SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
TRINITY TERM 2022
Questions
Part A (answer two questions):
1. Are the persistent social class inequalities in educational attainment better explained by rational action or by social norms?
2. How can violence be explained by signalling theory? In what social circumstances will signalling theory have weaker or stronger explanatory power?
3. Why is it that we need to look beyond simple economic self-interest to explain political preferences?
4. Why are weak ties thought to be important for getting ahead in the labour market? How convincing is the evidence for a causal effect of weak ties?
5. Discuss the ways in which neighbourhoods are thought to influence the lives of individuals. Define neighbourhood effects and discuss the methodological challenges of measuring and estimating neighbourhood effects.
6. Can analysis of collective protest before the days of online social media still provide insights into how collective protests come about today?
7. Give an account of attitude change that delineates micro from macro processes. Incorporate period and cohort effects into your explanation.
Part B (answer one question):
8. Discuss the mechanisms of EITHER a) social change and stability OR b) contextual effects. Draw on examples from at least two topics from the course.
9. Can all social mechanisms be understood in terms of rational action?
10. What is analytical sociology?
11. “In principle, explanations in the social sciences should refer only to individuals and their actions” (Elster 2015). Explain Elster’s meaning. Do you agree with him?
12. With reference to at least two topics from the course, explain the role of social networks as a sub-mechanism in the explanation of social phenomena.