The Following List Contains my Comprehensive Exam Answers
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Culture
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Written in response to the following question:
What are the epistemological and methodological issues at stake in the question of whether sociological analysis of art should or should not incorporate aesthetic judgments (implicitly or explicitly) or remain aesthetically neutral? According to the epistemological and methodological issues you identify, evaluate the ways in which aesthetic judgments have been combined with sociological analysis and assess the merits of these attempts.
Written in response to the following question:
The term "boundaries" has become a widely held metaphor for empirically examining "difference" in sociology, overshadowing other conceptual terms that have done this explanatory work in the past: frame, border, opposition, other, outsider, subculture, stigma, and distinction. To what extent and in what ways is the concept of "boundaries" something to explain, something to be explained, or just a sensitizing concept? What benefits, if any, does the term "boundary" offer to study culture and social life?
Written in response to the following question:
Select an empirically based work in cultural sociology (but not about the field) from the last decade. How does this work illustrate the “state of the art” in the field? That is, how does it exemplify the prevailing theories, methods, debates, and trends in the field? Include references to both the work you discuss and other works that are similar or different? To what extent does this work suggest that the field is vital or stagnant? Why?
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Gender
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Written in response to the following question:
In response to second-wave U.S. feminism, many writers have argued that examining gender alone is insufficient and that it is crucial to consider how gender intersects with race and class. Discuss how second-wave feminist activists and academics addressed or failed to address race and class. Discuss the responses of authors who have been influential in advancing how gender intersects with race and class, and incorporate your own assessment of their contributions to feminist scholarship.
Written in response to the following question:
Drawing on theoretical and empirical work, discuss how sexuality has been socially constructed, being careful to distinguish between sexual identity, sexual behavior, and sexual desire. Pay particular attention to the intersection of race, class, and gender.