Introduction to Sociology

Yanıt Açıklaması: August Comte, pioneering French sociologist as a founder of discipline of sociology, suggests that human history passed through three stages, namely, theological, metaphysical and positive stage. Each stage was characterized by a different set of intellectual beliefs.

Yanıt Açıklaması: Stark and Bainbridge with their religious economy approach argue that religions can be understood as organizations which are in competition with one another for followers. On the other hand, the classical theorists, Marx, Durkheim and Weber, assume that religion weakens when it is challenged by different religious or secular viewpoints whereas the religious economists argue that competition increases the overall level of religious involvement in modern society. Religious economists believe this to be true for two reasons. First, competition makes each religious group try that much harder to win followers. Second, the presence of numerous religions means that there is likely to be something for just about everyone. In culturally diverse societies, a single religion will probably appeal to only a limited range of followers while presence of Indian gurus and fundamentalist preachers, in addition to more traditional churches, is likely to encourage a high level of religious participation. Accordingly, religious economy model, that is, rational choice theory argues that the freer religious markets are, the more vital religion will be.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The Social Research Institute, founded at the University of Frankfurt in 1923, is known as the Frankfurt School, in short, in the social science literature. The Frankfurt School is also commonly referred to as Critical Theory. Especially, the analyses of Theodor W. Adorno (1903-1969), Max Horkheimer (1895- 1973), Walter Benjamin (1892-1940), Leo Lowenthal (1900-1993) and Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979) on culture, ideology and the media are very important. Karl Marx was not one of the scholars of the Frankfurt School.

Yanıt Açıklaması: Every rule that we face as law fulfills a function such as to maintain and protect a certain social connection and prevent it from disintegration. It could be said that there are four basic characteristics of law in general terms; law is normative, comprised of regularity, institutionalism and it is challenging. 217

Yanıt Açıklaması: In matrilineal social systems, the property and titles are inherited from women to their daughters.The answer is A.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The sociologist, is not concerned with the truth or falsity of any given religion; s/he only takes an objective look at religion. S/he does not study religion per se, but the effect of religious beliefs and practices on the social and cultural systems, socialization process, and personality development. When dealing with religion, sociologists mainly try to understand how religions shape society and conversely, how the historical and contemporary social conditions shape religions. Thus, according to sociological approach, religion should primarily be taken a social rather than theological or psychological phenomenon. The correct answer is D.

Yanıt Açıklaması: in Marx’s writings there are ideas that could form a model for the creation of culture as ideology. As a materialistic theorist, Marx has argued that financial situation and economic activities shape human consciousness. Marx noted that not only religious ideas, but also all cultural ideas are a reflection of the material production system and thus serve the interests of the dominant class. Therefore, the correct option is A.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The sentence above is more likely to be demanded by feminism. The answer is C

Yanıt Açıklaması: The sacred refers to all objects and aspects of life set apart from the ordinary, regarded as holy and related to the supernatural. The answer is C.

Yanıt Açıklaması: Collective Subjectivity is defined as "a way of life or outlook adopted by a community or a social class". The correct option is C.

Yanıt Açıklaması: Emile Durheim defined religion as a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The dominant capitalist class, which owns the means of production, uses economic power to shape the culture of the society. The answer is C.

Yanıt Açıklaması: British Cultural Studies is mainly focused on the relationship of culture with power and resistance. In this sense, British Cultural Studies, which uses post-structuralist, structuralist Marxist and recently postmodernist theories together in a critical framework, is based on a very rich theoretical accumulation. This school especially emphasizes the role of the media in the formation and maintenance of cultural hegemony. British Cultural Studies conceptualized culture as a dynamic and constantly renewing process, not as a fixed, static, frozen and closed system. Adopting an expanded concept of culture, the School has rejected the distinction between high culture and low culture , and has made a significant break from an approach that would create any cultural stratification. The correct answer is E.

Yanıt Açıklaması: Stark and Bainbridge, in their rational choice theory, suggest that religion answers universal questions and it offers compensators that meet universal human needs. According to them, religion can neither disappear nor seriously decline. Also, religion provides a set of beliefs about how very general rewards can be obtained as well as a set of compensators in the face of the impossibility of gaining such rewards. The correct answer is B.

Yanıt Açıklaması: For functionalists , deviance helps to define the boundaries of proper behavior. It has also been suggested that the social control mechanisms such as the police and courts are required, but a certain level of deviance would have positive functions as well. Even if it appears to be dysfunctional at first sight, deviance creates social solidarity and unity and in this sense, it is functional. Deviance is also necessary to clarify the norms of society. The answer is A.

Yanıt Açıklaması: We can classify the functions of legal rules, or laws, in three main categories in terms of their effects: Oppressive: the laws might be more or less challenging. There is a physical pressure at various levels in social control systems.Facilitating: The laws ensure the expectations about behaviours and make them predictable. Ideological: As a belief system, the ideology is reflected in legal rules and it emerges, depending on certain values. The correct answer is E.

Yanıt Açıklaması: Fashion comes from the word modus, meaning “limitless” in the Latin language. It is an expression of the appearance that the individual can get according to his/her lifestyle. The answer is A.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The norms are divided into two categories, namely, official norms and unofficial norms: Official Norms: These are the official and written rules such as laws, regulations, statutes, circulars and board decisions. The punishments and rewards regarding these norms are predetermined. Unofficial Norms: These are non-written norms, and punishments and rewards are not explicitly stated for such norms. The individuals might face sanctions such as condemnation, mocking, exclusion and insults.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The emphasis Marx places on economic factors in social transformation can be clearly seen in his distinction between base and superstructure in social analysis. In this distinction, the base consists of economic structure (means of production and relations of production) and superstructure consists of law, politics, religion, family and ideologies.

Yanıt Açıklaması: A, B, C and E are features of deviance. However, incompatible behavior that violates only one law describes the concept of crime, not deviance. The answer is D.