oSOC 3400 Contemporary Sociological Theory – Spring 2025 Final Exam Review Guide

Flashcards based on lecture notes for oSOC 3400 Contemporary Sociological Theory – Spring 2025 Final Exam Review Guide.

What is the ontological view of the critical paradigm?

Reality is socially constructed and shaped by power structures, ideologies, and historical forces that reinforce inequality and domination. Exhibits law-like patterns and tendencies that reflect and reproduce these systems of domination.

What is the epistemological goal of the critical paradigm?

To identify the historical sources of inequality and to document the patterns of inequality among the perspectives of those who experience it.

What is the theoretical goal of the critical paradigm?

To bring a conscious awareness to the subjects of study and to uncover the hidden structures of oppression.

What are the policy implications/goals of the critical paradigm?

To change the way that people are interpreting their inequalities, to use knowledge as a tool for liberation, and to challenge the status quo.

Give critiques of the critical paradigm.

-          overly rational – assumes that when people are confronted w/data that they will change their behavior (much behavior is motivated by non-rational things like culture, beliefs, religion, experiences, traditions)

Overly structural – no empathic understanding of the group’s perspective

Too abstract/Preachy – sounds like ideology; trying to tell people what is right/wrong instead of studying the science of society

Potentially dogmatic/authoritarian – can turn into an authoritarian view if the policies aren’t constantly analyzed – not everything is always “black and white”

Name intellectual influences of Neo-Marxism/Critical Theory.

Max Weber (rationalization, efficiency); Sigmund Freud (subconscious fears/desires); Frankfurt School (culture, ideology, mass media used for domination).

According to Horkheimer, how has 'reason' changed since the Enlightenment?

It has changed from seeking truth and freedom, to a tool for control, efficiency, power and profit.

What was reason supposed to bring about according to Enlightenment thinkers?

Progress, freedom, and a better, more fair society. . through rational thought, science, and critical inquiry, humans could overcome ignorance, superstition, and tyranny, leading to a more just and enlightened world

Describe Formal (technocratic) rationality

Concerned with means – efficiency, calculability, control, rationalization. Takes for granted that the way we do things is better. Concerned w/ adequacy of procedures

Describe Substantive rationality (reason)

Concerned with the ends; refers to the way individuals use reason to make choices based on their goals, is the goal ethical? Just? Moral?

Define 'Irrationality of rationality'.

We stop questioning the end goals; efficiency was meant to free us but we work more; something can be formally rational & substantively irrational (ex: concentration camps, prisons - efficient but moral outcomes = bad)

What are 'false needs,' where do they come from, and what do they distract us from?

Arise from advertising, mass media and ideology. Distract us from the need for freedom, love, creativity, meaningful work and community.

According to Marcuse, what ability diminishes under the relentless pursuit of false needs?

The ability to think critically and engage in oppositional thought itself diminishes.

What is Adorno's 'culture industry,' and how does it differ from culture?

The mass production and commercialization of cultural goods under capitalism, versus products that emerge organically from human creativity and expression.

How does the culture industry get used as a tool for domination?

It leads people to conform and adopt the values of the ruling class, stopping us from challenging the status quo. stops us from changing the conditions that make life intolerable. Makes us believe that there is no other alternative

Name critiques of critical theory/Frankfurt School.

-          Elitist: too critical, not all culture is bad; pop culture is potentially transgressive

-          Not sufficiently Marxist: not enough about workers, too much emphasis on culture

-          Not Scientific: it’s ideological

-          Overly pessimistic

Name an intellectual influence of feminist theory.

The women’s movement (1st, 2nd, and 3rd wave). 1^st wave 18^th-19^th Century, Women’s suffrage; 2^nd wave 1960s-80s: everyday life (life, home, work) inequalities; 3^rd wave 90s-now: class, race, sexuality, ability, reproduction rights – how they intersect to create unique experiences

What are the major assumptions in feminist theory regarding any situation?

Where are women, if they aren’t present – why? If they are, what are they doing? How do they experience the situation? What do they contribute to it? What does it mean to them?

Explain 'bifurcated consciousness' expected of sociologists.

Sociologists live within the social world, but must step outside those experiences to critically examine how social structures, institutions, and cultural norms shape behavior, identity, inequality, and power.

According to Smith, how are men able to participate in this bifurcated consciousness?

Men can focus on their careers because women often take care of the home and are in support roles, allowing men's lives to become easier and carry out higher roles.

What does 'radical' mean in terms of Smith’s claim that women’s experience leads to a 'radical' critique of sociology?

Means “to the root”, a fundamental change; rebuild the foundations of sociology to include the standpoint of women’s everyday lives

How is an Afro-centric feminist epistemology different from mainstream sociology?

It insists that knowledge is situated—it emerges from lived experience, particularly the intersections of race, gender, and class.

According to Collins, what will be different about the data used in Afro-centric feminist epistemology?

It values personal experience, emotion, dialogue, and wisdom passed through community and oral tradition. It recognizes that lived experience is a legitimate and necessary source of knowledge - traditional songs and poems passed down through generations

What’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom according to Collins? How does that factor into her approach to feminist theory?

Knowledge is academic learning, while wisdom is direct experience; Collins argues that Black women’s everyday wisdom is a legitimate and necessary source of feminist knowledge.

What is the problem with sociology’s validation processes from the perspective of feminist theorists like Smith and Collins?

Sociology traditionally decides what counts as “valid” data, methods, or observations based on male- centered, white, middle-class perspectives, treating them as neutral and universal.

'additive' notions of multiple oppressions.

sees oppression as separate categories and treat multiple oppressions as an “addition problem” ex: black +1, woman +1 Queer +1 (racism + sexism = double oppression)

List criticisms of feminist theories.

• One-sided/partial, idoesn’t include men    

• Ideological & political

• Essentialist: Includes women’s experience as all being the same

• It’s a form of empiricism: “all knowledge is derived from experience; too narrow of a definition; doesn’t leave any room for expert knowledge

Explain what it means to claim that race is a social construct.

Race is not based on biology or genetics, but rather on social ideas, beliefs, and practices that people have created over time to categorize and treat people differently based on physical traits like skin color.

Name an intellectual influence of critical theories of race and racism.

W.E.B. Dubois (Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade; The Philadelphia Negro – first to argue race is a historical construct) or the Black Nationalist/Civil Rights Movement. (emphasize black separation; whites don’t seem interested in accommodating; someone shouldn’t allow the group dominating them to define them – identities/experiences defined by dominant/privileged groups)

What are 'racial projects' according to Omi and Winant? Provide examples.

Efforts to study particular racial meanings/structures/formation; define what it means to be a person of color in any particular moment of time; and distribute resources & status along racial lines. Examples include slavery, immigration laws, affirmative action, and Black Lives Matter.

What is the 'strange enigma' of race in contemporary America according to Bonilla-Silva?

Racism still exists and affects people’s lives, even though most people claim not to be racist and openly racist laws and attitudes are no longer socially acceptable.

What’s new about 'color-blind racism?'

Racism used to be “overt” out in the open, now it is “covert” it is institutionalized, preserves white privilege quietly without openly identifying who benefits and who is disadvantaged. It is “subtle” institutional, apparently “nonracial”; is easier to deny, harder to prove

According to Bonilla-Silva, what is race?

Race is constructed but has a social reality; it has a real effect on people – consequences are real.

According to Bonilla-Silva, what is racial structure?

Racialized social system that awards systemic privileges to white Europeans over non-Europeans; totality of social relations & practices that reinforce white privilege.

According to Bonilla-Silva, what is racial ideology?

Racially based frameworks used by the dominant race to explain and justify the status quo; justifications for why whites are in a privileged position.

What are the key features of globalization that most analysts agree on?

Rapidly developing, ever-densing network of interconnections & interdependencies that characterize modern life; world is “compressing/shrinking”

Explain the relationships between core, periphery, and semi-periphery countries.

Core countries control the majority of the world’s wealth, periphery countries are exploited for cheap labor and raw materials, and semi-periphery countries exist in between.

Explain what 'hegemony' means in the context of World Systems Theory.

Leadership or dominance by one country or social group over others, either through military or cultural & ideological & political influence – process by which dominant culture maintains its dominant position

What are the two major myths about capitalism according to Wallerstein?
What is actually true?:

1.”Free Market” is defined by The free flow of capital and 2. the non-interference of politics in the market; Reality: capitalism is defined by the partial free flow of the factors of production & selective interference of the political machinery

Explain the key features of sovereign power.

Tended to be brutal, involving torture/physical punishment; exercised intermittently, typically only when rules breached; ritualized, full of symbolism; took place in public

Explain the key features of disciplinary power.

Features technologies of regulation, monitoring, & surveillance; operate continuously by altering thoughts & behavior patterns throughout methods of training focused on the body; more about rationality than ritualism; takes place in specific institutions rather than in public (prisons, schools, military barracks)

According to Foucault, which kind of power replaced the other in the modern era?

In the modern era, disciplinary power replaced sovereign power as the dominant form of social control. disciplinary power is more efficient and pervasive because it gets people to regulate themselves, not just obey out of fear.

Which kind of power does the panopticon/panopticism reflect?

Disciplinary power. – constant observation

What are the features of the Panopticon, and how does it work?

Circular building, cells surrounding a central watchtower where a guard sits; guard can see into all cells, but prisoners cannot see into tower. -          Each prisoner is in an individual cell, unable to communicate with others. Continuous Surveillance: Prisoners never know when they’re being watched, so they must behave as if they always are.

For Foucault, how do prisons communicate to the broader public how domination and control operate in society (outside prisons)?

Prisons appear as exceptional: They make it seem like punishment and control happen only to criminals who break laws; create a divide: labeling people “criminals” we think they are controlled, we are free; conceals everyday surveillance: distracts from subtle, invisible surveillance & control outside prison walls

What is the ontological view of the Postmodern Paradigm?

The social world is radically fragmented, pluralized – there are no universal standards; fragmented, contested, and constructed through language and power, not as something fixed or universally agreed upon.

What is the epistemological approach of the Postmodern Paradigm?

Borrow methods used in the arts and literature; use models that appeal to the senses, that evoke feelings

What is the theoretical approach of the Postmodern Paradigm?

Since the social world is fragmented, there are partial theories; patterns and categories are not stable or universal – the goal is to demonstrate how they are not (not universal, unified, essential, meaningful)

What are the policy implications and goals of the Postmodern Paradigm?

Liberatory: can break down barriers and lead to liberation.

Define 'hyperreality'.

Reality that has already been reproduced; reference without a referent (concept)

Explain Baudrillard’s first phase of the image.

It is the reflection of a basic reality: The image accurately represents something real. It’s a faithful copy - mirror of the actual thing.

Explain Baudrillard’s second phase of the image.

It masks & perverts a basic reality: The image still refers to reality, but it distorts or manipulates it. It hides what reality actually is by presenting a false or biased version.

Explain Baudrillard’s third phase of the image.

It masks the absence of a basic reality: The image pretends to represent something real, but there is no real thing behind it. It creates the illusion of a reality that doesn’t exist

Explain Baudrillard’s fourth phase of the image.

It bears no relation to any reality whatever: it bears no relation to any reality whatever- it is its own pure simulacrum

What is simulacra/simulacrum?

Copy of an image for which there is no true original.

What is Simulation?

Simulate: to pretend to have what one hasn’t (faking)

How does the map example help explain the simulacrum?

Baudrillard uses the story of an empire that makes a map so detailed it covers the territory exactly. As the empire declines, the map fades and disintegrates—but people continue to live by the remains of the map, forgetting the real territory;

1. At first, the map represents the territory (reality).

2. Eventually, the map replaces the territory—people believe the map is the real world.

3.   Simulacra are like that map: they replace reality with representation to the point that we lose sight of what's real.

  Panopticism (disciplinary regime) – What is its logic? Where do we see it outside prisons?

-          Surveillance: People behave as if they're always being watched; Power is decentralized and invisible: systems that monitor and shape behavior; EX: Schools, military barracks, workplace, hospitals

How does a country achieve hegemony? How do they lose it?

Every time a nation  has achieved an efficiency edge : 1. agricultural/industrial edge; 2. commercial edge, 3. financial edge; loses all in the same order

Matrices of domination

Recognizes that race, class, gender, sexuality, and other systems of power are interlocking; You can't understand one form of oppression without looking at how it is shaped by and shapes others

“true” needs

-          These are needs essential to genuine human flourishing—such as the need for freedom, love, creativity, meaningful work, and community.  The need for food, shelter, safety (basic survival).

How does Smith explain that women don’t tend to have the luxury to participate in this bifurcated consciousness

Society is structured so that women have to take care of the home and men’s physical well being on top of their work.

Dorothy Smith and Patricia Hill Collins critique sociology in terms of its “validation processes” (how sociologists decide what are valid claims, valid data, valid observations). Explain what feminist theorists’ problem is with sociology’s validation processes

-          Sociology traditionally decides what counts as “valid” data, methods, or observations based on male-centered, white, middle-class perspectives, treating them as neutral and universal. sociology’s validation processes are biased toward these experiences; traditional research tools/standards and methods often exclude the realities of marginalized people who are left out or misrepresented

How does the illness example shed light on Simulation

illness example shows that if someone fakes being sick well enough, it can seem real — even to doctors. The fake illness becomes its own kind of reality, because people respond to it as if it’s true, even though there’s no real disease behind it.

What about the religion example and the discussion of religious “images” or “icons on simulation?

religious images, like statues or icons, used to remind people of something real and sacred. But over time, people started focusing on the image itself instead of what it represents — almost like worshipping the symbol, not the actual god. It becomes a copy that no longer connects to the original meaning.

-          What is Baudrillard trying to communicate about the relationship between the “image” and the “referent”? Between the “image” and “reality”?

Eventually, the image doesn’t refer to anything real — it becomes its own reality, and the original (referent) is forgotten or irrelevant. This is the hyperreal.

What do places like Disneyworld hide about society? What about prisons?

-          Disneyworld: It's a fantasy world that’s openly fake — but that openness distracts us from the fact that the rest of society is also a kind of simulation. It makes us think that outside Disneyworld is "reality" when, in fact, everyday life is just as constructed and artificial. Disney hides the simulation of reality by being the "fake" that lets us believe everything else is "real.

Prisons: make us think crime only happens in certain places and to certain people. But really, unfairness and wrongdoing exist all throughout society — in businesses, politics, and everyday life. Prisons just help hide that by pretending justice is being served