World-Systems Theory -- Global Inequality

 

First Part: 0-7’: 

1. What is the purpose of the video?

2. Explain Modernization Theory. 

3. What is Structuralism (in the context of 

World Economy)?

4. What are Structural Adjustment Programs?

5. Explain the main points of Dependency Theory,

and why is it deeply related to Latin America.

6. Explain Wallerstein’s approach:

7. Core-Periphery, and Semiperiphery.

8. What are his “cycles” of History?

9. Compare Wallerstein’s system to Dependency

Theory. 

10. Why is Wallerstein’s theory still popular among 

Marxists?

………………………………………………………….

Second Part: 7’ - 14’:

11. Explain the main concepts developed in the 

book Why Nations Fail?

12. Explain the main concepts developed in the 

Book The Bottom Billion. 

13. If a low-income country were to suddenly discover 

substantial natural resource reserves, what are 

the challenges it would be likely to encounter? 

14. After reviewing Gary Gereffi’s study about transnational 

pharmaceutical corporations in Mexico, what can be 

said about dependency? Is it a systemic inherence of 

capitalism? What’s your opinion?

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“Firms may pay bribes to obtain government 

benefits or to avoid costs… Such payments can 

become routine, part of the normal cost of doing business.”

“Illegal payments are often hidden as legitimate expenses 

in company accounts.” 

(Susan Rose-Ackerman — 

Corruption and Government (1999))

Human. Part 1.

 

Story-telling

 

Narrative Research

1. How does narrative research reflect the sociological idea 

that reality is socially constructed?

2. What are the strengths and limitations of using personal 

narratives as research data in sociology?

3. How might stories provide insights that statistics cannot?

4. How do social factors (e.g., class, gender, race, culture) 

influence the kinds of stories people tell about their lives?

5. Are some narratives more socially valued or legitimized 

than others?

Living in Times of Exponential Growth

 

1. What is linear growth vs exponential growth? 

Can you give real-world sociological or 

technological examples of each?

2. Tyson suggests that many people think in linear 

terms, even when change is exponential. 

Why do you think that is?

3. What social or policy risks stem from underestimating 

exponential change (e.g., in technology, 

population, climate)?

4. Tyson walks us through innovation from the 19th 

to the 21st century. According to him, how has the 

pace of innovation changed? (Refer to the video’s 

timeline.)

5. Are our social institutions (education, government, 

business) structurally capable of responding to 

exponential change? Why or why not?

6. What reforms or new institutions might be 

necessary to deal with accelerating change?

7. Which social groups are most likely to benefit 

from exponential technological growth? Which 

might be disadvantaged?

8. Do you feel empowered or anxious about living 

in a time of such rapid change? Why?

9. What ethical dilemmas arise from rapid 

technological innovation (e.g., privacy, surveillance, 

job displacement)?

The Industrial Revolution

 

The Industrial Revolution

1. Did the Industrial Revolution improve the quality of life for 

the working class more than it harmed it?

2. Does industrialization inevitably lead to the exploitation 

of labor?

3. Was the rise of industrial capitalism the main cause of 

modern class inequality?

4. Was child labor during the Industrial Revolution a necessary 

stage in economic development?

5. Did the shift from home-based production to factory work 

erode traditional community life?

6. Did urbanization during the Industrial Revolution improve 

social mobility?

7. Were industrial cities more socially progressive than rural 

communities?

8. Did the rise of the industrial city lead to the decline of moral 

and community values?

Critical Theory. Discussion.

 

Critical Theory. Analytical Elements. Debate. 

1. Can you identify examples of reification in contemporary society 

(e.g., education, media, workplace, technology)?

2. When we talk about “the market” or “the economy” as if they

were independent actors (“the market demands…”), are 

we engaging in reification? Why or why not?

3. How does social media contribute to reification — of people, 

relationships, or even emotions?

4. Why might reification be seen as problematic for critical 

theory and emancipatory politics?

5. How does reification limit people’s ability to see that 

society could be organized differently?

6. Do you think reification is inevitable in modern society, 

or can it be overcome?

7. Can you identify examples of cultural hegemony in 

everyday life (e.g., advertising, education, popular 

culture)?

8. Think about language: how can words or phrases 

reinforce hegemonic ideas (e.g., calling someone 

“self-made”)?

9. How does the entertainment industry (movies, 

music, TV, social media) contribute to reinforcing 

dominant ideologies?

10. What role do schools play in sustaining or 

challenging cultural hegemony?

Marx. A Very Brief Introduction

 

What is Marxism? | Marxism Explained.

1. What is Marxism?

2. Explain the main topics of the Communist Manifesto.

3. What would be the origin of Revolutionary Communism?

4. Explain the dynamics of class conflict in the context of capitalism.

5. Explain the notions of bourgeoisie and proletariat.

6. What is Alienation, according to Marx?

7. What is the role of the institutions (education, religion, law, etc.) 

in the Marxist scheme?

8. “Capitalism contains the seed of its own destruction”, says Marx. 

Do you agree with this idea? Justify your answer.