STUDY GUIDE: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN SOCIOLOGY (SOC 301) Final Exam Instructor: Dr. Alem Kebede Essay Questions 1. Discuss the major assumptions of symbolic interactionism as presented by Herbert Blumer. What are the major strengths and weaknesses of this paradigm in contrast to the other paradigms that we have discussed in class?

2. What is the self, according to George Herbert Mead, and what does he mean by the genesis of the self? How does his notion of the self differ form that of Sigmund Freud?

3. What are the major assumptions of ethno-methodology? Discuss the ethno methodological views of Harold Garfinkel. Explain the areas in which his theory is applicable in the study of everyday life.

4. What are the major sociological questions that feminist scholars are interested in? How do liberal, socialist, and radical feminists differ from one another in regards to these questions? In your discussion include the unique contributions of feminist theories.

5. Discuss the major assumptions of critical theory along side with the major arguments of Jurgen Habermas. Has Habermas made a successful reconstruction of historical materialism?

6. What are the major assumptions of postmodernism? In what sense does this perspective positively or negatively affect social thought and research?

7. What are the fundamental features of the postmodern features according to Jean François Lyotard? Is there, according to him a complete rupture between the modern and the postmodern?

8. Discuss Pierre Bourdieu’s notions of habitus and field. Has Bourdieu, as a result of these conceptions, succeeded in overcoming the objectivist and subjectivist divide in social inquiry?

Concepts I. Symbolic Interaction; Self; Pre-play; Play stage; Game Stage; Generalized Other; Dramaturgy; Back and Front Stages; Impression Management; Frames; Key; Virtual and Actual Identities; Total Institutions

II. Ethno-methodology; Conventional Sociology; The normative Approach; The Interpretive Approach; Conversational Analysis; Accounting; Indexical Expressions; The et cetra principle; Sanctioned Properties of Common Discourse; Violations of the Scene; Performative Utterances III. Weberian Marxism; Positivism; Scientism; Economic Determinism; Formal rationality and substantive Rationality; Technocratic Thinking; Culture industry; Knowledge Industry; Purposive Rational Action; Communicative Action; Undistorted Communication; Relativism; Ideal Speech Situation; Therapeutic Critique

IV. Feminism; Liberal Feminists; Socialist Feminists; Radical Feminists; Bifurcated Consciousness; Relations of Ruling; Live Experience; Outer Horizon; Inner Horizon

V. Postmodernism; The Pre-modern and the Modern phenomena; Grand narratives; Speculative Grand Narrative; Emanicipatory Grand Narratives; Local narratives; Legitimation; Paralogy

V. Objectivism; Subjectivism; Habitus; field; economic capital; social capital; symbolic capital; cultural capital; symbolic violence

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