MIDTERM QUESTION POOL 10 03 2012 INTRO 1 What is sociological imagination How does the sociological imagination help us understand social problems Q What is the sociological imagination mindfulness A Taking a larger view of things Not blaming individuals Seeing the social economic historical circumstances that produce a problem 1 It helps you realize that everybody is intertwined with one another and gives you sociological imagination It helps society because it causes people inside the society to be conscientious of one another 2 You see how these social problems happen Often times outside of their individual realm Q Why is there a need for sociological imagination mindfulness Individuals aren t always to blame for their social situations Our lives are intertwined so we should consider how our actions have an effect on others 2 Using Frye oppression explain the two features of oppression What is the birdcage metaphor and how does it relate to the second feature of oppression Frye s Features of Oppression Double Bind situations in which options are reduced to a very few and all of them expose one to penalty censure or deprivation page 30 Ex Women Rape Too promiscuous or not promiscuous enough Always woman s fault Systematically Related Forces birdcage metaphor page 31 related to each other in such a way as to catch one between and among them and restrict or penalize motion in any direction no one of which would be the least hindrance to its flight but which by their relations to each other are as confining as the solid walls of a dungeon Like the wires of a birdcage oppression creates systematically related barriers that restrict options Birdcage metaphor Like the wires of a birdcage oppression creates systematically related barriers that restrict options The birdcage lets us see how one wire connects to The birdcage is the visualization of systematically related forces One wire small factor sticks to another 3 What is intersectionality How does intersectionality contribute to our understanding of privilege and oppression Intersectionality Examination of social positions such as race class gender national origin sexuality ability status religion etc and how their combination plays out in various settings IS simultaneous and interlocking recognition of differences ISNT additive dichotomous ranking universal claim that ignore differences It shows that we are all oppressed and in privileged groups The amount of oppression or privileged that we experience depends on the other social positions in which we take part of as well And are intertwined with each other Ex white middle class male but gay Ex black upper class woman Black minority but have upper class privilege CLASSISM 4 All systems of privilege are dominated by identified with and centered on privileged groups This means the US is dominated by identified with and centered on the middle and upper classes Explain what each of these characteristics mean and provide one example for each as it relates to class privilege Some of these examples can be found in Langston tired of monopoly Go back to when we did lecture of p and oppression Regardless of whether we are talking about any type of privilege the groups stay the same Dominated center identified What is Privilege o Advantages or benefits afforded to certain people based on their group identity or status Privilege Oppression 2 sides of same coin One can be simultaneously privileged and oppressed o 3 Characteristics of systems of privilege Dominated by privileged groups Positions of power tend to be occupied by members of privileged groups Identified with privileged groups Privileged groups are the standard for comparison Cultural ideas about what is good or normal are associated with privileged groups Language congressmen you guys Centered on privileged groups The focus of attention is on privilege groups and their experience represents the human experience 5 You are having a discussion about class with a friend who says in the US if you work hard enough you will get ahead Anyone who doesn t is just lazy Using at least one of the following the film 30 days or Nickel and Dimed provide a sociological perspective and explain why this is rarely a reality for the working poor What are some of the challenges the working poor face In other words why is it difficult for them to get ahead even though they work very hard It is hard for them to get ahead because people who are below the poverty level often times become slaves to their own debt In the film 30 days the narrator meets a Hispanic couple who are both diabetic and cannot pay any of the medical bills It can be assumed that this diabetes may have come from buying the cheapest foods such as fast foods etc Their own poverty and only being able to purchase the cheapest things have very negative effects and bring on more problems who they have to work for The means which they get from working although they may work all day and night is often times not enough to get out of poverty You ultimately become a slave to your own poverty Health insurance You do not make enough money to save money Nickel and Dimed story have to show government that they cannot work by getting an MRI which costs too much money Most jobs are manual labor easy to be replaced Do not offer any health benefits Child care is extremely expensive and cannot work Psychological impact stress No money strains the relationships between couples Issues of transportation food rising costs of living safety in the neighborhood safety more expensive were made to pay electric bill deposit are judged against because are not expected to be able to make ends meet and pay off debt SEXISM 6 In 2022 J Crew debuted an advertisement showing a mother painting her sons toenails pink The ad reads lucky for me I ended up with a boy whose favorite color is pink Toenail painting is way more fun in neon Some conservative media outlets criticized the ad as promoting gender confusion Using Lorber night to his day explain the social construction of gender and what it means to do gender Based on the social construction of gender explain why it is problematic to assume that toenail painting and the color pink are not appropriate for boys and would cause gender confusion NOT to argue that pink nail polish causes gender confusion Explain why assumption of liking the pink is a problem Why will people say that he is going to be gender confused Gender is a social construction o 7 What is patriarchy