Sociology 1201: Study Guide 1 Fall 2007 Instructor: Bruce Mork

I. The test will be multiple choice; be sure to bring a number 2 pencil to class on the day of the test, as the answer sheets will be machine-graded. Many of the questions will involve the following concepts, theories, and people.

scientific method: theory and research
science
quantitative versus qualitative research methods
survey research
theoretical orientations: functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism
institutions: family, education, religion, economic system, political system
patriarchy
colonial families
homemaker/breadwinner families
invention of adolescence
companionate families
1950s families and changes since then
extended family
nuclear family
Cooley: looking glass self and primary groups
culture
norms
socialization
gender vs. sex
double standard
sexual revolution
friends with benefits
hooking up
Lauman et. al: The Social Organization of Sexuality: findings on gay and lesban sexuality
Alfred Kinsey: extensive but not statistically representative samples; most controversial finding the 10% number for homosexuality
Lillian Rubin: Erotic Wars--major norms about teen sex, is the double standard still influential?
Schwartz and Rutter: The Gender of Sexuality--masturbation, pornography, coercion, # of partners
Maria Kefalas and Kathryn Edin: Promises I Can Keep
Daniel Patrick Moynihan and a "tangled web of pathology"
fragile families study
William Doherty: Minnesota Family Formation Project
New Deal programs for poor families
1960s War on Poverty and its provision for poor families
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families(TANF)
family cap
sanctions
Minnesota Family Improvement Program (MFIP)

Videos: Legacy, Let's Get Married. Be sure to review your worksheets.

II. Many questions will deal with the Edin and Kefalas text, where there aren't a lot of new concepts being introduced. The best way I could think of to tell you how to review that book was with a series of questions that get at the key content. You should also go back through the materials you have underlined or highlighted as you read the book. .

1. What makes Philadelphia/Camden a good choice for the setting of the Edin/Kefalas study? How were the mothers to be studied actually chosen, and how were they studied? How did Edin and Kefalas manage to get the trust and confidence of these mothers, so they would talk frankly (or do they think they did not, and why?) Why do you suppose this book gets high praise from some of the most eminent sociologists in the country (see comments by Wilson and Cherlin on the back cover)

2. Some people argue that the early, out-of-wedlock childbearing by these women is what dooms them to a life of poverty? How would Edin and Kefalas respond to that comment?

3. What makes most of these young women believe that they can be good mothers, even if they have to do it without help from the fathers? What do they see themselves as losing by becoming single mothers? Why don't they use birth control more consistently?

4. Relate this book to the public policies promoted by the "marriage movement," as described in the video, "Let's Get Married." To what extent do you see those policies having a major effect on mothers like these and why?

5. What about the fathers? Why do so few of them marry the mothers of their children or even live with the mothers long term and help with raising their children? What makes the mothers eventually give up on most of these men?

6. What is the meaning of marriage to these mothers? Why is it that even the couples that have lived together and raised their children together for years are often hesitant to marry? Why is it that the mothers seem even more hesitant that the fathers to make this commitment? What does that say about changes in marriage as an institution?

7. Elijah Anderson has distinguished between "respectable values" and "street values" in inner city communities. How do these mothers try to fit into the respectable category, and what are the extra challenges of raising kids in a community where street values often dominate the public places?

8. How does the family described in the video, "Legacy," fit with the families profiled by Edin and Kefalas? If this book has it right, would Nickcole's mother, Alaissa, see herself as a good mother? What about Wanda? Why or why not?

9. Why do these mothers seem to feel that single parenting has changed their lives for the better? Compare and contrast their lives with the lives of their male peers, who mostly are not accepting major parenting responsibilities.

10. Near the end of their book, the authors say that the poor and the affluent have much the same standard for marriage, but a very different standard for good parenting? How do they support those contentions?