Anthropology and Sociology Study Essay

1. The sociological perspective, as a way of thinking about the world, includes the sociological imagination from C. Wright Mills, the beginner’s mind from Bernard McGrane, and the idea of culture shock from anthropology. Explain what all three of these concepts have in common. Response: All three of these concepts have in common are the idea of breaking down social barriers to gain a different perspective on culture people and behaviors. When a person is in a new area where the culture is different it is betters to break down walls and keep an open mind they all deal with society and the differences they may have compared to the one a person is accustomed to. 2. Sociologists often have to decide if they are going to adopt a microsociological or a macrosociological approach in any given project. Explain how these perspectives differ, paying special attention to the different assumptions about how society works that are contained within each perspective. In other words, considering the starting point of each perspective, what do they seek to reveal? Response: the way in Macrosociology and microsociology differ are that they deal with different societal issues for example Macrosociology deals with issues of bigger groups that affect effect the whole such as health care, war, and the economy and microsociology is looking more at the small everyday interactions with individuals or smaller groups. For examples family or schools and other small interactions 3. Compare and contrast conflict theory with structural functionalism. Pay special attention to the way each theory treats the origin of social change. Response: Conflict theory and structural functionalism are similar in a sense where everyone can agree that someone or group has more money or power in a society. They are similar in ideas of a structured society. Where they are different is where is stems from the problem of inequality conflict theory is the notion of when people feel that a certain group has to much power and the resources aren’t distributed properly. Structural functionalism feels  that because of this imbalance in power and money (social class, heirarchey,) there is balance and order in society. 4. Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level approach to sociology. It sees face-to-face interactions as the building blocks of larger social institutions. Describe how individuals interacting with each other produce larger social institutions. Pick an example and describe how specific social acts can, when repeated by many people, produce large-scale social structures. Response: Symbolic interactionism is the process of a micro scale situation that deals with action, meaning, and, change. For example if I received a new puppy and decide to take her on a walk so becomes familiar with her environment, and another person congrats me for exercising the dog. That meaning affects change because it now gives me another reason to take my dog out for a walk. My initial reason for taking my dog out was so she can become familiar with her area if gets lost but because of that interaction with another person it gave me another reason or meaning to take her out. 5. Symbolic interactionism focuses on communication and meaning. According to symbolic interactionism, describe how meaningful reality is created. Respone: Meaning ful reality is not inherent it is not something that is innate or given meaningful reality is created through interaction between two or more people. 6. Structural functionalism attempts to explain the social world through the functions of social structures. Describe the types of functions that social structures can fulfill. Response: structural functionalism can be compared to that of the human body you need all individual parts working together to function properly. For example the food industry. The food industry is a system that allows people to buy fresh produce this system is needed because in a society where there is no access to farming and growing their own food. 7. According to Karl Marx, what is the relationship between the economy and other parts of society, including intellectual, religious, and political life? Karl Marx believes that a capitalistic society separates the rich from the poor. corporations that holds the money hold the power to dictate whether certain fucntions of society. 8. Describe the main features of postmodern social theory, and explain both positive and negative reactions to these features. Response: The main features of postmodern social theory is that it is diverse pluralistic and contingent. The positives reactions towards this theory cognitive relativism which can be summed up to the that conventional truth is illusory and that culture and language create valid and subjective realities. The negatives of postmodernism is that everything is fragmented there is no order claims to truth and stability. 9. If you were feeling very generous to shoe manufacturers, you might argue that the manifest function of the production of newer and more expensive athletic shoes is to increase athletic performance. For a moment, let’s not be generous. Explain another manifest function of the appearance of new athletic shoes, as well as at least two latent functions. Response: another purpose of the manifest function could be to showcase the increased comfort of the shoe by having extra footing on the bottom of the shoe one of the latent functions. Two unintended latent functions could be the stitching and the quality of materials on the shoe and also the design and how the color work cohesively together. 10. Identify and describe the most pessimistic elements of the theories of the classical sociological thinkers—Marx, Durkheim, and Weber. Which presents the most pessimistic vision of modernity? Response: Marx, Durkheim and, Weber all had pessimistic views. Marx believed that most of the power and wealth went to corporations and other groups in power. While Weber believed that â€Å"contemporary life was filled with disenchantment.† Weber Want society to move more towards an  Industrial society . he was concerned with the work ethic and, productivity of human society. Durkheims Veiw was that no matter what city or place that you are from t people create bonds. Those bonds maybe different because of the area, or cultures but nonetheless bonds are always created he also felt that in a more industrial are bonds were created by the work they were performing. 11. As far back as Auguste Comte, the theorist who coined the term â€Å"sociology,† it has been assumed by many sociologists that objectivity is important in studying society. Describe the assumptions surrounding the role objectivity plays in sociology. Response: reductionism, testability, measurement,reproducibility 12. Every discipline that does research on humans needs a code of ethics in order to protect its research subjects. While it’s easy to see that medical research could harm people if not carried out ethically, the risks associated with sociological research may seem more subtle. Describe these risks. Response: the risk of research could stem from the fact that the structure of society may be mislead with wrong information to diagnose something or a certain situation with the worng information could be detrimental on the function of society. 13. In physics, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle states that to measure something is also to change it. Sociologists have observed a similar phenomenon—reactivity. Describe the classic example of reactivity, observed and explained by Elton Mayo at the Western Electric Hawthorne Plant between 1927 and1932. Response: the classic example of the reactivity method is when research changes the behavior of the participant which can change the productivity of the person or group of people 14. In recent years, ethnography has expanded beyond academic and scientific disciplines and is now often used for commercial purposes. Explain how  ethnographic methods can help advertisers. Response: Ethnographic methods can help advertisers because if they can study and research their targeted customers and see what the consumers like and don’t like they alter their methods on how to advertise their product to improve business. 15. Social researchers, especially ethnographers, sometimes find themselves faced with complicated moral dilemmas. Chapter 2 describes the case of the ethnographer John Van Maanen, who was subpoenaed to testify about the actions of police officers he had been studying. What did Van Maanen feel was his most important moral obligation? Why? Response: he felt that the police were starting to abuse their power instead of assisting people, they started to become the bully’s he feels we need to watch out for them because they are becoming more aggressive their motives have changed from become a community service to more of an US versus them mentality. 16. Describe the series of steps that the scientific method or approach argues will allow researchers to acquire and verify empirical knowledge. Response: ask a question,do background research,construct a hypothesis,test the hypothesis,analyze your data,communicate your results