A Visual Presentation of Self: Photo Essays as a tool for teaching Introduction to Sociology at a Public Community College.

Abstract

This assignment has been utilized in an Intro to Sociology course in an effort for students to better understand how socialization helped to shape their own self/identities. Utilizing arts-based methods, students create a PowerPoint presentation that includes their own pictures and other important resonating objects (stuffed teddy-bears etc.) from...

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Details

Subject Area(s):

Children and Youth, Introduction to Sociology/Social Problems, Qualitative Methodology

Resource Type(s):

Assignment, PowerPoint

Class Level(s):

Any Level

Class Size(s):

Any

Usage Notes

The assignment was created for a 100-level Introduction to Sociology course at a two-year public college. The assignment is introduced when students are introduced to socialization concepts and theories. Students are provided a standard worksheet three weeks before the deadline period, so they start to map out how they plan to design and construct...

Learning Goals and Assessments

Learning Goal(s):

1. Goal 1: Demonstrate an understanding of concepts related to self/identity, socialization, looking-glass-self (Cooley), agents of socialization, significant others (Mead), generalized others (Mead), cultural capital (Bourdieu),gender performativity (Butler), impression management (modified from Krull 2020).
2. Goal 2: To familiarize students with arts-based methods in sociology by demonstrating how the agents of socialization and/or using socialization theories or concepts to explain their own self/identities formation process through the use of pictures (modified from Reid 2016).

Goal Assessment(s):

1. Assessment 1: Building on a previous worksheet, students create a photo essay in PowerPoint using their own pictures that identify all four major agents of socialization including family, school, peers, media etc. (modified from Reid 2016)
2. Assessment 2: In the final slides of the PowerPoint, students discuss their initial thoughts and organization of photos. Hence, students will mention which specific agents of socialization impacted them the most, and one additional socialization concept or theory such as looking-glass self (Cooley), significant others (Mead), generalized others (Mead),...