HRM115 PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY TUTORIALS DECEMBER 2017
1.How was the rise of the discipline of sociology influenced by the enlightenment thinkers, urbanisation, the French revolution and industrial revolution that took place in Europe? [20 marks]
2. Give an outline of Symbolic Interactionism as an approach to studying society and human behaviour. [13 marks]
(b) What are the weaknesses of Symbolic Interactionism in explaining human behaviour? [7 marks]
- (a) What is the Interactionist explanation on the causes of success or failure in educational institutions? (10 marks)
(b) Using examples provide a feminist critique of educational institutions in society. (10 marks)
4. (a) Outline the main ideas of labelling theory in explaining crime and deviance in society. [12 marks]
(b) To what extent can crime be understood as a “redistributive mechanism” in society as argued by the Marxists? [8 marks]
5. Critique the Davis-Moore (1945) thesis on social stratification.[20 marks]
6.Outline the following Feminist perspectives on gender inequality.
(a) Liberal Feminism [5 marks]
(b) Marxist Feminism [5 marks]
(c) Radical Feminism [5 marks]
(d) Black Feminism[5 marks]
- (a) Distinguish between formal and informal organisations. [12 marks]
(b) Outline the functions of organisations in modern society [8 marks]
- (a) Outline the characteristics of Weber’s ideal type bureaucracy. (8 marks)
(b) What are the dangers of bureaucracy as identified by Max Weber, Robert Merton and Robert Michels? [12 marks]
- (a) Outline the emergent norm theory as an explanation of crowd behaviour.
[12 marks]
(b) What are the criticisms of classical crowd theories of collective behaviour?
[8 marks]
- (a) Outline giving examples, any four forms of collective behaviour [8 marks]
(b) Identify four types of crowds [4 marks]
(c) Evaluate the theory of relative deprivation as an explanation for the formation of social movements. [8 marks
- (a) Evaluate the role of social media on the emergence and development of social movements. [8 marks]
(b) Outline, giving examples, the four main types of social movements. [12 marks]
- (a).What are the functions of a sick role according to Parsons? [10 marks]
(b) Define and discuss the effects of medicalisation in society [10 marks]
13. (a) Outline and explain how Weber’s ideas on the Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism help in understanding the origins and characteristics of an industrial society. [10 marks]
(b) Compare and contrast Karl Marx and Max Weber’s conceptualisation of religion in industrial societies [10 marks]
14. (a) Assess are the causes, forms and consequences of alienation in industrial societies according to Karl Marx [20 marks]
15. Outline the functionalist perspective on crime and deviance [20 marks]
16. (a) Outline the biological theories of gender inequality [12 marks]
(b) Account for women’s limited participation in the public sphere [8 marks]
17. (a) What is socialisation?Explain using any 3 examples of socialisation agents
[12 marks]
(b)To what extent is individual behaviour determined by socialisation?[8 marks]
18. (a) What is culture? ______[4 marks]
(b) Define and explain the following concepts. Give appropriate examples
(i) Culture hybridisation[4 marks]
(ii) Acculturation[4 marks]
(iii) Culture homogenisation[4 marks]
(iv) Ethnocentrism[4 marks]
ESSAYS (Choose any one question)
1. (a) Outline the main ideas of functionalism as propounded by Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons. [10 marks]
(b) Compare and contrast between functionalism and conflict theory. [10 marks]
- (a) Outline the contributions of Karl Marx and Max Weber to our understanding of social classes. [12 marks]
(b) Evaluate the applicability of Marx’s conceptualisation of social class in the contemporary Zimbabwean society [8 marks
3. Health and illness are more of social than biological issues. Evaluate this assertion with reference to class, gender and age. [20 Marks]
4. Education perpetuates social inequality. Discuss. [20 marks]
5.(a) Explain the sociological imagination as propounded by C Wright Mills (1959).
[8 marks]
(b) Evaluate the macro-micro debate in sociology [12 marks]