STUDY GUIDE FOR EXAMINATION #2
SOC. 400, Foundations of Sociological Thought
SUNY College at Buffalo
Dr. ZHANG Jie, Ph.D.

Sumner and Veblen

• Folkways
• the origin of folkways
• three stages in shaping folkways: expedient, accepted, expected
• differences between folkways and mores*
• Ethnocentrism
• Ethos
• Man-land ratio
• Masses vs. classes
• The theory of leisure class: workmanship; emulation
• Conspicuous consumption

Max Weber

• Conflict theory and idealism
• Verstehen (subjective understanding): empathic and rational
• The methodology of the social sciences*
• The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
• Religious reformation: teachings of Luther and Calvin
• Protestant ethic:* differences from Catholics
• Industrial revolution: characteristics of rational capitalism*
• Conditions contributing to capitalism in Western Europe*
• Asceticism: other-world (Catholics) vs. this-world (Protestants)
• Religion in China: Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism
• Reasons why capitalism did not first happen in China:
• Religion (Confucianism, patrimonialism)
• Literati (education superior to all)
• Cities (not separated from farms)
• Centralization (government)
• Types of authorities:   rational-legal, traditional, charismatic
• Power: definition
• resource theory of power
• legitimate vs. illegitimate

• Stratification:

class (economy)
status (prestige)
party (power)

• Bureaucracy

characteristics of bureaucracy
preconditions for bureaucracy

• Commentaries of Weberianism

Comparisons of Marxism and Weberianism

• materialism vs. idealism
• structural orientation vs. subjective orientation
• monism vs. multi-causation
• critical conflict theory vs. analytic conflict theory
• eradication of conflict vs. non-eradication of conflict
• communism vs. bureaucracy
• nature of science
• inevitability of history
• determinism

Georg Simmel

• Marginality
• Methodology

form vs. content: superordination vs. subordination

• The web of group affiliation

the significance of numbers
dyad and triad
the roles of the third party (three types of strategies)
mediation
tertius gaudens
divide et impera

• Anti-reductionism
• Functions of social conflict (Lewis Coser)
• Social exchange

 Note:

* Potential listing questions