SOC 302 Exam #2
2. According to Collins (1990:228), “A matrix of domination contains few pure victims or oppressors. Each individual derives varying amounts of penalty and privilege from multiple systems of oppression which frame everyone’s lives.” Give concrete examples of moments or situations in which you have found yourself a “victim” and, conversely, as an oppressor. Explain how your examples reflect the matrix of domination at the level of personal biography, the community or group level, and the systemic structural level of social institutions.
3. Compare and contrast Butler’s conceptualization of “performativity” with Goffman’s dramaturgical theory.
4. Keep a 24-hour log documenting the extent to which your life is mediated. That is, write down every instance of your use of media. Then analyze your log and discuss the extent to reflects postmodern “hyperreality” as opposed to modern “reality”. To what extent is your knowledge of the world a function of representations and the media rather than personal experience? Do you think the fact that contemporary life
is experienced via representations negates Baudrillard’s point representations replace experience? Why or why not?
5. Using Gidden’s theory of structuration, how might intergenerational poverty be explained?
6. Bourdieu notes how class relations shape the habitus such that “the dominated perceive the dominate through categories that the relation of domination has produced and which are thus identical to the dominant” (Bourdieu 1994/1998:12). In addition to economic classes, how might relations of domination based on gender or race shape the categories of perception that induce the dominated to reproduce their own subordinate position?
Exam Format
? All four (4) essays must be contained in one document. Please be sure to label each essay with the corresponding question number.
? The assignment must be typed, double spaced, have 1-inch margins, and no larger than 12 point font
? Include page numbers, but you do not need a cover page for this assignment
? Create paragraphs; don’t write your entire essays in one long paragraph.
? You must submit a document for this assignment. Do not type your assignment in the text editor box on Blackboard. If this is done, you will have 5 points deducted from your final score.
? The document must be saved in one of the following extensions for it to be graded: doc, docx, or rtf. Documents saved and submitted in Apple Pages, Adobe PDF, or Microsoft Works (wps extension) will not be graded.
? Though it cannot catch every spelling error, please use spellcheck. Ultimately, you should proofread your entire paper for errors (grammatical, sentence structure, and the like) before submitting it to be graded. Excessive errors will result in point(s) deducted.
? Do not submit your final paper through the message function in Blackboard. Use the process of uploading your assignment through the assignment link. If an assignment is submitted via a message, 5 points will be deducted from your final score. If you are not clear as to how to upload assignments, then please ask Prof. Rasmussen for help.
