Introduction
Exam Three will contain two sections of short-answer essay questions. In Section One, students will be asked to answer 5 of 6 questions, with each question worth 7 points. Questions in this section will come from the "Section One" discussion questions listed below. In Section Two, students will be asked to answer 4 of 7 questions, with each question worth 10 points. Questions in this section will come from the "Section Two" discussion questions listed below. The total value of Exam Three will be 75 points.
Reading Assignments
Discussion Questions:
Section One Discussion Questions
Dr. Sapp will select six questions from the ones listed below. You will be asked to answer five of these questions.
- Bobo and Smith describe "laissez-faire" racism.
- What do they mean by this term?
- Why have Americans been slow to implement legislation to reduce racial barriers?
- Is it important for Americans to attempt to reduce white-black gaps in access to resources? Explain your answer from a structure-functional or conflict perspective.
- William J. Wilson describes a transition from institutional to jobless ghettos.
- Why is it important to distinguish between institutional and jobless ghettos? Explain your answer from a structure-functional perspective.
- In what ways does racial segregation matter? Explain your answer from one of the three philosophies of sociology.
- Why is it important to understand escalating rates of joblessness in urban ghettos?
- Feagin and Vera urge us to eliminate the waste of racism.
- Explain the costs of racism from the perspective of symbolic interactionism.
- Use the functionalist perspective to explain why whites should work to eliminate racism.
- Use the conflict perspective to explain why whites might hold an interest-convergence opinion of race equality.
- Barbara Risman describes the socialization into gender.
- From a symbolic interactionist perspective, does parental socialization affect the attitudes and gender identities of children? Explain your answer.
- From a structure-functional perspective, does parental socialization affect the attitudes and gender identities of children? Explain your answer.
- Susan Faludi describes the betrayal of the American man.
- From a symbolic interactionist perspective, how do members of society know what is masculine and feminine?
- From a structure-functional perspective, why should people care about masculinity and femininity?
- From a conflict perspective, who decides what is masculine and feminine? Explain your answer.
- Sharon Hays talks about being flat broke with children.
- Why do welfare clients eligible for childcare subsidies often not bother to collect them?
- Why do welfare caseworkers believe that the PRWORA is ineffective in reducing out-of-wedlock child birth?
- Do you support policies aimed at reducing out-of-wedlock childbearing among the poor? Explain your answer.
- Elliot Currie discusses some possibilities for crime prevention.
- From a symbolic interactionist perspective, what types of programs likely will be most effective in reducing violent crime?
- From a structure-functionalist perspective, what types of programs likely will be most effective in reducing violent crime?
- From a conflict perspective, what types of programs likely will be most effective in reducing violent crime?
- Elijah Anderson describes linkages between violence and the inner-city code.
- Describe the "code of the streets."
- Why does this code exist as a subculture within inner-city neighborhoods?
- What functions does the code serve for those who adhere to it and what are its dysfunctions for the well-being of other citizens living in inner-city neighborhoods?
- What does Anderson describe as the "vicious cycle" of street code behavior in inner-city neighborhoods?
- Rosoff et al. discuss issues related to white-collar crime.
- What are the societal causes of white-collar crime?
- Why might white-collar crime be considered as a "rational" course of action?
- Describe three "leniency factors" that help perpetuate white-collar crime.
- What suggestions do Rosoff et al. offer for controlling white-collar crime?
Section Two Discussion Questions
These seven questions will be included on the exam. You select which four you want to answer.
- Joseph Feagin discusses the continuing significance of race and Leonard Pitts, Jr. talks about poor self-image among blacks.
- What is the range of discrimination; what forms does it take?
- What are possible black responses to discrimination?
- Why are white Americans confused when they witness strong reactions by blacks to seemingly minor incidents of racism?
- In what ways are whites responsible for continuing poor self-images among blacks?
- In what ways are blacks responsible for continuing poor self-images among blacks?
- Using a symbolic interactionist perspective, why is it important for blacks to hold and project a positive self-image?
- From the PowerPoint presentation on Identity and the Tim Pilgram summary of the Jackson Katz documentary on Masculinity we learn about linkages between masculinity and crime.
- Describe the four basic elements of social identity theory.
- Describe gender role and expectation states theory.
- Describe the structure-functional explanation for changing gender role expectations (i.e., the Aaron Lipman argument).
- What does Jackson Katz describe as the "tough guise" and how does it affect violent behavior by men?
- What suggestions does Katz offer for changing the identity of masculinity so that it is less dependent upon acts of violence?
- The PowerPoint presentation on Child Abuse describes the basic elements of this social problem.
- What is child abuse?
- What are current rates of victimization and what have been recent trends in these rates?
- What are the social-demographic characteristics of victims of child abuse?
- What are the social-demographic characteristics of the perpetrators of child abuse?
- We tend to think of child abusers as "horrible people," and they are. But what are the sociological factors that influence perpetrators to abuse children?
- What is the most effective procedure for eliminating child abuse?
- The PowerPoint presentations on Domestic Violence, Power and Control, and Battered Person Defense describe some key principles of domestic violence.
- Describe the social-demographic profile of the abused woman.
- Describe the social-demographic profile of the batterer.
- List the statistic related to domestic violence that most affected your opinion of this social problem. Why did you pick this statistic?
- Describe two early warning signs of an abusive partner.
- Use the structure-functional approach to support the battered person defense.
- The PowerPoint presentation on Rape describes some key principles of this social problem.
- What is rape?
- How prevalent is rape in the United States?
- What are the social foundations of rape? That is, why is it a social problem?
- What are the consequences of rape for the victim?
- Why might a woman be reluctant to prosecute a rapist?
- Use one of the three sociological perspectives to suggest a social policy or approach to public education that might reduce the incidence of rape.
- The PowerPoint presentations on Prostitution and Pornography describe some key issues of and linkages between these social problems.
- What is the average age of entry into prostitution and pornography?
- How are girls and women most likely to be recruited into prostitution and pornography?
- Is it a myth that prostitution and pornography are victimless crimes? Explain your answer using either a structure-functional or Marxist perspective.
- Should prostitution be either legalized or decriminalized? Explain your answer using either a structure-functional or Marxist perspective.
- The PowerPoint presentation on Video Violence describes research on the relationship between viewing violence and engaging in aggression.
- List three negative outcomes of viewing video violence.
- Describe the theoretical rationale for linking exposure to video violence and aggression.
- Craig Anderson addresses public skepticism about the correlation between exposure to video violence and aggression. Describe three of the myths about social science research on this topic and the facts that refute the myths.
- Using one of the three sociological perspectives, describe a social policy or approach to public education that might reduce aggressive acts resulting from viewing video violence.
Help Session
Help Session: The help session for this exam will be held on Wednesday, March 26, 5:00 p.m., in Room 2432 Food Science.
Dr. Sapp's office hours are Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., and by appointment.
Please feel free to contact Dr. Sapp
