Define the object of sociological study and provide at least 2 examples of sociological phenomenon to illustrate your answer.   What factors characterize transition from traditional (rural) to modern (urban) societies? (i.e., where do people live? How do they provide for themselves? How is social order produced? What are the values and norms upheld?)   Define and compare the most important features of rural and urban societies (i.e., family ties; degree of privacy; attitudes towards deviance; social change; character of interactions).   Ferdinand Tonnies (1855-1936) suggested to classify social solidarity into two types: Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft. Define and compare these two types of social solidarity.   Define the most important characteristics of food production, preparation and consumption in traditional (rural) and modern (urban) societies (i.e., Where food is produced? Who is preparing it? Variety? How much of food is processed? What tools are used? How much food is available? How equally food is distributed?)   In chapter 2 on "Food and History" Harper argues that "the necessity for food and changes in the way it is acquire and produced have been <…> powerful driving forces in the flow of human development and history." (p.31) Explain what changes in food production 5,000-6,000 years ago made the transition from the hunter-gatherer into civilization possible? What were the circumstances that motivated people to invent agriculture?   Harper cites Diamond who states that agriculture "in many ways was a catastrophe from which we have never recovered" (p. 35). Why does Diamond hold such a negative views about the impact that agriculture had on human societies? Answer this question by comparing agriculture's costs and benefits in terms of diets (improved/got worse); health/illness (human height, life longevity [provide empirical evidence]; social inequality; position of women in a society; technological progress; culture [writing, religion, science]; capacity to support large populations; impact on the environment).   Discuss the relationships between land ownership patterns and political systems of governance using ancient Egyptian and Babylonian civilizations. Compare and contrast them with land ownership and politics in Ancient Greece. Harper argues that emergence of democracy in Ancient Greece during 5th - 7th centuries BC was closely related to changes in patterns of land ownership and cultivation. What patterns of land ownership made Greek democracy possible? Why such patterns of land ownership and production were conducive to democracy?   What were changes in agricultural technologies during the Medieval times that allowed Europeans to emerge from the Dark Ages and to begin advancement of European domination worldwide?   What is "Columbian exchange" and how did it make industrial revolution possible?   Describe and analyze major developments in food production in the early industrial era in the US (See handout with Table 2).   Define what is "technification of food" and describe its impact/costs on dietary preferences, lifestyles/bodies and social relations in the US since the end of World War II. What impact on crops (varieties and productivity) did "technification of food" had in this period of time? What are the most significant forms of resistance to technification of foods?   Discuss social and economic impacts of the Green revolution. Who were the primary beneficiaries of the new agricultural technologies and who were disadvantaged by introduction of the "miracle rice" in the developing countries? Explain why have this happened?   What is oligopoly? What were the most significant factors that contributed to the emergence of oligopolistic structure of the agro-food industry? Contrast and compare horizontal and vertical forms of integration of agro-food businesness. Why do companies strive to achieve high levels of horizontal and vertical integration in food business?   What role is the government playing in regulating the size and concentration of the agro-food corporations? Can large size transnational corporation be efficient without the government support?   What impact do the large multinational corporations have on (a) the world’s agro-food markets and (b) rural communities? What is the relationship between the size of farms and community well-being? What percentage of the entire population in the US is constituted by farmers?   How do TNCs (transnational corporations) compare with the smaller and more diversified farms in terms of ecological and economic efficiency?   Harper argues that eating as a social practice "transforms biological hunger into indications of social meaning." (p.131). What social meaning does eating together or refusing to eat together conveys? Harper argues that eating is related to family/group integration and hierarchy. Could you provide an example of eating practices illustrating (a) low and/or high degree of group interaction and (b) equalitarian and/or unequal relationships among members of a group?   What is the relationships between social differentiation/inequalities and cuisine differentiation? What is the impact of urbanization and intermarriage on food preferences of the population?   Harper argues that "Women have a very different relationship to food and eating than men." Explain, why is this the case? Why do eating disorders affect almost exclusively women and not men? How do gender roles shape responsibilities of men and women in providing food for their families?   What is the relationship between household’s income and household income devoted to purchasing food (i.e., Engel’s law)?   What is mcdonalization of food and what are its most important characteristics? Why does mcdonalization of food generate opposition/reform movements? Compare and contrast mcdonalization of food with "slow food movement" in terms of their views on food and eating.   What is the scope and what are the causes of epidemics of obesity in the U.S.? How is growing obesity related to mcdonalization of society?