Exam #2 will have two sections. In Section A, students will answer a required question on poverty, valued at 15 points. In Section B, students will answer three of eight short-answer essay questions, valued at 15 points each.
Section A All students answer this question (15 points)
In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber argues that religious principles associated with the Protestant Reformation provided a spiritual justification for the rise of the profit motive and the accumulation of wealth required for capitalist-based economies.
Describe the two central points of dualism (i.e., the dilemma of life) and predestination (i.e., the hope for salvation).
Describe the term: inner-worldly asceticism.
Describe the Protestant Ethic and how it provides a religious justification for the profit motive and accumulation of wealth.
Describe the fallacy of "affirming the consequent" and how this fallacy is used to misrepresent those persons who live in poverty.
Section B Answer all parts of three of these questions (15 points each)
Recent books on poverty written by Barbara Ehrenreich (Nickel and Dimed) and David Shipler (The Working Poor) claim that working persons cannot make enough money to live in decent conditions.
In The Myth of the Working Poor, Steven Malanga makes the counter claim that:
The War on Poverty has failed,
Working people have strong upward mobility and do not stay in poverty long,
The work place for persons with low job skills is not nearly as humiliating as Ehrenreich and Shipler make it out to be.
In Work in the Strawberry Fields and The Most Dangerous Job, Eric Schlosser paints a different picture of low skill work, as does the film, "Waging a Living."
Questions:
Describe two main points of the articles by Malanga and Schlosser.
Use either a structure-functionalist or Marxian perspective on the living conditions of the working poor to explain why you believe either Malanga or Schlosser is more correct in depicting the conditions of the poor in America.
Social stratification continues to exist as a significant factor affecting the life chances of Americans.
Herbert Gans, with tongue in cheek, describes the uses of poverty. Describe five of these "uses."
Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore provide an explanation of social stratification from a structure-functionalist perspective. Melvin Tumin critiques their position from a Marxian perspective. Describe each perspective and explain which point of view you think best fits the real conditions of the poor.
Educating youth at a time of rapidly escalating volumes of scientific, humanistic, and cultural knowledge has become a significant challenge for educators.
Describe the trends in public school student academic achievement. Have our public schools failed in their responsibilities to educate children? Explain your answer using any of the three sociological perspectives.
Describe the advantages and limitations of using public vouchers to help send children to private schools. Do you support vouchers? Select one of the three sociological perspectives to explain your 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 and what forms does it take?
Describe three 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?
Family serves as an important element of socialization and emotional well-being.
Describe the sociological explanations for unmarried teenage girls becoming pregnant? In what ways do social demographic indicators explain rates of abortion and giving up children for adoption among teenage girls?
What effects does divorce have on children? If it seems impossible to save an unhappy marriage, should spouses remain married for the sake of the children? Use one of the three sociological perspectives to explain your answer. [Note: This question is addressing the effects of divorce on children, not the broader issue of whether spouses should ever divorce.]
With an aging population and rising costs, health care has become a critical issue in America.
Why does America face the problem of an increasing need for high quality health care delivery? Explain your answer using any of the three sociological perspectives.
Describe the single payer system of health care delivery. How does this system differ from a system of universal health care? Describe the advantages and limitations of a single payer system. Use one of the three sociological perspectives to support or defend the single payer system.
Describe the arguments of the proponents and opponents of euthanasia. Use one of the three sociological perspectives to support or defend the application of euthanasia to patients who have been classified as terminally ill.
Issues of terrorism have become critical social problems for all nations.
Describe the main provisions of the Patriot Act. Describe two ways in which the White House claims that Patriot Act has helped secure the United States against acts of terrorism. [Note: the source of the statements presented in the Power Point presentation on the Patriot Act is the White House (i.e., the G. W. Bush administration).
Describe the purpose of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Describe two myths about the viability of the Patriot Act as asserted by the ACLU.
What does the journalist Thomas Friedman describe as the "three rivers of rage" characterizing culture in the Middle East?
Use a symbolic interactionist perspective to describe why people choose to engage in terrorism.
Scientists and the public debate about the extent and causes of global climate change.
Describe three myths about the causes and consequences of global climate change, as these are described by the Environmental Defense Fund.
Describe three counterarguments made about global climate change, as these are described by those who believe in the "Global Warming Swindle."
Describe from a sociological perspective how public discourse about a complex and controversial topic can be a "social problem" in itself.
Help Session
Help Session: The help session for this exam will be held on Monday, April 2nd, 6:00 p.m. We will meet on the first floor of East Hall.
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
