Sociological Thinking/Imagination

Question 1

Science vs Sociology:

Answer 1

• cannot meet rigorous demands of the scientific method

- requires a different orientation toward knowledge and a different perspective on human social interactions

Question 2

Sociology:

Answer 2

• how questions not why or should questions
• both/and vs either/or thinking
• right and wrong
• true and false

Question 3

Sociological imagination:

Answer 3

about the relationships between personal biography, history, and social forces beyond the control of the individual

Question 4

Mills (1959) clarified the relationship between the ____ and _____ that is opposite what most people assume.

Answer 4

• individual

- society

Question 5

Discuss the phrase “the very structure of opportunities has collapsed”:

Answer 5

• fewer opportunities for success are placed in front of some people
• somehow, somewhere along the way, opportunities stopped being generated for many
• who’s fault is it when people don’t succeed?

Question 6

Sociological imagination requires a back and forth thinking from ____ to ____.

Answer 6

• individual

- society

Question 7

Common sense approach: the biggest loser:

Answer 7

• look at all these overweight people
• how can we explain this?
• because they are lazy, weak willed, and a failure, which is why we have an epidemic in today’s society

Question 8

Sociological imagination approach: the biggest loser:

Answer 8

• look at all these fast food joints, loopholes in food labeling, wealth gap etc.
• What effect could these be having?
• producing obesity

Question 9

The Biggest Loser is a TV show and thus is embedded in numerous _____ and _____ contexts.

Answer 9

• institutional

- structural

Question 10

Other sociological elements of The Biggest Loser:

Answer 10

• capitalism

- competition

Question 11

Capitalism element of The Biggest Loser:

Answer 11

means that products have to be placed in the show and marketed

Question 12

Competition element of The Biggest Loser:

Answer 12

contestants are competing against each other and themselves

Question 13

How does capitalism and competition both feed the common sense view of obesity?

Answer 13

• products are marketed to contestants that promise to give an edge over other contestants
• you can consume your way to health

Question 14

Capitalism and competition reflect the ____ ____ in which TBL is produced.

Answer 14

social structures

Question 15

If we are unable to focus on the social issue of obesity, we can expect to see ….

Answer 15

the incidence of obesity rise, even as more individuals take action to manage their weight

Question 16

Example of both/and thinking with sociological imagination:

Answer 16

need to focus on social issue, but individual effort is still needed

Question 17

People who are obese are less ____ than _____ of our system.

Answer 17

• victims

- products

Question 18

Our system is comprised of….

Answer 18

• neoliberalism
• capitalism
• overconsumption
• meritocracy
• time scarcity
• free market ideology
• individualism

Question 19

Identification of ____ ____ results in different solutions coming to light.

Answer 19

social factors

Question 20

Fixing the obesity problem might mean supporting a change to _____:

Answer 20

• taxation

- instead of a flat 10% provincial tax up to 128k, a more progressive system would allow us to combat obesity

Question 21

We have a tendency, as a culture, to believe in…

Answer 21

the power of individual action, will, and perseverance to overcome obstacles

Question 22

The challenge of teaching the sociological perspective is to ….

Answer 22

• overcome a lifetime of cultural conditioning

- teach them how to recognize social issues and to address them with systematic rather than individual solutions

Question 23

4 themes of personal responsibility in TBL:

Answer 23

• only the strong survive
• pulling big numbers
• deserving and needing
• making the right choices

Question 24

“only the strong survive”:

Answer 24

• criteria for joining the show (need desire)

- those who lose the most weight are allowed to continue

Question 25

“pulling big numbers”:

Answer 25

• losing several pounds a week
• normalizes the idea that weight loss or weight management take a heroic effect (people without weight problems are morally superior/stronger)
• audiences pick favourites
• audiences think that contestants that fail to lose sufficient weight have only themselves to blame

Question 26

“Deserving and needing”:

Answer 26

• big numbers are a score that ranks people according to how they deserve to win
• those who pull big numbers are presumed to be more deserving to win
• eliminated because they are declared strong enough to keep losing weight at home

Question 27

“making the right choices”:

Answer 27

product placement

Question 28

Moral panic:

Answer 28

a condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to social values and interests

Question 29

An epidemic is not a problem of ____ _____, it is a ____ ____.

Answer 29

• individual behaviour

- social issue

Question 30

Although sport practices embody specific and identifiable ____, ____, and ____, they are typically viewed by both participants and spectators as _____ and ____ in nature.

Answer 30

• purposes
• values
• meanings
• ahistorical
• apolitical

Question 31

Sociological imagination articulates the connection between ____ ___ and ____ ____.

Answer 31

• personal troubles

- public issues