SOC 202 Midterm SAQ

Mills: Sociological Imagination & Trouble vs. Issue

Sociological imagination sees personal experiences within larger social structures. Personal troubles are private, individual issues (e.g., losing a job). Social issues transcend the individual and involve broad historical/economic structures (e.g., mass unemployment).

Anderson: Nation as an Imagined Community

A nation is "imagined" because citizens will never meet most fellow members, yet hold an image of shared communion in their minds through shared language, media, and history.

Anderson: Three Historical Roots of Nationalism

1) Decline of trans-national religious script languages (Latin). 2) Decline of monarchies/sacral dynastic realms. 3) Rise of print capitalism (cheap mass media in local vernaculars).

Goffman: Dramaturgical Theory & Impression Management

Dramaturgical theory compares social interaction to a theater with scripts, actors, and props. Impression management is the strategic effort to present oneself in the most favorable way.

Durkheim: Significance of "Suicide" for Sociology

He proved that suicide rates vary by social factors (weak social bonds vs. strong integration) rather than just individual psychology, proving that sociology is a useful, distinct scientific discipline.

Durkheim: Four Types of Suicide

1) Egoistic: Low integration (loneliness/detachment). 2) Altruistic: High integration (sacrificing self for a higher cause). 3) Anomic: Low regulation (normlessness/lack of structure). 4) Fatalistic: High regulation (extreme control/no hope).

Bauman: Modernity and the Holocaust

The Holocaust was not a return to barbarism, but a direct product of modern bureaucracy, rationalization, and technological efficiency that enabled industrial mass destruction.

Bauman: Three Conditions Eroding Moral Inhibitions

1) Authorization: Authority figures approve action, shifting moral guilt upward. 2) Routinization: Actions are split into small bureaucratic tasks focusing on efficiency like a normal job. 3) Dehumanization: Target group is stripped of human standing to block empathy.

Culik: Defensive Nationalism & Historical Context

Defensive nationalism is a response to perceived external threats to preserve a nation's identity, language, and sovereignty. Examples: Czechs protecting their fragile culture after centuries of Habsburg foreign rule, near extinction of the language, and post-communist struggles.

Operation Anthropoid: Purpose, Consequences, & Crypt

Targeted Heydrich to strike the Nazis, stop suppression, and prove active resistance to Allies. Heydrich died, causing brutal Nazi reprisals (Lidice/Ležáky massacres) but securing Allied support. The Crypt was the site of the parachutists' heroic final stand, symbolizing national courage and martyrdom.

Weber: Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism

Protestant ethics forbade luxury spending and worldly indulgences, compelling believers to reinvest their profits back into businesses, which drove the capital accumulation needed for modern capitalism.

Weber: Why Capitalism Didn't Stem from Catholicism

Traditional Catholic ethics viewed unbridled profit-seeking, market trade, and usury with moral hostility, prioritizing spiritual security and traditional livelihoods over constant accumulation.

Weber: Calvinism, Predestination, & Capitalism

Calvinists believed salvation was predestined by God; economic success and hard work served as psychological proof of being chosen/blessed, driving anxiety-driven accumulation and capitalism.

Hamplová: Three Reasons Czechs are Least Religious

1) History: Catholicism was hated due to its association with the oppressive Habsburg Monarchy. 2) Independence: Millions left the Catholic Church after 1918, and local Protestant churches were too weak to replace it. 3) Communism: Decades of state-sponsored anti-religious propaganda and persecution deepened indifference.