FINDING heavy
16
Part 2: Question period
 Problems with readings / lecture material?
 Questions about the exam?
17
Starting Points: Ch 1
Definitions
 Sociology – systematic study of h. beh. or society.
 Macrosociology – study of institutions or lg. groups
 Microsociology – patterns of personal interaction
 Role – an expected pattern of interaction with others
 Status – socially defined position that outlines rights and
responsibilities.
Role is what you do, a status is who you are.
Important Terms: Ch 2.
 Demography- the study of human populations (growth,
decline).
 Population composition – the make up of different social
types in a society (men/women ; young/old)
 Population pyramid – a graphical depiction of the
population composition.
 Cohort – People with a common origin (sex, age)
 Human capital – a skill set that enhances workers value.
 Megacity – large city, exceeding 5 million
 Bedroom city – a tangential city (housing near a larger
one)
Population Pyramid
Cohort example
Discussion question
A) The major theoretical perspectives are divisive in many
ways. What are the central tenets of each? Explain
specifically how they are different from one another.
-- Functionalist versus conflict
B) Which theory do you most agree with and why?
Common Theories in this Chapter
Functionalism
 Society as a set of interconnected elements that operate together
in equilibrium
 Social institutions – families, economy, government, etc.– all make
contributions to the functioning of society as a whole.
 Institutions perform both manifest and latent functions.
 Social problem occur when institutions are unable to perform their
functions.
Conflict Theory
 Divisions between ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’
 Disagree with the assumption of consensus in values among all
members of society.
 It’s about unequal distribution of power and resources.
 Views society as a collection of disparate groups struggling over a
limited supply of resources and power.
Question:
According to structural functionalism:
a. culture cannot explain consensus and stability
b. culture creates social solidarity and provides stability and
assurance
c. shared norms arise out of social interaction, to influence
economic life
d. culture plays little role in ensuring social stability,
compared to class relations
24
Brief lecture on Income Inequality
25
Three important themes:
 How has income inequality has changed in Canada?
 Who has been most affected?
 Why has income inequality changed so dramatically?
26
Question for Class Discussion (1)
 Has income inequality improved in Canada?
 How does Canada compare to other modern
economies?
 Compared to similar countries, the level of income inequality
in Canada has become relatively high since 1980.
 Gini coefficient grew from 0.37 in 1980 to 0.45 by 2009.
27
Inequality in Canada, 1980-2010.
28
Question for Class Discussion (2)
 Who has been affected by rising inequality?
 The largest gains in incomes occurred at the very top of the income
distribution.
 The top 20 percent: Their share of total income increased from 40.4
percent to 46.3 percent during this 30-year period.
 Overall, those in the middle of the income distribution were relatively
unaffected.
 There were greater consequences for the poor, however.
29
Income Gains by Social Class
 Class Differences:
 The top 20 percent increase in their average income by
$49,400 between 1980 and 2009 (from $128,500 to
$177,900).
 The bottom 80 percent saw an average increase of only $5,450.
 The bottom 20 percent gained only $1700.
30
Top one percent of earners’ share of total income
31
Question for Class Discussion (3)
Why has income inequality grown?
1) Overall market inequality has risen.
-globalization and the loss of high paying manufacturing jobs.
2) Top earners have experienced substantial gains.
- Top 1% doubled their share of the market.
3) Changes in family structure.
-the ‘traditional’ family has changed. The rise of dual income families.
4) Household debt has increased significantly.
-From 86 to 149 % percent of household after tax income
5) Social policies have not keep up with market inequality.
32
To summarize:
 Inequality has risen dramatically since the 1980s.
 The rich are getting richer.
 It is largely affecting the lower classes, but there are
also implications for the middle, too.
 Government taxes have failed to keep pace with the
rise in market earnings inequality.
 Government initiatives have not matched public
demand.
33