Review Sheet for Exam #3
Sociology of Culture
Spring 2005
I.
Format: The exam will be short and/or long essay
format (as mentioned, no other format makes sense with this kind of material).
You will not need anything but a pen and your brain (hopefully containing
knowledge of the subjects we’ve covered so far).
II.
Content: You’ll be responsible for Kathy Peiss’s Hope
in a Jar. You’ll also be responsible for knowing in-class materials (lectures/discussion).
a. For the Ritual
lectures, you should know and be able to explain:
i.
The
differences between formal and informal ritual
ii.
The
types and functions of formal rituals
a.
religious and non-religious (be able to name and give examples of each)
b.
what rituals do (Mary Douglas and Steven Lukes)
iii.
The
relationship between symbol and ritual (hint: it hinges on meaning)
iv.
Goffman’s conceptualization of the rules governing
face to face interaction (these rules structure even one-on-one interactions in
ways that constitute informal [or implicit] ritual)
a. symmetrical and asymmetrical rules
b. substantive vs. ceremonial rules
b. For Hope in a Jar, you should know and be able to explain:
i.
The cultural-symbolic issues at stake in the rise of
“the beauty culture”
a.why the use of make-up was a hotly-contested issue
in the late 1800s and early 1900s
1. as symbolized by the contrast, e.g., between
paint and cosmetics
b. how make-up use entailed different symbolic
meanings in regard to race
c. what Peiss means when she says there was a
“strain between female appearance and identity”
ii.
The sociological factors that led to the
redefinition of female appearance
a. Modernization
1.
New Sites of Display; The Fashion Economy; Image-Making Technologies; The Cult
of Celebrity
iii.
The people whose actions helped to:
a. redefine cosmetics use (how did they “frame” it
as an acceptable and even desirable practice)
b. create the organizational forms in and through
which consumers could pursue the new ideal of beauty (what were those forms?
How did they work? Who created them?)
iv.
The rise of the mass market for cosmetics
a.
the “synergy” between and among retailers, cosmetics firms, advertisers, the
film industry (what she means by this, and examples of it: e.g., “tie-ins,”
hidden demonstrators)
b.
The entry of the corporation into the beauty culture & the effect of this
on women’s roles in the culture
v.
The
impact of industry practices on:
a.
Women’s identity and self-image
b.
The ways that individualism was conceived of, especially for women
c.
What Peiss calls the “normative female identity” (what does she mean by this?)
vi.
How
cosmetics use came to be part of everyday life for American women
a.
the roles played by other social institutions in that process (family, work,
school)
b.
How women responded to the normative pressures associated with the beauty
culture
1.
Opportunities for self-expression vs. oppressive norms
vii.
The
ways the beauty culture’s transformation to mass industry affected African
American experience
a.
e.g. the rise of Valmor and its Sweet Georgia Brown products
viii.
Where
the debate regarding makeup use now stands
a.
what are the dominant views now?
b.
what does Peiss say about the relationship between women’s identity and the
beauty culture (hint: not just “passive”)
