Deck 4: Coffee: Status, Distinction, and Good Taste

Question 1

Naveen is an intelligent grade-twelve student and has already gained early acceptance to a program of his choice at Harvard. His school-mates, however, tease him for not knowing how to change a telephone ring-tone he dislikes. From the standpoint of his school-mates, Naveen is lacking in the following:

A) economic capital
B) social capital
C) emotional capital
D) cultural capital

Answer 1

D

Question 2

For some years after moving to a new country, immigrants earn lower than average incomes, because they do not know local people who could tell them about more lucrative employment opportunities. Which of the following do new immigrants lack?

A) Economic capital
B) Social capital
C) Professional capital
D) Cultural capital

Answer 2

B

Question 3

To which of the following does the term "social mobility" refer?

A) Change of geographic location
B) Change of citizenship
C) Change of class position
D) Change of marital status

Answer 3

C

Question 4

According to Schor, upscale emulation, characteristic of the lifestyle of Americans during the past few decades, has the following negative consequence:

A) aspirational gap
B) social insecurity
C) social mobility
D) snobbery

Question 5

Which of the following is true about three forms of capital, discussed by Bourdieu?

A) They operate independently from each other.
B) Cultural capital is always more important than the economic one.
C) It is impossible to gain social capital without high economic capital.
D) They can be exchanged for each other.

Question 6

According to Bourdieu, which of the following types of capital will you earn when you complete your degree?

A) Embodied cultural capital
B) Objectified cultural capital
C) Institutionalized cultural capital
D) Certified social capital

Question 7

Which of the following is a key strength of survey research when it is done well?

A) It provides a detailed description of everyday experiences.
B) Its results can be generalized to a wider population.
C) It is a good source of qualitative data.
D) It is cheap to conduct.

Question 8

The textbook relates a story of a man who bought Starbucks coffee on Mondays and used the recognizable white-and-green cup to bring homemade coffee to the office for the rest of the week. This indicates that Starbucks has successfully made its product an item of:

A) conspicuous consumption
B) enforced taste
C) superior taste
D) conspicuous quality

Question 9

By expanding and standardizing its operations in the late 1990s, Starbucks lost many of its original customers to independent coffee shops. How does the textbook explain this change?

A) The amount of economic capital required of a Starbucks customer declined.
B) The amount of economic capital required of a Starbucks customer became too high.
C) The amount of cultural capital required of a Starbucks customer became too high.
D) The amount of cultural capital required of a Starbucks customer declined.

Question 10

Which of the following is an example of a "third place"?

A) Your dormitory room
B) Your bedroom in your family's home
C) A coffee shop where you meet your friends
D) A coffee shop where you work

Question 11

Starbucks' founder has stated that the chain deliberately creates "third spaces." According to sociological research, is this true?

A) Yes, because the staff encourage sociability.
B) Yes, because its products are affordable to everyone.
C) No, because talking to strangers is a violation of a perceived norm.
D) No, because its products are so expensive that they make it elitist.

Question 12

Where is most of the world's coffee produced?

A) The Global North
B) The Global South
C) On corporate plantations in Mexico
D) On cooperative plantations in China

Question 13

Which of the following plays a crucial role in the "coffee paradox"?

A) Producers' lack of control over the commodity chain
B) High tariffs imposed by rich countries
C) High profits of fair-trade producers
D) Corruption among fair-trade activists

Question 14

The Fair Trade movement is a form of:

A) trade-off
B) trade-up
C) buycott
D) boycott

Question 15

How does parental class position influence their offspring's chances of school success?

Question 16

How does the "new consumerism" differ from its earlier form? Give an example of it.

Question 17

Do coffee chains have class identities? Explain your answer and illustrate it with examples.

Question 18

Define "third places." According to Oldenburg, how are they beneficial to society?

Question 19

Explain the "coffee paradox."

Question 20

Define ethical consumption. According to the textbook, is this process sufficient to remedy inequalities in global commodity chains?