Edited Book Project in Classical Sociological Theory

Abstract

The “edited sociological book” project was developed as part of an effort to reimagine the required classical theory course at Lehman College (CUNY) to make its instruction less top-down and more focused on the skills students need in the practice of their sociological profession. The assignment calls on students to become editors of a sociological...

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Details

Subject Area(s):

Theory

Resource Type(s):

Assignment

Class Level(s):

Any Level

Class Size(s):

Any

Usage Notes

The files include a description of the project, a long guide, an appendix with two small assignments, one discussion tool and rubric.

The project is introduced on week 5 after exposure to: The difference between observation and theory; Contemporary uses of theory (though dated, Collins’s (1971) “Functional and Conflict Theories of...

Learning Goals and Assessments

Learning Goal(s):

1. Demonstrate knowledge of sociological traditions by developing the skills to find and correctly identify journal articles written from specific perspectives.
2. Distinguish peer reviewed sociological journal articles on a specific topic from other non-sociological or non-peer reviewed sources
3. Use the conventions of a professional sociological writing genre to discuss the contribution that each sociological tradition can make to understanding a specific topic and to advancing the field of sociology.

Goal Assessment(s):

1. Sources are evaluated on whether they are correctly identified as being from a sociological tradition, by looking at the concepts or framework that they use.
2. Sources are evaluated on whether they are peer reviewed and well-aligned with the book topic.
3. Writing effectiveness is measured by looking at whether the student presents a convincing rationale for including the source as a "chapter" in an "edited book". And whether they are able to include sentences connecting sources together.