Essay Questions by Section of the Course:

Section 2: Self, Society and Belonging

1. What is the relationship between thinking conceptually and developing a sociological imagination? Discuss with reference to TWO of the following: identity; community; emotional labour; impression management.

2. How did the sociologist Stanley Cohen define the concept moral panics? What, if any, is its continued relevance? Discuss with reference to sociological research.

Section 3: The Sociology of Everyday Life

3. Sociology teaches us, says Dorothy Smith, to ‘look at society, social relations, and people’s lives as if we could stand outside them, ignoring the particular local places in the everyday in which we live’ (1988: 2). What might be the dangers and benefits of a sociology that starts off by paying attention to the local and everyday contexts in which people live their lives?

4. Is everyday life a site of conformity or of resistance? In your answer, draw on some empirical examples of the ways in which different kinds of inequality are reproduced, contested or unsettled in everyday situations.