TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology

Medicine in the Wild: Conducting Ethnographic Studies of Medicine in Action

Daniel Menchik — Tue, 09 May 2023 00:00:00 -0400

This course is an introduction to methods and practices of studying how we moderns organize care in the hospital, and ultimately produce and respond to facts about the people who move through it. The aim is to ground students in the foundational ethnographic literature in these areas, focusing on the relationships between theory and data, and between researcher and researched. As we move into the second semester, this aim will be met in the context of their ventures into the hospital fieldsites where students will be expected to make sense of the methods, often messy and accidental, that organize everyday medical practices. The second half of this course covers the essentials of project design, location, access, interviewing, reliability, and writing. These essentials will be covered as students conduct original field research as a kind of externship, share and critique each other's field notes on a weekly basis, and produce a presentation and final report based on your ethnographies. As with other externships, then, a latent function of this class is to help as students begin thinking about: transitioning from school to the workplace (or more school); discussing interests, skills, and experiences with those relevant gatekeepers; and, perhaps, strategizing how to use their remaining time in school to prepare for whatever comes next.

Integrating Climate Justice into a Social Problems Course

Rachel Bryant-Anderson — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0400

This guide describes climate justice-themed content designed for a Social Problems course. While the course covers many distinct “social problems,” it also shows how climate justice relates to each of these problems. Students complete several small assignments (quizzes, discussions, etc.) related to climate justice throughout the quarter. They also work toward a final “claims-making project” connected to climate justice; this is due at the end of the quarter and accomplished through many smaller steps starting early in the quarter.

The climate justice content focuses on: (1) linking climate change to social problems, including social inequality; (2) promoting the framing of “climate solutions,” systems-level change, and hope; and (3) civic engagement through “claims-making.”

This guide details the climate justice connections, resources, and assessments I use in each module of the Social Problems class.

Making it real: Conducting an Online Experiment Replication

Dan Lainer-Vos — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Online experimentation is a crucial part of a new frontier of the social sciences. This class exercise and assignments give students hands-on experience with online experimentation. The exercise and assignment challenges students to replicate simple online experiments using Qualtrics and Amazon Mechanical Turk (mTurk). Rather than designing an experiment from scratch, students replicate two simple experiments. In class, students replicate Kenneth Rasinski's question-wording experiment (1989). In the exercise, students replicate Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman's famous framing experiments (1981). Doing a replication, where the main parameters of the experiment have already been created, simplifies the task and allows students to focus on the non-trivial challenges of setting up the experiment, collecting the data, and analyzing the results.

Grocery Run: Teaching the Social Model of Disability through a Virtual Field Experience Activity that Combines a Podcast with Google Street View

Trenton Ellis, Michael Hollingsworth — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Google Maps Street View can be an effective tool for assessing social factors affecting accessibility, inclusion, and disability (Seekins, Traci, and Hicks 2022). Coupling a podcast episode with Google Street View, this class activity is a virtual field experience designed for students to learn about the application of the social model of disability in a real world “virtual” setting. The activity facilitates critical investigation of theories that explain the causes and experiences of disability in society and can be completed by individual or groups of students via in-person or online class modalities. First, students listen to the podcast episode “The Social Model of Disability (ft. Caroline Ellison)” from The Sociology of Everything Podcast. Second, students are introduced to the activity and logistics are addressed (e.g. students are sorted into groups and instructed on recording observations). Third, the activity website (https://sites.google.com/view/groceryrunactivity/activity) directs students to assume the role of a research participant in a study about community mobility for wheelchair users. Students are tasked with completing a virtual “grocery run” (via Google Steet View) as a wheelchair user in one of three communities. Along their routes students are asked to identify and record potential mobility barriers and mobility boosters they encounter. Fourth, students submit Google Street View URLs (or screen shots) of boosters and barriers to crowdsourcing software like Poll Everywhere or Padlet. Fifth, faculty accesses the crowdsourced observations and asks students to explain their selections and answer associated discussion questions. Finally, the faculty engages the class in a reflective discussion incorporating student discussion question responses. Delivering field experiences for students can be challenging due to the practical limitations of funding, large class sizes, transportation, online class modalities, and more. When used effectively, widely available online technologies like podcasts, Google Maps, and polling software can be integrated to create virtual field experiences that enhance student learning (Ellis 2021; Hoekstra 2014; Oslawski-Lopez and Kordsmeier 2021). After learning about the social model of disability via The Sociology of Everything Podcast, Google Street View allows students to apply the social model of disability through a virtual exploration of community infrastructure and critical discussion.

Separate, Not Equal: Exploring Food Insecurity and Health

Tamika Odum — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0400

This project helps students gain a sociological understanding of food insecurity and health. Students participate in an immersive experience, exploring local grocery stores in Cincinnati. The goal of this activity is to help students use scholarship, interactive mapping tools, and experiential learning to understand how food insecurity contributes to poor health outcomes, examine sociological explanations of food insecurity, and practice solving real-world problems by creating innovative solutions.

The Claim Game: Promoting Critical Thinking about Research, Advertising, and Other Claims

Judith Linneman — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 00:00:00 -0500

Use this lecture/slide show to develop student critical thinking skills and a more skeptical view of causal and other claims in research, advertising, and popular media in general. Although particularly relevant for research methods and statistics courses, the slide show can be used in various contexts. Use its fully automated form as a stand-alone educational supplement to run before class begins or as assigned viewing. Use its standard version to support an interactive lecture or class discussion designed to hone inquiry skills. Initial slides present basic information about inquiry skills and claim assessment. Then, some slides introduce familiar advertising claims about hypothetical products bearing novel or humorous names. Others make the types of claims often seen in popular press or social media coverage of scholarly research. The slides also reveal likely true meanings, alternative interpretations, what might be left unsaid, and questions to ask in a critical assessment of the claim.

Sociology of Food Syllabus

Ellen Meiser — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

This syllabus is created for a 17-week long, upper-division in-person Sociology of Food course designed with an interdisciplinary Food Studies approach. Using literature and research from all corners of the food world— journalism, cultural studies, emotions, media studies, and more-- the course touches on topics ranging from food systems, access, identity, (de)colonization, gentrification, and consumerism.

Sociology of Disaster Syllabus

Ellen Meiser — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0500

This syllabus was created for a 17-week long 300-level online, asynchronous Sociology of Disasters course. Inspired by the syllabi of Dr. Lori Peek (Colorado State University), Dr. Lee M. Miller (Sam Houston State University), and Dr. Monika Myers’ syllabus (available on the TRAILS repository), this document provides instructors interested in teaching a course on this topic an updated example, as well as new reading and audiovisual resources to utilize.

Teaching about the Social Structure of Fatal Gun Violence Using Interactive Maps

Reginald Byron — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Despite the increasing availability of online interactive maps and empirical evidence of how using them improves student learning outcomes, their use in sociology and criminology classrooms is limited. The following full class period activity was designed to allow undergraduate students to engage multiple interactive maps using a sociological/criminological lens. In advance of this activity, in the class where it was evaluated, students are exposed to the works of W.E.B DuBois – specifically his discussions of the problems of historic segregation (i.e., economic, educational, residential etc.) and their relation to the “negro problem” – through his 1899 book “The Philadelphia Negro” and an article he published in 1901 titled “The Relation of the Negroes to the Whites in the South”. Using this scholarship as a background, students are encouraged to take a deep dive into the contemporary manifestations and correlational outcomes of segregation in one U.S. city, Philadelphia. In groups of three or four, students are guided to first use an interactive map on urban shootings to find the two areas that had the largest clusters of fatal shootings in Philadelphia in 2024. After identifying those areas, students are then tasked with using a different interactive map on economic inequality, followed by one on educational segregation, followed by one on residential segregation, and finally using one on criminal justice system disparities – each time attempting to locate the two areas that had the largest clusters of fatal shootings so that they can understand how the spatial social structure (e.g., economic inequity, educational segregation, residential segregation, and criminal justice disparities) coincides with the prevalence of fatal shootings. This highly adaptable activity can employ a variety of interactive maps as the original map (see Appendix for possible choices) and have students connect the patterns to other maps. It can be completed in one class period, can be spread across multiple class periods, or can be adapted to investigate other U.S. cities. Student learning is assessed via the completed worksheet that is at the end of the student handout and a short answer question on an exam.

Masculinities Syllabus

Emily Carian — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0500

This course introduces students to the sociological study of men and masculinities. It is structured around three units: (1) sociological theories of masculinity, (2) masculinity through the life course and across institutions, and (3) masculinity’s intersections with other axes of inequality. Students are assessed through in-class assignments, quizzes, and a team project. The course exposes students to real sociological research on masculinities, incorporating older, foundational work as well as newer, boundary-pushing studies. While the syllabus was originally designed for an elective course of 40 students with no prerequisites, it could be adapted for any size and level.

A Cue from POOL Lecture and Activity: Units of Analysis and the Power of Other Levels

Judith A. Linneman — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 00:00:00 -0400

Use this innovative and engaging lecture/activity to introduce students to units of analysis in research methods and statistics courses. With inexpensive props representing the game of billiards, students explore the Power of Other Levels (POOL) through the individual, group, organization, social interaction and social object units of analysis. They learn that viewing subject matter using any unit of analysis reveals phenomena that may be invisible when using others, that the whole can be more than, or different from, the sum of its parts, and that using data from one unit of analysis to draw conclusions about another can lead to logical fallacies.

Is it “All Right” to Refuse to Have Children With One’s Spouse?

Jamie Oslawski-Lopez, Jaclyn A. Tabor — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This lecture and class activity explores Americans’ attitudes about fertility decision-making among different-sex, married couples. Instructors use the PowerPoint slides to engage students in survey research, review findings from Oslawski-Lopez and Tabor’s (2024) study and lead small- and large-group discussions about the role of gender attitudes in fertility decision-making.

Introduction to Sociology: Flipped and Organized by Core Components

Anne Nurse — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0400

This introduction to sociology course is organized according to Ferguson et al’s (2016) core concepts in sociology. The classroom is flipped with content taught through readings and videos. Class time is used to engage in activities and discussion that reinforce the main ideas. At least 90 percent of the activities are drawn from TRAILS and most of the readings are open source. The provided “teaching syllabus” can be used as a quick reference but should be used in conjunction with the full instructor’s manual.

Art as Sociology

Daniela Jauk — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 00:00:00 -0400

The Art as Sociology!- project was developed for two newly online Introduction to Sociology classes in midst of a global pandemic. A virtual exhibit was published with a selection of the sociological artworks. It accommodates different learning styles and is an outlet for student’s creativity. The goal was to engage students with class material and sociology in a creative, critical and joyful way. Student’s identify a social problem or topic of their interest, are guided to find sociological peer reviewed literature on it and explore one publication more deeply in a traditional article review. Based on this research they create a piece of art and an artist statement for a virtual exhibit. The art projects are explicitly not limited to visual art and can take any form raging from writing, poetry, spoken word, drama, music, installations, video, media and net art, to all forms of visual art including photography, collages, paintings, drawings, etc. Projects are to inform, educate, entertain, demonstrate creativity, and demonstrate novel ways to apply course concepts. An added benefit is, that we can “show” what we do in Introduction to Sociology classes and promote Sociology as creative and accessible discipline on social media. Students are given the possibility to opt out of the online publication of their work. For examples take a look here at the virtual exhibit from Fall 2020: https://da180826.wixsite.com/mysite.

Applied Social Science as Tools for Change

Andrew R. Smolski, Rebecca Shisler, Abbey E. Piner, Angel Cruz, Emma Brinkmeyer — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0500

Sociology provides important empirical tools for evaluating organizational progress
toward racial equity. In food system work meant to address racial inequality, there is
often an assumption that intent to not be racist translates into equitable consequences.
Yet, there is a distinction between intent and outcome; therefore, one must move
beyond intent to reveal the outcomes and consequences of actions meant to build a
more equitable food system.

This workshop’s central activity introduces one such tool to motivate critical
organizational reflection and a change in action. This tool utilizes content analysis with a
pre-established codebook to assess the framing of three sample project proposals.
Content analysis is a systematic process of analyzing textual data to identify key themes
and processes.

The workshop begins with definitions of key terms: content analysis, qualitative data,
code, and codebook. Next, the facilitator introduces and defines three models for
intervening in the food system: charity, transition, and innovation/ justice. Students will
read a pre-established codebook as homework, then in small groups, students will read
three sample nonprofit food system project proposals and will be assigned one proposal
to “audit” or examine. The facilitator will provide support for students as they analyze the
data and will frame discussions around the activity’s key themes. By the end of the
activity, students will have a basic understanding of how qualitative content analysis can
support programs and indicate progress toward racial equity.

Note: This curriculum was developed by four White-identifying and one White and
Latina-identifying researchers, educators, and food system practitioners.

Using film analysis to apply and evaluate criminological theory

Victoria Kurdyla — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 00:00:00 -0400

While research papers have been an invaluable assignment in sociology and criminology courses, this assignment combines sociological research with film and television analysis to apply criminological theories and concepts. Pelton (2013) argued for using film analysis assignments in upper-level sociological theory courses to alleviate the anxiety students felt when learning theory, increase students’ confidence in writing about theory, and aid in overall theory comprehension. Additionally, film analysis can make theoretical concepts less abstract and more applicable to student’s lives (Pelton 2013). This assignment applies Pelton’s (2013) argument to a Criminological Theory course, building upon the material covered throughout the semester. In this assignment, students select a character within film or television show who is engaged in some form of criminal activity. Instructors can create a pre-approved list for students to choose from or require students to submit a topic of their choice for approval. They are then asked to write a paper in which they explain the character’s behavior using a theoretical perspective covered in class. Utilizing course materials and additional research, students must explain how different tenets of the chosen theory apply to their character’s behavior, why this is the best theory to explain this behavior, and what limitations exist in using this theory to explain the character’s behavior. This assignment is designed to encourage active learning through the development of application and evaluation skills.

Interdisciplinary Methods Exchange: A Joint-Class Guest Speaker Workshop

Bailey Brown, Amber — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0400

This workshop brings scholars in the social sciences together for a 10-week “Interdisciplinary Research Methods Exchange.” Scholars speak to a group of social science undergraduate majors about their current and prior research, highlighting their background, education, methodological challenges, and successes. A series of short writing assignments and optional methods assignment for thesis or capstone classes asks students to reflect on their experiences with the speakers, and a pre- and post-survey helps instructors assess whether learning objectives were met. This workshop functions as an integrated part of the course schedule and aims to expose students to the diversity of research topics, approaches, and methods in the social sciences and to increase interest in and knowledge about social science research careers.

Corrections Close Up - Podcast

Daniela F. Jauk — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 00:00:00 -0400

Sociology majors increasingly seek careers in the criminal justice sector and there is a need for realistic career preparation within sociology departments (Senter 2019) and it is essential to provide online learning opportunities in pandemic times (Kozimor 2020). This activity incorporates a podcast featuring a series of mini-interviews with corrections professionals taped for use in classrooms for Sociology of Corrections, Criminology, and Criminal Justice. The podcast can be accessed freely online or downloaded into podcast apps like ITunes, Stitcher,or similar. The interviews are intended to give students a realistic perspective and accessible account of professional roles and evidence-based practices in institutional and community corrections. The goal is to give vocational guidance for sociology and/or criminal justice majors and to bring the abstract concept of corrections theory to life. The interviews are intentionally short (approx. 20 minutes) and students critically reflect in discussion posts their prior knowledge about the area, their learning experience, and connections to the literature. New interview podcast will be added continuously, per July 2020 following professional roles are represented: Correctional Lieutenant, Inmate Services Supervisor in County Jail, Cognitive Behavior Manager, HR Manager in Community Corrections, Clinical Manager Treatment Services, Residential Program Manager, Administrator Non Residential Programs, Admissions Administrator, Non Residential Program Manager, Drug Court Administrator, Electronic Monitoring Manager, Pretrial Supervision Administrator.

Experiential Learning in Sociology: Exploring the Role of Settler Colonialism in Museum Education

Alyssa Lyons — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Experiential learning helps students apply sociological concepts to the social world (Holtzman & Menning, 2015). This experiential project was developed for an upper-level sociology course exploring global and cross-cultural perspectives on education and society. Using settler colonialism as a theoretical and analytical framework, students conduct auto-ethnography and field-work to understand museums as sites of public education (Glenn, 2015).

“Imagine If…” Applying the Stress Process Model and Building Empathy

Elizabeth Culatta — Tue, 09 May 2023 00:00:00 -0400

This is an in-class group activity to help students understand and apply the Stress Process Model (Turner 2010), often taught in Medical Sociology courses. It also serves to build empathy through discussion and narrative-building by encouraging students to imagine and describe individuals with different levels of personal and social resources. In the Stress Process Model, depicted below in Figure 1, the central through line is that different social characteristics (i.e., socioeconomic status, gender, race/ethnicity) differentially expose individuals to both acute and chronic stressors which leads to specific physical (i.e., allostatic load, cell aging) and mental (i.e., substance use problems, psychological distress) health outcomes. However, and very importantly, the social resources (such as the amount of social support an individual gets from their network) and personal resources (such as sense of control, self-esteem, emotional resilience, and feelings of mattering) that an individual has access to mediates and moderates their stress exposure. In this “Imagine If…” activity, groups are asked to discuss and create a narrative story that illustrates the Stress Process Model using the two provided scenarios (included below, can be adjusted to your student population) as a starting point. Then they are asked to “Imagine if…” an individual has either abundant or minimal social and personal resources and to write out in detail how the scenario might play out.

Teaching Social Mobility Using a Virtual Field Experience that Combines a Podcast with Google Maps

Trenton G Ellis — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 00:00:00 -0400

Combining a podcast episode with Google Maps, this assignment is a virtual field experience designed for learning about social mobility as it manifests in the lives of poor children in the United States. Specifically, the assignment encourages students to evaluate the meritocracy narrative of social class mobility in the U.S. First, students view a short instructor-created YouTube video tutorial on using Google Maps. Second, students access Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast episode “Carlos Doesn’t Remember” via streaming or download. Third, while listening to the podcast, students virtually “walk” (via Google Maps) around the neighborhoods surrounding three schools described by the podcast host. Fourth, students take “photos” (screen grabs) representing perceived inequities between these neighborhoods. Finally, students upload photos and answer a series of discussion questions about key concepts and themes – particularly those related to social mobility and inequality. Limited resources and other factors pose practical challenges to field experiences for sociology students. Fortunately, online tools help instructors facilitate virtual sociological field experiences across various course modalities (online, in-person, synchronous, asynchronous, hybrid, etc.). Podcasts and web mapping software like Google Maps are two such technologies. Due to their accessibility and topical breadth, podcasts are an emerging teaching tool for sociology educators (Prince 2020). Podcasts are digital media, mostly audio, whose stories transport listeners into various social realities. Google Maps is another accessible teaching technology that can virtually place users into three dimensional places around the world, including those found in podcasts (Elliott 2009, Patterson 2007). With Google Maps providing the sights and podcasts furnishing the sounds, sociology assignments can be structured to explore new social realities via virtual field experiences.

Life Still Happens

Zach Rubin — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0500

An update to Dr. Tracy Ore’s “Life Happens” activity (2015), “Life Still Happens” is a class activity designed to illustrate and help students apply the sociological concept of life chances (Weber 1978). Students create or are assigned to “families” tasked with creating a budget that allows them to either survive, or thrive, based on their family income. Each family has a different starting point and is thus affected differently by events as the game progresses. The activity concludes with a class discussion where students compare experiences with the difficulties of creating a budget across different incomes, as well as how they were able to handle life events.

Ethics, Race, and Deception: Analyzing a Historical Medical Study

Deeb Kitchen — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0400

This class activity engages students in a critical exploration of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, a notorious example of unethical medical research. The activity is particularly well-suited for courses on race and ethnicity, research methods, or medical sociology, and it is especially effective in upper-level classes like Race and Ethnic Relations. Prior to the class discussion, students are assigned preparatory readings, including Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener's Tale (Jones 2000) and Field Correction: Race-Based Medicine, Deeply Embedded in Clinical Decision Making, Is Being Scrutinized and Challenged (Dutchen 2021). During the activity, students apply key ethical principles—such as respect for persons, beneficence, justice, non-maleficence, and fidelity and responsibility—within the context of racial and ethnic discrimination in medical research. Group discussions and guided reflections help students analyze the profound ethical breaches committed in this study, including the deliberate deception of African American participants and the withholding of effective treatment. The activity emphasizes the historical context and its impact on contemporary ethical standards, particularly concerning research involving marginalized communities. Following the activity, students watch The Problem with Race-Based Medicine (Roberts 2015) to further deepen their understanding of how these issues continue to influence medical practice today.

Stats Through Superheroes: Teaching Basic Statistical Tests Using Data From The Marvel Universe

Zach Rubin — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 00:00:00 -0500

This is a brief lesson on how to run basic statistical tests using data originally gathered from the Marvel Comics Wikia page. Students are introduced to three important tools in statistics: a descriptive table, a contingency table, and a regression. It is designed to be a simple introduction to how social scientists use statistics to better understand the world, complete with observations about long-standing gender inequalities in superhero comic books and movies.

The Teenage Bill of Rights

Jaclyn Tabor — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

This resource uses the documentary Teenage (Matt Wolf, 2013) and the New York Times “Teenage Bill of Rights” (1945) to help students analyze adolescence as a socially constructed life stage. Students watch the film in class with two structured pause points for pairs/small-group discussion, then examine the 1945 “Bill of Rights” as a historical artifact that reflects adult anxieties, institutional control, and shifting definitions of youth. Students complete an in-class draft checkpoint (three rights with annotations) and then create an updated “Teenage Bill of Rights” for today: ten rights written in public-facing language, each with a brief sociological rationale supported by course concepts and evidence. A post-submission synthesis discussion emphasizes continuity and change between 1945 and today. The activity builds students’ ability to connect sociological theory to real-world youth issues, analyze institutional power, and communicate sociological insight in an accessible format.

Issues in Science and Technology Studies

Shiv Issar — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Science and Technology Studies (STS) represents an interdisciplinary nexus of various academic disciplines. As a field, STS offers excellent tools to not only examine, but also help improve the troubled and ever-evolving relationships between society, the environment, and advancements in science and technology. Examples of these relationships could include the ways in which black-boxed algorithmic decision making impacts our lives in different ways, or what it would mean think about the “culture” of scientific research in a particular industry. This foundational course highlights particular issues within the realm of STS, privileging the meticulous analysis of selected case studies. These case studies will be presented to the cohort via a series of documentary films. Prior to delving into each week’s documentary, students will be oriented by lectures encapsulating pertinent theoretical frameworks and methodologies endemic to STS. These didactic sessions are further enriched by a set of guiding questions, crafted to incite both discussion and exploratory learning, reflecting the core ethos of 'making and doing' intrinsic to STS. These lectures would be explored through a series of focal questions that are intended to stimulate discussion and a sense of discovery alike, as the idea of “making and doing” lies at the heart of STS.

A Resume Assignment Highlighting Experiences and Skills of Sociology Students

Mary Virnoche — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 00:00:00 -0400

This submission includes resume assignment details and resources used in a required, one-unit Sociology Professional Development Seminar. This submission includes a rubric to support development of the resume as well as the (peer) review process. The rubric emphasizes expectations for including Sociology skills. I also include a sample resume that is a composite of common skills and experiences found on resumes of Sociology and Criminology & Justice Studies majors in our Department. We put a great deal of emphasis on the resume or CV for students planning graduate education. Once students have a solid resume, they can use it to support construction of other professional materials like cover letters and portfolios of their work, as well as thinking about and practicing evidence-based responses to typical interview questions.

Teaching about ‘Racialized Space’ on Campus

Reginald Byron — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Recent scholarship urges us to examine the physical and social spaces at universities including their historic statues, building portraits, and meeting spaces because these purported colorblind environments are often saturated with racialized meaning. This class activity enables students to make connections between race and space on their own campuses. After a 25-minute class lecture defining ‘racialized space’ and offering various examples of this concept, students are sent to pre-selected areas of campus to take note of the physical spaces and observe the social activity in those spaces using a critical lens (for 35 minutes; including 15 minutes of travel time and 20 minutes of observation/reflection). While observing these spaces, students are tasked with completing a worksheet that asks them to think about the design of these physical spaces as well as how members of different racial/ethnic demographics are engaging within them. When students return to class, they are invited into a larger 25-minute discussion of the patterns that each group noticed and are required to turn in their worksheets. Student learning is assessed via the completed worksheet, a two-point multiple-choice question on an exam, and a ten-point short answer question on an exam.

Listening to Podcasts for Class: Tips for Success

Gregory Kordsmeier; Jamie Oslawski-Lopez — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Assigning podcasts to your classes can be a great way to create a compelling assignment that most students will complete (Oslawski-Lopez and Kordsmeier 2021). At the same time, however, many students, when encountering podcasts in the classroom for the first time, interact with the podcasts in the same way they interact with podcasts in their everyday lives. This can lead to them missing key information contained within the podcast. This short lecture and optional exercise offer students an introduction to the best practices for listening to podcasts for class, through the lens of Goffmanian theory.

Analyzing Social Stratification and Inequality in The Hunger Games (2012) Film: Presentation and Reflection Assignment

Jamie Oslawski-Lopez — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 00:00:00 -0400

I utilize the film The Hunger Games (2012) in my upper-level, Social Stratification course to engage students, help students understand course material, provide an opportunity for students to practice using their sociological imaginations, and develop students' critical thinking skills (DeAngelis and Clark-Ibáñez 2008; Laz 2020; Walker 2020). The Hunger Games is a dystopian, science fiction story written by Collins (2008). The story is set in the fictional world of Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts, each home to different industry (i.e., fishing, agriculture, lumber, power, etc.) and wealth. President Snow and other Capitol residents live and eat lavishly while residents of the districts struggle to get by. The film’s action centers around “The Hunger Games,” which run annually, reaping one boy and one girl from each district to fight to their death as a punishment for the districts’ failed rebellion against the Capitol. As Laz (2020:55) noted, modern science fiction is more expansive than that of the past and includes “new themes of gender, sexuality, politics, and religion.” These themes are among those evident in The Hunger Games. Science fiction themes can be analyzed sociologically, connected to other sociological work, and lend themselves to various courses (Laz 2020; Walker 2020). To complete the assignment, students work either individually or in groups. First, they choose their preferred question from the assignment and view the film. Students then prepare 10 to 15-minute presentations in which they define sociological concepts, analyze the social world depicted in The Hunger Games, connect the fictional world of the film to the “real” world, and use ASA Style to cite and reference sources. Lastly, students assess their learning and reflect on their experiences.

Teaching Research Interviewing through Analyzing Celebrity Interviewing in Hot Ones

Michael Ohsfeldt, M.J. Vickers — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

This resource contains a multi-step, iterative assignment with an in-class content analysis activity followed by an out-of-class repetition of the same activity. To increase students’ engagement with the material, the assignment focuses on a celebrity interview on an episode of Hot Ones. Rather than viewing the interview as pure entertainment, students are taught to analyze it through the lens of sociological semi-structured interviewing. For each round of the activity, students complete a worksheet with questions about the structure, dynamics, and content of the Hot Ones interview. The completion of these worksheets is paired with in-class discussion about research methods and the episodes used for students’ content analysis. By comparing, analyzing, and discussing the interview process between celebrity and research interviewing through content analysis and discussion, students become more aware and critical of what interviewing entails. Additionally, students will build confidence in and prepare for conducting and analyzing interviews in their future careers or entertainment. As such, this resource is intended to support initial introductions to the basics of sociological methods. Interviewing is an essential methodology to social sciences, beyond just sociology, which involves skills and techniques that are useful throughout social and professional life and interaction. Although the core task of interviewing - asking questions on a topic and then analyzing the answers - may initially seem deceptively simple, the first time a student is asked to actually conduct an interview can be an imposing endeavor. To make interviewing more approachable for students, this aid combines content analysis of a popular interview series to teach the method with a worksheet and in-class discussion, which provides a way for students to immediately apply their methodological knowledge and be assessed for their inaugural steps into qualitative methodology.

Report of the ASA Task Force on First-Generation and Working-Class People in Sociology

José Muñoz, Allison Hurst, Wendi Johnson — Sat, 12 Aug 2023 00:00:00 -0400

The ASA Task Force on First Generation and Working Class Persons in Sociology national study provides timely and valuable insight into potential solutions to meet the needs of these populations. The Task Force completed an extensive mixed method study which combined data from focus groups conducted in 2018 with a 2019 random survey of ASA membership.is accessible and thought-provoking. The report itself could be used in a variety undergraduate and graduate course and can motivate future research coalescing around themes of mobility, educational disparity, social inequality, and the sense of belonging in higher educational settings. The report can be used in a variety of courses where students could be assigned visual and “quantitative literacy” skills development assignments.

Global Social Problems

Danielle MacCartney — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 00:00:00 -0400

This social problems syllabus includes readings and film suggestions for a global, cross-cultural, or comparative social problems course. The topics included are fairly standard for any social problems course – race, class, gender, crime, environment, and so on. This syllabus also provides an opportunity to teach students about international human rights or the sustainable development goals as part of defining and discussing social problems in a comparative international context. The readings are drawn from the Encyclopedia of Global Issues, United Nations documents, and academic journals. Many of them provide information on the social problem in multiple countries or document the sentiments of the global community (e.g., international laws, norms, or practices).

Practicing Ethnography with Visual Media: A Step-by-Step Assignment Using Downtown Abbey

Michel Estefan — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This applied exercise introduces students to the practice of ethnographic analysis through close observation of visual media. Using Downton Abbey as a case study, students learn to produce rich, reflexive field notes, code their observations into central sociological themes and patterns, and transform descriptive detail into analytic writing. By guiding students step-by-step—from handwritten notes to coding, descriptive writing, analytic interpretation, and reflection—the assignment demystifies the craft of ethnography and gives students hands-on experience with a method that is central to sociology.

Zoning, Gentrification, and Affordable Housing: A Classroom Simulation and Set of Assignments

Bryant Crubaugh — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0400

In this simulation, students work through the legislative process of rezoning a part of a nearby city and grapple with their decision’s impact on gentrification and the provision of affordable housing. The resource provides a specific example in Long Beach, CA using a documentary, zoning maps, and specific proposals based on that location, but the general framework and additional resources can be used to adapt this to other locations.

The Measurement Zone: A Lecture/Activity Exploring Validity, Precision, Reliability and Accuracy

Judith A Linneman — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 00:00:00 -0400

This entertaining and engaging lecture/activity takes students along on their flu-stricken instructor’s fever-induced nightmare visit to “The Measurement Zone.” The instructor needs to test his/her/their body temperature for fever, and then take a dose of fever-reducing medication based on body weight, but in “The Zone,” taking measures such as body temperature, body weight and volume of the medication is strangely altered. Conventional measurement devices have been replaced with humorous or inappropriate substitutes which highlight the criteria for measurement quality (face validity, precision and reliability), and their relation to measurement accuracy. As the instructor encounters each measurement tool, students participate by rating its validity, precision and reliability on a rating sheet. To receive the most benefit from this lecture/activity, a number of props are used, some of which are common household items, and others that need to be created using simple and inexpensive materials.

Class Activity: Analyzing Residential Racial Segregation Using Census Data and an Interactive Map

Elizabeth Klainot-Hess — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0400

In this classroom activity students will use an interactive map based on 2020 Census data to identify and analyze residential racial segregation across the United States. Using the black-white dissimilarity index, students will describe and analyze residential segregation in their local metropolitan area, as well as cities in different regions of the country, and compare them. Students will apply the things that they learned in class readings, documentaries, and/or lectures to their findings to analyze why segregation varies across metropolitan areas, what contributes to high levels of segregation, and the consequences of racial segregation. A suggested documentary and readings are provided. This activity teaches students how to access, use, describe, and analyze segregation data, and reinforces what they are learning about racial inequality and racial residential segregation in class.

Using virtual mapping to learn about the community

Julia Waity, Jennifer Vanderminden, Jack Resnick — Tue, 09 May 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Codification of observed activity and physical data is a valuable skill for any emergent social scientist; one method to achieve this is data-driven community mapping. However, mapping as a method can often be overwhelming and challenging to students who have so far only dealt in the theoretical and the observed. We as educators can anticipate this by providing an applied opportunity for students to practice these skills and investigate an area that is both familiar and relevant to their previous experiences. While there are several limitations to physical mapping both within accessibility and safety within times of intense disruption, this can be countered through the intervention of community-engaged research within a virtually delivered environment.

The digitally based activity described within this resource was initially used in conjunction with a 200-level Introduction to Applied Research course and a 300-level Social Research Methods course to aid students in perception and codification of themes around social determinants of crime within their geographic vicinity. This method can be adapted for various lessons of sociological and criminological relevance. This learning activity provides students with a hands-on approach to community-based mapping in virtual/digital environment. Students learn how to collect data, create research questions, structure an initial coding system for physical data, and use that system to code within their community. They have the opportunity to explore these areas and investigate and hypothesize physical characteristics related to crime through Google Earth imagery. This activity encourages students to apply their learned methodology and sociological reasoning to locally relevant social issues and will empower them with the ability to assess sociological learning at a local level critically.

Exploring the Relativity of Deviance

Laura Kane, Elizabeth Pike — Wed, 19 May 2021 00:00:00 -0400

Students in Criminology courses are familiar with positivist theories of crime that assume the behavior is wrong and attempt to provide explanations for that behavior. This Social Deviance and Social Control course is required for both Sociology and Criminology majors and attempts to broaden students’ horizons regarding understanding why one might act deviantly, have deviant opinions, and have deviant conditions. Explaining the socially constructed nature of deviance is a major outcome for the course, particularly as one cannot explain a deviant condition (e.g., a disability with which one is born) through positive explanations of behavior. The first homework of the semester allows students to conduct research on what/who their friends believe is deviant, compare those answers to those of classmates, compare those answers to a 1960s survey to document change, and finally explore how one social institution, the media, impacts our understanding of what is deviant. The assignment described below includes a homework assignment outside of class, classroom discussion, and a listening experience to a podcast episode about vaccines (with accompanying transcript) with more class discussion. The wrap up of the assignment sets up students to be excited to explore the socially constructed nature of deviance in many topics in the weeks to come.

Situated Knowledge: Moving Beyond the Objectivity/Subjectivity Binary

Marion Cassard — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0400

This activity provides students with a hands-on experience of situated knowledge, demonstrating how knowledge is shaped by perspective and positionality rather than fitting neatly into the objectivity/subjectivity binary. Using physical barriers representing social identities (e.g., race, gender, class, nationality), students observe and describe objects placed on a table, each seeing only a partial selection depending on their vantage point. This exercise highlights how even attempts at "objective" observation are inevitably shaped by positional constraints. Through guided discussion and reflection, students challenge the dichotomy between objective (neutral, universal) and subjective (personal, biased). Instead, they engage with situated knowledge as a framework that acknowledges how social position, power, and privilege shape what is seen, known, and validated as knowledge. By applying this concept to sociological inquiry, students develop a critical awareness of how power relations influence knowledge production, whose perspectives are prioritized, and how claims of objectivity can reinforce existing social hierarchies.

Gender Markers in Adult Halloween Costumes

Jennifer Lynn Keys — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 00:00:00 -0400

This activity is designed to help students learn more about gendered socialization practices by engaging them in a systematic coding and analysis of gender markers in adult Halloween costumes.

Brown v. Board Of Education and American Schools:Educational Impacts of Segregation, Desegregation, Integration, Resegregation

Gary Orfield — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The prevailing pattern of American schooling has been one of deep separation of students by race and class, either through exclusion of some groups from school or through education in separate schools. Though the first 165 years under the constitution, the exclusion or separation of black students from whites was explicit and mandatory under the laws of the states where a large majority of blacks resided. Exclusion or separation of Latino and American Indian students were also widely practiced and permissible under state law in many regions. To reconcile these and other segregationist practices with the mandate of the civil rights amendments to the constitution, particularly the "equal protection of the laws" provision of the fourteenth amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court promulgated the doctrine of "separate but equal" in 1896 and it was the law of the land for the next 58 years. Seventeen states and Washington, DC. operated their public schools under legally mandated segregation and practices and policies that produced very high levels of segregation were the norm in most cities after the black exodus from the south began during World War I. Nineteen states operated separate public colleges for black students. This year-long research seminar will be devoted to exploring the results of more than a half century of struggle over whether to change the traditional pattern of racial isolation of minority students in schools.

Find the Funnels: Deconstructing Literature Reviews

Kyla Walters — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 00:00:00 -0400

Literature reviews often resemble funnels. They begin with a broad theoretical frame and gradually narrow towards specific concepts about which the author/s systematically inquire. Students need to understand the composition of a literature review before they tackle crafting one. Annotating scholarly works and then deconstructing the literature reviews, using peer-reviewed journal articles, facilitates this learning process. This assignment has two parts. First, students annotate at least two scholarly articles within one subfield. Second, students reread the literature review sections of these articles. They reverse outline each paragraph, sketch a concept map illustrating the funnel in each piece, and produce written descriptions and comparisons of the funnels they found.

Seeing Sociology v. 2 (Updated 2017)

Stephanie Medley-Rath — Tue, 29 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0400

This is an updated and revised version of Seeing Sociology (Medley-Rath 2013). In this update, I have revised the instructions so that they are better organized with greater clarification to increase ease of use by instructors and students. In this update, I have changed the assignment to a group project as opposed to an individual assignment and include an option for sharing the photos/captions with the class. The grading rubric has also undergone substantial revision and includes options for peer and self-assessment. The instructor's notes include more tips based on several years of using the previous version of the assignment and this revision. The assignment uses visual pedagogy and now includes a lengthy reference section of other examples of visual pedagogy in sociology and beyond the field. Seeing Sociology v. 2 (Updated 2017) requires students to work in groups of four and make 20 photos with Tweetable captions illustrating concepts from the course. The assignment is suitable for Introduction to Sociology and Social Problems, but could also work in other sociology courses. Major goals of the assignment include getting students to see sociology in their everyday lives and to improve sociological communication and visual literacy among students.

Photo (Visual) Essay of Social Problems

Matt Reid — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 00:00:00 -0500

For this major experiential learning project, students are tasked with creating a photo essay (or an essay which uses some other form of imagery) to illustrate and explicate a social problem in our society. Students are free to pick whatever social problem they want for the assignment and are encourage to be as creative and ambitious as possible. The major elements of this project include: (1) A cover page with the student’s name and a title of the project; (2) A total of 6 original images- any mixture of photos, drawings, and any other images- which the student produced themselves; (3) A total of 6 explanations (captions) to accompany each image utilizing proper sources and citations; and (4) A brief written explanation the project where the student discusses their experiences capturing/producing the images. This photo essay is unique to TRAILS in that it requires an individual student to use multiple original images to form a cohesive narrative surrounding a select social problem.

Intersectional Monopoly

Brianna Turgeon, Sarah Donley — Tue, 09 May 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Monopoly simulations are widely used in sociology classrooms to illustrate social inequality. These simulations have been critiqued as being one-dimensional and focusing too much on social class. Alternatively, scholars have developed Monopoly simulations that illustrate racial inequality, gender inequality, deviance, and intersectional experiences. Despite these improvements, Monopoly simulations conceptualize gender as a binary, focus solely on race, class, and gender, and do not include other intersectional identities. This simulation, Intersectional Monopoly, conceptualizes gender beyond the binary and includes more intersectional statuses such as disability, sexuality, immigration status, age, and religion. The purpose of the Intersectional Monopoly simulation is to educate students about intersectionality. Many students have both privileged and oppressed identities that lead them to better understand the experiences of some marginalized groups over others. Through this simulation, we hope that students will have a better understanding of a variety of sources of inequality, ways that inequalities intersect, and how this shapes individual experiences and life chances. This simulation will provide an immersive experience that not only “tells” students about inequality, but also “shows” them simulated experiences that are informed by real world data.

Fake News or Genuine Article? Evaluating News Media Claims Using Bivariate Analyses in SPSS

Samuel Aaron Torres — Mon, 04 Dec 2017 00:00:00 -0500

Although learning objectives for social statistics courses typically include informed consumption of everyday statistical claims, students are rarely provided explicit opportunities to practice this skill. This is unfortunate because the journalistic accounts to which students are regularly exposed through news or social media vary widely in their citation and evidence documentation practices. Even when author or commentator statements are readily verifiable using publicly available data, these accounts occasionally fail to provide or severely distort such evidence (Orcutt & Turner, 1993). This assignment allows students to identify and evaluate claims presented in online news media sources using articles and variables of their choosing. In doing so, students are required to weigh the quality of the evidence presented in their articles, carry out the statistical analyses appropriate for the levels of measurement of their variables, and consider how they would communicate the implications of their analyses to an audience with a journalism background. The assignment assumes student accessibility to SPSS statistical software and is envisioned as an in-class activity for students to complete in small groups, but could potentially serve as a homework or extra credit assignment for students to complete individually. Reference: Orcutt, James D. and J. Blake Turner. 1993. "Shocking Numbers and Graphic Accounts: Quantified Images of Drug Problems in the Print Media." Social Problems 40(2): 190-206.

Group Presentation of a Social Problem: Modification and Adaptation of Matt Reid’s Photo (Visual) Essay of Social Problems

Laura Krull — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0500

Working in instructor-assigned groups, students collaborate to produce an 8-10 minute presentation in which they use images to present a social problem. The students have previously completed individual photo essays, and now they must synthesize their individual work into a coherent presentation about a broader social problem reflected in each of their projects. The major components are a visual aide including at least four images accompanied by an oral presentation to the class. This assignment builds on Matt Reid’s assignment, Photo (Visual) Essay of Social Problems (#12976) by offering a group component and by providing students the opportunity to teach their classmates about their social problem.

Seeing with Machines: A Reflexive Ethnography of AI Systems in Everyday Life

Tamanna Shah — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Students conduct a reflexive ethnography of their everyday AI interactions, keeping field notes and analyzing how AI shapes perception, behavior, and identity. Instead of being passive users, it challenges students to reveal the invisible processes shaping their digital lives and fosters awareness of data collection, algorithmic decision-making, and social classification.

Teaching Healthcare Students How to Think Sociologically

Danielle M Giffort — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 00:00:00 -0500

This in-class activity and assignment builds on Adam’s (2010) exercise on the differences between sociological and non-sociological explanations for human behavior but with a focus on healthcare students. As sociology becomes increasingly integrated into the curriculum of healthcare education, it is important to develop strategies for teaching the relevance of sociology for the future careers of healthcare students. Healthcare students are already familiar with the general concept of medication adherence; however, they have most likely not been encouraged to consider the behavior from a sociological perspective. This activity asks students to generate sociological and nonsociological explanations for medication-taking behaviors and to consider the implications of these explanations for their future interactions with patients.

Theoretical Script Writing: A creative project for social theory courses

Ellen Meiser — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0400

“Theoretical Script Writing” is a final assignment for undergraduate sociological theory courses that encourages the application of concepts learned over the course of a semester to modern day social issues using students’ creativity. Upon learning about foundational theorists, students are asked to select four figures, then write a script where these individuals hypothetically converge at a café, sip coffee, and discuss a social phenomenon. Through this imaginative exercise, students expand their understanding of the chosen phenomenon through the lens of each unique theorist. This activity can be used in in-person and online courses alike.

Introduction to Native Land and Indigenous Peoples

Jimiliz Valiente-Neighbours — Tue, 09 May 2023 00:00:00 -0400

Recently, land or territory acknowledgements have become more common during formal events and on their websites. Students in K-12 and higher education institutions, however, may not yet be familiar with why the practice is done, much less the concept of native land. This assignment’s purpose is twofold: (a) it introduces students to become more aware of what has largely been made invisible on our maps and by colonization and urban planning, and (b) to invite students to link what happens to the land with what happens to people and their culture.

Feminist History in Waves Activity

Tal Peretz — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0400

In this activity, students research and share moments of women’s history, create a timeline on the board, then work together to draw patterns out of the historical timeline, performing a basic version of historiograpy. By laying out a thorough, if haphazard, history of women, they get to see history visually and place important events in context. Themes discussed include the primary foci of the three waves of feminism, the reasons for movement abeyence periods, the relationship between social movements and social structure, the process of historiography and knowledge production, and the process of large-scale, long-term social change in response to social movements. Providing a framework, visual aid, personal connection to some part of history, and opportunity to create their own "story" of history by historicizing events can help them with this. It can also help them understand the process of social change over time, and give context to gendered rights that they may take for granted.

CAPSTONE SENIOR SEMINAR IN SOCIOLOGY AT THE NATION’S FIRST HBCU

Lynn H Green — Sun, 08 Nov 2015 00:00:00 -0500

As the required capstone course for Social Relations majors concentrating in Sociology, the Senior Seminar at Cheyney University seeks to integrate academic knowledge, professional skills and students’ personal aspirations. The Seminar is conducted as a series of professional workshops, where students share their challenges, struggles and success in the process of completing a 6-10 page research paper. Students also collaborate in their efforts to obtain a "first professional" job (typically sought in the non-profit/public sector) identifying professional opportunities, selecting a real job description, preparing the necessary materials and acquiring the professional skills required for a successful job search. The class meets once a week for 2½ hours using face-to-face time to enhance learning outcomes through class discussion, small group interaction, spontaneous writing, mock interviews, supportive criticism and affirmation of accomplishments as students prepare to put their academic knowledge and skills into professional action. The Senior Seminar in Sociology is required for the Sociology Concentrators in the Social Relations degree and is taught every fall semester. Criminal Justice and Psychology majors may also take this capstone course. Since 2009, enrollment has fluctuated around 20 students per section in past years.

Zombie Sociology

Sheri-Lynn Kurisu — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Zombie Sociology invites students to exercise their sociological imaginations by using the lens of a zombie apocalypse to critically examine social institutions and social structures.

In the last decade, zombies have invaded popular culture, evidenced by the success of TV shows, movies, and comics in the zombie genre. This course leverages the collective interest in zombies as a tool to explore social institutions and social structures. Social institutions are often most visible when they are not functioning properly. Using the zombie apocalypse as a backdrop allows students to analyze primary social institutions (e.g., family, economics, religion, education, healthcare, media, the state) and the ways inequality and oppression are reproduced. This, in turn, helps students to understand the underlying causes of inequality in the real world.

Each module pairs a sociological concept with a piece of zombie corpus and an example of the concept in real life. This course uses a variety of media to engage students with zombie sociology, including graphic novels, fiction texts, movies, TV shows, and video games. By immersing students in diverse and interactive content, the course fosters a deeper understanding of sociological theories and their practical applications. Students will not only gain insights into the fictional world of zombies but also develop critical thinking skills and a nuanced perspective on real-world social issues.

Using "The Game of Life" as an End-of-Semester Assessment

Jeanne Holcomb — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 00:00:00 -0400

This activity uses of the "The Game of Life" as an end-of-semester assessment in a Marriages and Families course. Students play the board game "The Game of Life," produced by Milton Bradley, and respond to prompts asking them to analyze assumptions that the game makes about family life, connecting the game with material covered throughout the course. Specifically, students are asked to identify five assumptions the game makes, assess the accuracy of those assumptions (based on course content), and to make suggestions for revisions to the game so that it better reflects contemporary family experiences. Feedback from students regarding the use of this activity as an end-of-semester assessment has been overwhelmingly positive. Results from student surveys indicate that the assignment meets both assignment and course objectives, and qualitative analysis of written comments indicates that students find the assignment prevented cramming, believe that the assignment helped them make meaningful connections between class material and the real world, and had fun while learning. The activity also fits with current research within the scholarship of teaching and learning, including a focus on active learning, permitting multiple correct answers, and the impact of stress on learning.

Gender Bingo

Will LeSuer — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 00:00:00 -0400

The objective of this classroom activity is to assess and reinforce basic concepts and terminology relating to gender through an interactive game: gender bingo. The bingo game is set up where instructors read definitions aloud and students match them to the new vocabulary word on a 5x5 bingo sheet. This activity includes an Excel file that generates four random bingo boards at a time with customizable bingo cells. The activities can be tailored to various student levels and teaching goals.

Adapted Resource to Complement Gender Bingo: Pre and Post Reflections to Optimize Classroom Dynamics and Gender Understandings in the Classroom

Emily M. Medley — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 00:00:00 -0400

This is an adapted resource to complement the Gender Bingo Game. This Pre- and Post- Gender Reflection Bundle is designed to let students document baselines of knowledge before and after approaching the gender topic from a sociological perspective and before testing knowledge about gender using the Gender Bingo Game. The worksheet for the pre-assessment provides a quick in-class tool for documenting this baseline and is graded pass/fail only. The Post-Reflection is a higher-stakes assignment whereby students take more time to reflect and write about their new understandings about gender after engaging with class readings, participating in classroom discussion, and playing the Gender Bingo Game.

Information literacy and the marshmallow test in the replication crisis

Colby King — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0500

Through this set of materials students will engage with a variety of sources discussing the marshmallow test and the replication crisis in the social sciences, including primary research, public scholarship, and secondary sources including videos and an optional podcast. After working with the materials, students will practice critical thinking as they identify the type of sources of information, and assess the credibility of various sources of information. They will also synthesize the information they gather from these sources and summarize their understanding of the state of research on the marshmallow test and scholarship on the relationship between delayed gratification and later academic success. This assignment will encourage students to reflect on the characteristics of various types of sources of information, how these relate to a sources credibility. The assignment also encourages students to reflect on how sociological research examines the marshmallow test in a different way than psychological research might. Students will write a paper, broken down into smaller parts, and instructors are encouraged to hold a class discussion with students after their papers are completed to debrief and digest what they have learned. Image Credit: "Marshmallows" by SliceOfChic is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Research Methods Jeopardy

Mikaila Mariel Lemonik Arthur — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0400

This resource is a PowerPoint file containing a Jeopardy game used as final exam review in a research methods course focusing on planning a research project and collecting data. The PowerPoint is based on a blank Jeopardy template available online that has been completed with research methods course concepts and modified to improve its utility.

Conferred Dominance in the Built Environment- A Campus Accessibility Activity

Chelsea A Platt — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 00:00:00 -0400

This activity builds on Peggy McIntosh’s discussion and reflection on privilege through interactive learning. The concept of “privilege” is a foundational term to understand power and the reproduction of social inequalities for introductory and lower level sociology courses. Many activities have been developed to illustrate the effect of privilege to students ranging from reviewing privilege lists to personal reflections on privileged and marginalized identity categories. While a focus on individual identity is an effective way to think about individual experiences of advantage and disadvantage, it is often challenging for students to understand how privilege is also structural and systemic not just something they experience individually. In this activity, students examine various spaces on the university campus to illustrate how able body privilege is reproduced through the design and function of various spaces. McIntosh describes conferred dominance as a form of privilege that gives power or control over a group. Conferred dominance helps explain why systems of privilege are persistent and reproduced through interaction. This activity illustrates the ways in which privilege is embedded in social structures and organizations and also confers dominance through the design of spaces. While the activity focuses on physical ability privilege, instructors can apply the activity to illustrate how other forms of privilege are also reproduced through the organization and structure of society.

Metropolitan Area Characteristics and Residential Segregation Using American FactFinder

Colleen Elizabeth Wynn — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 00:00:00 -0400

This paper assignment teaches students how to use American FactFinder from the U.S. Census Bureau to examine data on two comparably sized metropolitan areas. Students extract data from the 2014 5-year American Community Survey (ACS). Students also apply urban theories and recent research from course readings to theorize about residential segregation similarities and differences between their metropolitan areas using sociodemographic data from FactFinder. Dissimilarity scores are provided to students from the Longitudinal Tract Database (LTDB). Urban sociologists commonly study residential segregation within and between metropolitan areas by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and nativity. This assignment offers students a chance to practice applying these findings and discussing other possible place-based explanations for segregation.

Sociology 312 History of Sociology Syllabus (Contributions to the Discipline of the "Voices" from Below)

Jack Edwin Niemonen — Thu, 11 May 2017 00:00:00 -0400

This course is taught as a history of black sociology—giving "voice" to neglected thinkers and offering a different perspective on icons such as Martin Luther King, Jr. In other words, it examines the viewpoints of black theorists and activists, and it explains how they link theory to practice in the quest for a more just world. Specifically, this course introduces students to the founding fathers of sociology from a minority perspective, specifically: W.E.B. Du Bois, as epitomized by The Souls of Black Folk; E. Franklin Frazier, as epitomized by The Black Bourgeoisie; and Oliver C. Cox, as epitomized by Caste, Class, and Race. With the exception of Du Bois, who has been "rediscovered" recently, these seminal thinkers are not discussed much in courses today. Indeed, Oliver C. Cox was excluded from the Academy in his own time, in part because of his Marxist-influenced ideas. Then, the following individuals who represent a range of perspectives have been selected for intensive study: Martin Luther King, Jr.; Kwame Ture and Charles V. Hamilton; Malcolm X; James Boggs (along with Grace Lee Boggs); Frantz Fanon; and Amilcar Cabral. All of these authors stress the consequences of structures of oppression for black identity and the struggle to achieve equality. The intent of the course is to identify" generative themes" (as per Paulo Friere, Pedagogy of the Oppressed) and connect the sociologies of seminal black thinkers to the problem of changing the world—for example, as shown in the evolution from the assimilationist implications of Martin Luther King, Jr., to the much more radical and transformative possibilities of James Boggs and Amilcar Cabral. In this context, primary objectives will include identifying the relationship between theory and practice in the construction of views "from below," and delineating how these views have contributed to the development of the discipline of sociology.

Syllabus for (Online) Social Research Methods with Discussions

Riku Kawaguchi — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 00:00:00 -0400

This syllabus is for a social research methods course that emphasizes discussions, primarily designed for a fully online, short 5-week semester. This resource may be helpful in designing an online methods course or incorporating discussions into a methods course. There are two primary goals of this course. First, students will engage in active discussions in order to help them gain a deeper understanding of methods and consider how methods are related to their everyday life. Second, students will practice research skills by completing hands-on activities on data analysis. This course also utilizes an open-source textbook that students can freely access along with other essays and empirical readings. This submission includes a copy of the syllabus and an overview document with sample discussion questions and notes on adapting this syllabus as a full-semester online course and as a face-to-face course.

Sociological Perspectives Active Learning Assignment

Jennifer McSpadden — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 00:00:00 -0500

Teaching the three major sociological perspectives in an introductory course can be challenging. The perspectives can be difficult for students to understand, but applying the perspectives to concrete examples can help clarify them. This active learning exercise gives students the opportunity to apply the perspectives to some familiar and interesting social phenomena. Students work in small groups and first find some data relevant to one of seven different contemporary topics using their phones. They then answer questions on their topic from the Conflict, Functionalist, and Symbolic Interactionist perspectives. The topics include: Tattoos, Death and Dying, Engagement Rings, the Super Bowl, Concerts, Social Media, and Marijuana Usage. Sample answers for each topic are included with this activity. This active learning exercise has been used in ten Introduction to Sociology classes at a community college in the second or third week of the semester. The classes were small, with each capped at 25 students. This exercise challenges students to engage with the course early in the semester, although it could also be used at other times. When conducted at the start of the semester, it sets a high expectation for the frequency and quality of student contributions.

Edited Book Project in Classical Sociological Theory

Devrim Adam Yavuz — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 00:00:00 -0400

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 volume on a topic of their choice (within set parameters) by finding four journal articles written from different sociological traditions* covered during the semester to constitute its chapters. Students then write the book’s "introduction" in which they discuss each "chapter’s" contribution to advancing our understanding of the topic and the field of sociology. The instructional goal of the assignment is threefold. First, it draws on the literature that takes writing as a useful tool to engage concepts and ideas in order to help students tackle complex sociological theories and readings. Second, by compelling students to identify articles written from specific traditions, it seeks to enhance their knowledge of different sociological currents and also makes searching academic databases more proactive by touching on some of the skill sets researchers develop in the practice of their profession. Finally, the project seeks to identify an audience and aims for a more professional form of writing, which makes the endeavor more clearly defined and which affords a final product that students can take ownership of when compared to standard review assignments intended solely for the instructor. Overall, the fact that it touches on several skill sets, has helped make the theory class a more integral part of achieving the department’s learning outcomes by reinforcing certain skills such as information literacy and knowledge of sociological concepts and debates. The assignment can be adapted to other sociology courses by calling on students to edit a book specific to that field. *Durkheim, Marx, Weber, and Adam Smith

Teaching About Police Violence with Open Source Police Shootings Data and Census Data

Reginald A Byron — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 00:00:00 -0500

Given a larger push for developing quantitative literacy among undergraduates, the field of sociology has recently advocated that professors integrate data analysis and mathematical skills into their substantive courses (Howry and Rodriguez 2006; Wilder 2009). This class assignment allows students to gain personal experience working with open source police shootings data and Census data. Because of the re-politicization of students on U.S. college campuses (Higher Education Research Institute 2016) and increased media coverage of police shootings of unarmed people (McLaughlin 2015), investigating this contemporary topic may be of particular interest to students. Using Microsoft Excel, students in an introductory level Criminology class are taught how to code data, add Census data, run univariate and simple bivariate (correlational) analyses, and demonstrate their sociological interpretations of these analyses attending to specific questions. Such quantitative data exercises have been shown to statistically increase quantitative literacy and critical thinking skills among students (Burdette and McLoughlin 2010). This assignment is unique because it requires students to merge topical publicly available data sources and it enhances their knowledge of about police violence through a hands-on exposure to data and relevant criminology literature. Student learning was assessed by receiving the completed data, a short answer question on an exam, and an empirically informed final paper. Student engagement was assessed via feedback on course evaluations.

Planning "Real Utopias" through Federal Spending

Kyla Walters — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 00:00:00 -0400

The late sociologist Erik Olin Wright’s work on "real utopias" highlights actualized examples of social transformation. In this class activity, the concept of real utopias offers students a way to creatively envision how emancipatory alternatives might abound. This in-class activity introduces the concept of real utopias through a hands-one activity that focuses on federal spending – a key form of centralized resource distribution. Students move through a series of hands-on individual and group tasks involving creative application of conceptual material and effective communication skills. The assignment features a low-stakes group presentation so that students gain public speaking experience while minimizing performance anxiety. To begin, students learn that the U.S. federal government’s budget includes revenues and expenditures. The latter constitute the government’s actions to set its priorities and support (or eliminate) certain activities and social programs. Students are instructed to individually draft a vision for their real utopian society before identifying and rank-ordering categories for their federal expenditures. They individually sketch a pie graph to visualize the allocation. Next, students are assigned to small groups in which they share their visions and pie graphs; they also discuss the commonalities and differences in their visions and resource allocation in order to reach a consensus about how to distribute the federal government’s funds. Each group creates a poster board display of their agreed-upon pie graph, which they present to the class. Then, the instructor projects a recent pie graph of federal spending. Discussion comparing the students’ expenditures and the actual expenditures concludes the activity.

Embodying Inequality Activity: Teaching Intersectionality with Ethnographic Data

Jeffrey A Gardner, Ashleigh E McKinzie — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0500

Intersectionality is an analytic concept that signifies ways that inequalities may overlap to create unique forms of privilege and subjugation (Crenshaw 1989, 1991; Hill Collins 2009; Hill Collins and Bilge 2016). However, intersectionality is a perplexing concept for students to grasp (Naples 2009). A recurring puzzle for some sociology instructors is the following: how do we help students make sense of intersectionality (to effectively articulate how overlapping forms of oppression systematically operate) without reproducing intersectionality as an abstract academic concept? In other words, how do we help students see intersectionality as a concept grounded in real experiences with inequality and privilege? To address this issue, we designed an interactive activity to help students better understand intersectionality in a way that is complex, embodied, and based on findings from published ethnographic research. In the activity students use assigned vignettes from the perspective of research participants in our own ethnographic data (including excerpts from interviews and fieldnotes) to interact with peers assigned both similar and dissimilar perspectives and experiences. The vignettes draw attention to intersectionality in a way that helps students embody participants’ experiences with privilege and subjugation. We present here two iterations of the activity that draw from our distinct ethnographic projects. We also suggest that instructors could develop vignettes for this activity from their own research or from others’ published ethnographic work. The activity demonstrates that when learning is interactive, dialogical, and draws from real narratives, students and instructors can effectively explore nuanced interpretations of relatively tough concepts, such as intersectionality. Thus, we suggest that the embodiment of ethnographic data is a useful mechanism for helping students connect abstract sociological concepts to uniquely experienced realities.

Pizza Statistics

May Takeuchi, Alexander Takeuchi — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Teaching materials on quantitative analysis are often stereotyped as "dry," "boring," "difficult" or even "intimidating" by some undergraduate students. To make entry level descriptive statistics more approachable to those students, this assignment uses "down-to-earth" real-life examples with a hint of humor in teaching and learning of mean average, standard deviation, and confidence interval. Specifically, it features one of the most popular food for college students, pizza to introduce students to simple spreadsheet operations, and help them acquire basic knowledge of quantitative analysis discussed in typical research methods textbooks (e.g., Babbie 2016*). *Babbie, Earl R. 2016. The Basics of Social Research (7th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Interrogating Causation with Screencasts, a "Clickbait" News Activity, and Short Essays

Christian Michael Smith — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 00:00:00 -0400

With this resource, students learn the fundamentals of causal inference and apply these skills to evaluate the outlandish claims found in many internet article headlines ("clickbait"). The resource has three parts. First, at home, students watch two screencast videos that explain confounding variables and reverse causation. The second part occurs in class. Students receive a sheet containing real headlines that imply causal relationships. In triads, students develop explanations of how 1) a confounding variable and 2) reverse causation could undermine the article’s "clickbait" causal claim. Third, at home, each student writes a 5-page essay about a causal claim that has been the subject of sociological debate. In the essay, students explain both the merits of the claim and the ways that confounding variables and/or reverse causation could undermine it. Depending on the needs of a course, each part of the resource can stand on its own or stand in combination with the other two parts. By emphasizing the underlying logic of causal inference rather than computation, the resource can gently introduce students to causal inference without alienating students who fear numbers. Simultaneously, the resource cultivates skills for scrutinizing internet news sources. The resource suits intro, statistics, and methods courses that have fewer than 35 students.

Online Introduction to Sociology Syllabus

Stephanie Medley-Rath — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 00:00:00 -0400

This syllabus is for an online version of Introduction to Sociology. The course is taught at a community college using You May Ask Yourself (Dalton Conley) and Everyday Sociology (Sternheimer).

Social Inequality: Race and the Criminal Legal System

Nick Rochin — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0400

Inequality is a broad concept that is central to the discipline of sociology and can be understood in a number of different contexts. Inequality is not simply a disparity in outcomes, such as educational attainment or income, but it is a systematic unequal distribution of rewards or life chances for different individuals within a group or groups within society. This can translate to differential access to resources like wealth, or different levels of social power which can affect one’s ability to receive financial services or the treatment by the judicial system. As such, structural inequality is not a natural occurrence, but rather something that is largely created and maintained by social institutions. The police controversies that have arisen over the past few years have illustrated how we are currently at a tumultuous juncture with respect to the public’s perception of the criminal legal system. Moreover, criminal justice outcomes are often not discussed in terms of inequality, at least not in the same way that we tend to discuss earnings and achievement gaps, despite the fact that disparities in incarceration are unmatched by other social indicators that are typically analyzed as evidence of social inequality. For instance, the black-white incarceration disparity of 8 to 1 surpasses black-white disparities in unemployment (2 to 1), infant mortality (2 to 1), and wealth (1 to 5). Due to the dearth of classroom discussions that highlight these disparities as indicators of social inequality, this activity frames law enforcement disparities as a fundamental form of social inequality.

Using "The House I Live In" to Understand Structural Strain Theory

Sarah D'Onofrio — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 00:00:00 -0500

This assignment uses the documentary "The House I Live In" to help students understand the strain faced by impoverished communities of color. Students are encouraged to think critically about the War on Drugs and its role in the growth of mass incarceration. The assignment includes two parts: a handout of questions that the students are to answer during class and a short critical response due after the documentary. The goal of this assignment is for students to integrate strain theory with the history and social construction of the War on Drugs in order to develop an awareness of how racial and class inequalities manifest today.

Occupational Licensure Activity

Erin Jane Davenport — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 00:00:00 -0400

This activity allows students studying the sociology of work or the labor force to engage with the question: How do licensing laws affect workers, and what industries are most heavily licensed? They will complete a reading, answer discussion questions, and then break into small groups to complete an activity on occupational licensure.

Do Dogs Cause Climate Change More Than Cats? Variables, Relationships and "Spurious-Curious" Thinking

Judith A. Linneman — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0500

Could dog ownership cause more climate change than cat ownership? It appears so when examining the relationship between pet choice and whether owners drive personal vehicles to work or use public transportation. However, when controlling for residence type (single family home or apartment) the relationship vanishes. Using simple props, Part 1 of this fun, engaging and versatile lecture/activity introduces basic research methods students to variables, attributes, and relationships between variables. Part 2 introduces criteria for establishing causation, lurking variables, and using control variables to identify spurious relationships. In Part 1, two variables are identified to students, but a lurking variable is not named until Part 2. By using this hypothetical data from "role playing cards," or By providing actual data on three binary variables strategically selected by the instructor, students select tokens representing their attribute on each of the three variables. They place their tokens in small clear plastic bags with zipper closures. These bags are then sorted into four larger bags attached to a bulletin board (or cardboard) with labels for all combinations of attributes for the spuriously related variables. A relationship is revealed and possible explanations discussed. In Part 2, the lurking variable is identified and the small bags are rearranged and displayed on the board in eight sandwich bags, separated by attributes of the control variable. For each corkboard (or cardboard) display, accompanying slides show the crosstabulation table. Students are encouraged to develop their own "spurious-curious" critical thinking through social science examples.

The Social Construction of Sex

Deeb Paul Kitchen, Amber Nelson — Fri, 18 Oct 2019 00:00:00 -0400

Discourse shapes how we think about the social world. It exercises power over our imaginations and allows us to recognize the world in distinct ways. As such, it can serve as a lens to reveal assumptions about what we consider normal and what is deviant. This activity utilizes students’ terminology to demonstrate how power operates through shared discourse and shapes taken for granted understandings of the social world. Students have the opportunity to provide and analyze terms and expressions they know for having sex. Through these, students are able to see broadly shared ideas that influence them and their peers.

Making Motherhood Work Reading and Discussion Questions

Colleen Elizabeth Wynn — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0500

I assign Caitlyn Collins' book, Making Motherhood Work in my families course. Our families course has a global component, so this book works well comparing how women combine motherhood and work around the globe. We read the book during the section of the class discussing paid and housework over four class sessions with the last class having most of the time devoted to discussing the book in small groups. They spend about 15-25 minutes discussing in small groups and then we spend an additional 15-25 minutes discussing the book as a whole class. In order to make sure student have read and are prepared, I use reading quizzes which become the basis for their discussion questions.

OBJECTS FROM EVERYDAY LIFE: A CAN OF COCA-COLA

Stephanie Medley-Rath — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 00:00:00 -0400

"Objects From Everyday Life: A Can of Coca-Cola" is a detailed adaptation of an activity adapted by Peter Kaufman (1997) and published in Teaching Sociology. This exercise is designed to help students develop their sociological imagination. Specifically, students should walk away with an understanding of how one cultural object (i.e., a can of coke) can be interpreted in various ways and how that interpretation is influenced by our personal biographies and the historical moment. This activity can be used to introduce students to several course topics: research methods, culture, deviance, economy, environment, health, global issues, and education.

Mate choice from sociological and biological perspectives: Sexual selection meets mating markets

Daniel R Scholes, Amanda Jayne Miller — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0500

Mate choice is a deeply studied topic of both evolutionary biology and sociology due to the complexity of social interactions, the process of conscious and unconscious evaluation of potential mates, the high stakes of successful reproduction, and consequently the long-term effects on families and populations for generations. The process of mate choice in human populations shares fundamental similarities with organisms overall, though with many cultural modifications. A sociologist and biologist designed activities that elucidate the fundamental challenges of mate choice in organisms generally, and then relate them to the ways in which humans share and deviate from generalized strategy, incorporating them into their classes. The course first begins by discussions of the similarities and differences between sociology and biology as well as the importance of studying topics from multiple disciplines. The first student activity of this series prompts students to simulate mate choice by maximizing the quality of offspring based on their own and potential mates’ phenotypes, while under conditions where male reproductive capacity exceeds that of females (as is often the case in natural populations). It is followed by mini-lectures on the biology of mate choice and monogamy as well as social factors in human mating, emphasizing the prevalence of monogamy among many human populations despite its rarity among populations of other organisms. Students then are asked to reflect on their own mating preferences, and related their preferences to those of students who are similar or dissimilar to them in some way (e.g. academic interests, cultural aspects, etc.). Students are then asked to theorize about their findings and apply sociological terms to their small group results. Finally, students are asked to reconcile the biological and social implications of mate choice, which are at times in conflict, while assessing their own preferences and propensities relative to culture.

Neighborhood Tour Project

Colleen Elizabeth Wynn — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 00:00:00 -0500

This project allows students to get out of the classroom and explore neighborhoods in the city. Designing and giving these tours also lets students learn new and interesting information about the city where they live and learn, and it allows them to find real world applications for the urban sociology concepts they’ve been learning about in the classroom. My students loved getting to walk around the city and explore new areas of town, and getting to take turns being "experts" and share these new areas with their classmates.

Chili con Questions: A Two-Part Lecture/Activity on Sampling and Related Statistics

Judith A. Linneman — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 00:00:00 -0500

This engaging two-part lecture/activity uses the familiar process of cooking to reduce student fears and insecurities about learning sampling and related statistical concepts in research methods and statistics courses. Using inexpensive and readily available props to simulate preparing and entry for a chili cook-off contest, and manipulating a common chili ingredient (beans), students explore basic sampling concepts and the estimation of sampling error.

Climate Justice / Climate Strikes Teaching Module

Corrie Grosse, Erica Morrell — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0500

Students around the world are leading climate strikes every Friday to call attention to and mobilize greater action to limit climate crisis and the harm it poses to all beings, especially already vulnerable, marginalized human communities. These strikes occasionally culminate in heightened weeks of action, like the September 20-27, 2019, Global Climate Strikes . Educators from around the world, including faculty at hundreds of colleges and universities, are called on to support these strikes. This lesson plan is designed to facilitate educator efforts to teach in solidarity with the climate strikes and the folks leading them, and to encourage greater action toward climate justice by both faculty and students.

Let’s Build a Prison: Exploring Structural Functionalism

Stephanie Marie Baran — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 -0400

This in-class activity centers around how students understand the creation and construction of prisons within the United States. Suited for any level of sociology or criminology courses, this activity could be utilized in a criminology course or in a sociology lecture/discussion about structural functionalism, criminal justice systems or Foucault. In sum, the activity shows how normalized prison buildings that students develop can often mirror already existing structures, such as a panopticon. It also offers a moment for critically analyzing how structures are reproduced over time. However, this discovery has the potential to occur after they all come together as a class and describe their structure and how their "prison" would work and how they would adjudicate criminal justice issues for entry and exit.

Speed Dating for Older Adults: Dismantling Stereotypes About Age and Relationships Using "The Age of Love"

Dawn Norris, Steven Loring — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0500

This semester-long project offers undergraduates the opportunity to connect in an innovative way with older adults in their local community by creating a senior dating/friendship/companionship event. The project should be embedded within an upper-level age-related social science course. It requires substantial planning, at least 15 students, and (potentially) some university resources (e.g., funding for refreshments, room space). (Photo credit: Candida.Performa; flickr.com; CC BY 4.0; no changes made; license link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Syllabus: Women in the Social Structure

Kate K O'Neill — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0500

This course is designed to introduce students to fundamental definitions, theories, and perspectives on women in the social structure. We begin by presenting definitions and components of social structures as understood by sociologists and gender scholars. We then study three social structures often encountered in sociology and gender literatures: The family, labor markets, and the criminal justice system. The majority of the course will be dedicated to understanding women’s locations within these structures and how these locations shape the lives of women. Furthermore, this course will touch on how class, race, ethnicity, and sexuality intersect with female identities and alter the ways in which women interact with these social structures. By the end of the course students should be capable of: * Discussing and evaluating theories, concepts, and perspectives on women in the social structure * Connecting sociological/gender theories with real-world phenomena * Critically evaluating information on women in the social structure from a number of sources; including news media, political discourse, and academic research * Developing and presenting their own sociological perspective on women in the social structure

Bibliography/Film Library for Race and Ethnic Relations

Yvette A. Jean — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 00:00:00 -0500

This Race and Ethnic Relations Bibliography/Film Library provides links to a wide range of videos, podcasts, and articles that are sure to boost your course materials and stimulate engaging class discussions. This resource contains eleven thematic modules that can be paired with an assigned text or with a collection of scholarly sociological materials on Race and Ethnic Relations. It has tremendous flexibility in that it can be assigned in online, hybrid, and face-to-face (F2F) courses. Some of the themes include The Social Construction of Race; Negotiating Race and Multiracial Identity; and Immigration & Cultural Assimilation. Sample discussion prompts are provided to help students develop foundation-thinking skills (applying, understanding).

Analyzing Masculinities with Digital Media: A Podcast Assignment

Karen Christopher — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0500

Kroeber (2005) found that using technology in the classroom can be a "significant symbol" that increases students’ perceptions of both teaching effectiveness and the value of the course. For this assignment, students gain hands-on experience with digital media technology by creating a podcast. The assignment also requires that students link sociological theories to their explorations of masculinities and fosters critical thinking about gender and social change. The first part of the assignment requires student to create an outline for their podcast assignment. Then, students create their own podcast, guided by our on-campus Digital Media Suite, on-line resources, and a rubric that helps students link class material to their podcast topics. The goals of this assignment are: to foster active learning with digital media, to apply theory to lived expressions or experiences of masculinities, and to hone students’ critical thinking skills about gender and social change. This assignment aims to engage and train digital learners on topics of gender.

Qualitative Coding with Children’s Literature: An Exercise Using The Three Little Pigs

Janet Armitage — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 00:00:00 -0400

This qualitative coding and analysis resource is designed to provide a group hands-on learning opportunity for undergraduate students, primarily in the social sciences, to develop their skills for coding qualitative data and developing a qualitative data analysis and interpretation. The data comes from a well-known children’s story, The Three Little Pigs, yet the title of the story remains concealed from students at the beginning of the exercise. The story is to be divided into chunks of text by the professor (i.e. small strips of paper with a chunk or line of the story on each individual piece of paper); all chunks are enclosed in a single legal sized envelope distributed to the student groups. The exercise is scaffolded into a series of seven coding steps—identified as "Cs"—provided for students in a handout. The seven steps extend over two days to provide time to complete the assignment, as well as to underscore the importance of maintaining a record of coding in a codebook and to provide time for class presentations and discussion. The learning goals are: 1) to recall the process of qualitative data analysis as introduced in course readings; 2) to demonstrate analytic skills by coding and analyzing a provided set of data; and 3) to increase comfort level with qualitative data analysis. This assignment uses best practices including developing reciprocity and cooperation among students, encouraging active learning, emphasizing time on task, and giving prompt feedback.

Panel Discussions – A Gentler Introduction to Debating Social Problems

Zach Rubin — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0500

This activity is a group presentation without group work that will take place over the middle segment of the course. It happens in two stages: one where students will create discussion questions for some of your classmates to answer, and one where students will answer questions posed by some of their classmates. Students will be assigned in a number of groups depending on the overall size of the class, then ask questions of their classmates, and answer questions posed by them in an attempt to grapple with some of today’s more pressing social problems.

Quantitative Research Project for Students with Little Research Experience

Anjel Stough-Hunter — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 00:00:00 -0500

There are many excellent resources on Trails that provide guidelines for a semester long research project. However, many of these resources are either geared toward senior level capstone courses, in which students are already familiar with the basics of research, are qualitative, or lack details such as how to evaluate various stages of the research project. This resource is a step by step outline for a quantitative project completed in a semester long research methods course by junior level sociology and criminal justice students that have had little to no experience with research methods. The project is designed to assess students’ understanding of various aspects of the research process, while simultaneously engaging in research. I provide suggestions for when to assign each step, guidelines for each step and evaluation criteria.

Socialization Autobiography

Laura Fitzwater Gonzales — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00:00 -0400

This resource provides a comprehensive end-of-term assignment for an introductory level course, aimed at encouraging students to think about how their personal lives have been influenced by larger social structures and groups, particularly the ways they have been socialized. While there are multiple autobiography assignments available in TRAILS, this assignment is unique because it requires students to focus on multiple agents of socialization in their life, and because it requires them to incorporate concepts from the entire course into their paper. Rather than being specific to one’s family, gender, or education, this assignment asks students to consider a broad range of agents of socialization that have been prominent thus far in their lives. Additionally, because it is designed for a 100-level course, it is a very structured assignment and contains many basic sociology concepts for students to incorporate in their papers. The adaptation and usage notes contain multiple suggestions for assignment variations. Overall, the purpose of the assignment is to provide a structured way for students to apply course concepts to their lives, but in doing so, reflect on the particular agents of socialization they have chosen, and ultimately discuss how structure constrains and enables their choices and lives. Finally, the assignment includes multiple check-in points so that students can receive feedback on their work and integrate the feedback, thereby improving their final grade.

Reciprocity 2.0: A Simulation Game for Sociology of the Family

Amanda Fehlbaum — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 00:00:00 -0400

In 1979, Marie Withers Osmond published a simulation game "Reciprocity" in The Family Coordinator that was developed to illustrate social exchange theory and the dynamics of conflict, exchange, and power in the context of relationships. Osmond’s original game proposed using Reciprocity to examine the context of pre-marital, marital, and parental relations. This TRAILS Resource presents Reciprocity 2.0, which not only updates Osmond’s game for inclusion in the resource library, but takes co-parenting after a separation or divorce as the focus of social exchange. This simulation game is well-suited for Sociology of Family classes due to its focus on dyadic interaction and negotiation. Dyads are placed in a conflict situation and the goal is to demonstrate the extent to which team and individual strategies of conflict resolutions are shaped by the structure of the simulation game.

Auto-Ethnography: A Tool for Creating Safe Zones

Mehmet Soyer, Marisela Martinez-Cola — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0500

It can be threatening for students to confront the stereotypes and prejudices they hold about any groups. One strategy for overcoming this barrier to change is to offer students a safe forum wherein they can examine their beliefs without fear of judgment. In this assignment, I explain how auto-ethnography can serve as such a forum. Specifically, I consider auto-ethnographies as "safe zones" wherein students can consider and modify attitudes they hold about disenfranchised groups, including those to which they belong. Through critical self-reflection, students can work through their attitudes about social (in)justice.

Urban Sociology

Judith R Halasz — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 00:00:00 -0400

Urban Sociology is an upper-division undergraduate elective that introduces students to the study of city life in the US and globally. The course examines social life in urban areas, with a focus on contemporary issues such as gentrification and development; segregation; immigration and ethnic enclaves; queer communities; poverty, affordable housing, and homelessness; crime and policing; environmental justice; street life, leisure, and culture; and global mega-cities. The course readings draw on classical and contemporary political economy, human ecology, urban ethnography, demography, critical geography, cultural sociology, and contemporary urban studies to provide students with a multi-faceted perspective on today’s cities. The carefully selected required reading list is complemented with an extensive bibliography of recommended readings for each topic. To enhance their understanding of urban sociological scholarship, students also conduct empirical research on urban neighborhoods in a carefully designed team project. Students have opportunities to demonstrate their understanding and application of the course materials in class discussions, a take-home midterm exam, in-class presentations, and in-class activities. This syllabus uses critical and collaborative pedagogies, including peer and active learning, making it especially well-suited for courses that emphasize student participation, but it can also be adapted for lecture-based courses. The neighborhood study guidelines and grading rubric are included in the appendix.

Increases in Income Inequality

Casey Errante, Kristin Godwin, Daniel Buffington — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 00:00:00 -0400

Since the 2008 financial crisis, Americans have become more interested in inequality as evidenced by the surprising popularity of Piketty’s Capital. This activity is designed to introduce students to one important aspect of this contemporary inequality: the income gap between those at the very top of our stratification system and the average worker in the United States. It does so by teaching them how to compute an income gap ratio by comparing the compensation levels of CEOs of large corporations to that of non-supervisory workers. In the course of the activity, students are also exposed to survey data on American attitudes about the income gap as well as trends in this gap over time. The activity is designed to be a very brief introduction to this important subject and is therefore most appropriate for lower-level college courses such as Introduction to Sociology or Social Problems, although it could easily be adapted for upper-level courses such as Social Stratification. In part one, students are asked to come up with what they think the ideal ratio between a CEO and average worker should be and then an estimate of the actual ratio between CEOs and the average worker. In the second portion of the activity, students are shown graphs with survey data displaying what Americans think the ratio is and what Americans think the ratio should be. Finally, students are shown figures on actual compensation levels for 2017 as well as how this ratio has changed from 1965 to the present before being asked several reflection questions on what this means for stratification. We also provide instructors the option of comparing the CEO-to-worker pay gap in the USA to 16 other countries. Materials provided include a handout for students to fill in their answers, charts with data for part 2, and discussion questions for students after the activity. We also provide multiple-choice items and an essay (with rubric) for assessment purposes.

Applying the Theory of Alienation using Contemporary TV Characters

Amanda Wyant — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 00:00:00 -0400

Students often exhibit resistance to learning about Marx’s theories and ideas. Students either may enter the classroom with biases, have difficulty reading original works, or believe that theories do not apply to today’s world. This assignment requires students to learn about a central Marxian theory (alienation) and to demonstrate mastery of the concepts. Students examine characteristics, both real and fictional, from television shows representing different occupations. Based on the knowledge of the occupations, students place the occupations in order, discussing and debating various aspects of alienation. The activity emphasizes that alienation still applies today and can be meaningful in their own lives. This assignment also allows students to understand how certain job tasks relate to alienation and then; as a result, job satisfaction.

Bringing Text to Life: Enhancing Introduction to Sociology with the Memoir "I Am Malala"

Jamie Oslawski-Lopez — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 00:00:00 -0500

In this Text to Life assignment prepared for undergraduate, Introduction to Sociology courses, students read the memoir "I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World" by Malala Yousafzai with Patricia McCormick; write an essay that summarizes the memoir and then examines Malala’s story from a sociological perspective; prepare for and participate in an active, in-class discussion; and lastly, reflect on the assignment as a whole. Memoir is certainly a non-traditional type of text to include in Sociology courses (Florida and Hall 2006), which often rely most heavily on textbooks, edited readers, journal articles, and sociological books. That said, researchers document the benefits of using non-traditional texts like fiction (Hartman 2005) and narratives (Lewis 2016) as additions to more traditional texts in undergraduate sociology courses. For instance, scholars state that non-traditional texts are well suited to "bring the real world into the classroom" and "provide reassurance for students’ experiences" (Lewis 2016: 392). Non-traditional texts give students insights into different cultures while at the same time providing a "shared reality within which they [students] can relate and discuss sociological concepts in a common context" (Hartman 2005: 317). Additionally, traditional texts are more accessible to students, meaning students may be "more likely to do the readings and engage in class discussion" (Lewis 2016: 393). Perhaps not surprisingly, given this rather impressive list of benefits, students who read non-traditional texts in Sociology courses have been shown to outperform students who read only traditional texts on course learning goals (Lewis 2016).

Flash Data Collection and Analysis: A First Day Activity

Joanna S Hunter — Fri, 08 Jun 2018 00:00:00 -0400

This first day activity for an introductory class is designed to introduce students to the discipline of sociology, particularly its research methods. Students engage in "flash data collection" by quickly filling out a card about a classmate and collecting data on their attributes, then they use that data to draw inferences about their subjects on a variety of behavioral outcomes. This activity introduces concepts such as variables, attributes, correlation/causation, and the role of empirical data collection and analysis in the discipline of sociology.

A HANDS-ON APPROACH TO INTRODUCING ORAL HISTORIES IN AN UNDERGRADUATE COURSE

Rachel Sparkman, A. Logan Clary — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 00:00:00 -0400

This activity and final project assignment incorporates the interactive understanding of social life with the use of a qualitative methodology not commonly found in today’s sociological research: the oral history. While this resource was used for a Rural Sociology course, it can be adapted to any sociological topic. The introduction and inclusion of oral histories reinvigorates an aging methodology within the modern, digital world and makes these histories accessible to a wider audience (Woodward, 2013). While interviews are a common approach to qualitative research, the power of storytelling via oral histories is a useful and fun resource for the young sociologist’s toolbox. Using oral histories as a teaching tool also allows the students to experience personal and local stories, providing depth and complexity to topics otherwise only discussed throughout the semester (Dillon, 2000). Oral histories are introduced at various points in the semester, followed by an in-class Oral History Workshop (activity), and concluded with a final project where students conduct and analyze their own oral history with narrators (interviewees) of their choosing. The Oral History Association guidelines are used to educate students on the best ethical and research practices (Oral History Association). Students learn the value of this methodology as a research tool, as well as express appreciation and respect for their narrators through this learning experience. Along with learning this new methodology, students should gain a new confidence as sociologists with a sparked qualitative inquiry. The hands-on approach to methodology as undergraduate research and inclusion of collaborative assignments makes this resource a high-impact teaching practice and learning resource (AAC&U). Oral history resources, class usage notes, workshop resources, and PowerPoint presentation are included.

Exploring Neighborhood Inequality with Census Data

Ellen M. Whitehead — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 00:00:00 -0400

This hands-on activity is designed to help students consider neighborhoods as a dimension of inequality, using census data to examine neighborhood characteristics. By selecting specific neighborhoods and variables of interest, developing hypotheses, and interpreting data, students also enhance their understanding of how sociologists evaluate inequality quantitatively. In this activity, students compare and contrast the population characteristics of two different neighborhoods. The activity begins with a tutorial on how to access and explore census data, using publicly available data from the Social Explorer website (https://www.socialexplorer.com/). Next, students select two neighborhoods with which they are familiar and develop hypotheses on how the two neighborhoods compare and contrast. Using the Tables feature on Social Explorer, students select three neighborhood characteristics and provide information on these variables. Finally, students provide a written summary of their findings and examine whether their initial hypotheses were supported by the data. The activity concludes with an in-class discussion of the students’ findings. Upon completion of this activity, students will have gained experience with accessing and interpreting neighborhood-level census data. By increasing students’ understanding of inequalities that exist between neighborhoods, this activity encourages students to think beyond individualistic explanations of poverty and begin considering the spatial dimension. Further, developing hypotheses and comparing variable distributions will provide undergraduates with practice in answering their own sociological questions. As the activity asks students to select the neighborhoods and characteristics themselves, they are able to explore questions that may be of personal interest, thereby enhancing engagement with the activity.

Observing and Describing "The Pear Film"

Larry R Irons — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 00:00:00 -0500

Download for full resources - To prepare students for their first observation assignment in a natural setting I find it useful to let them practice the experience by watching one particular film clip in which there is no speech and the only sounds are the ambient noises in the environment. The rest of the film consists of non-verbal actions. In other words, I use a film in which language, but not sound, is absent. The initial activity in the assignment asks students to watch "The Pear Film" in class and describe as much as they can about what happens as they watch it and, if possible, details about how it happens. For the next class meeting students watch the film closely, and as often as they want, to give a detailed description of what happens in it. They then write a narrative overview of the film and sketch the layout of the setting in which what they see occurs. Students submit their documents but also bring hard copies to class the next meeting to discuss how they did the assignment in small groups.

Weeklong Goffman Workshop: Using Journal Assignments, Lectures, and In-Class Discussions to Teach Impression Management

Clayton D. Thomas — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 00:00:00 -0400

This activity teaches Goffman’s concepts of definition of the situation, expressions given, expressions given off, deference, demeanor, and face-saving behaviors through a weeklong workshop. The centerpiece of this weeklong workshop is a journaling assignment that combines intellectual and affective responses to Goffman’s ideas. The take-home points of this workshop include the conceptual knowledge related to Goffman, the ability to apply theoretical concepts to everyday lives, and the ability to acknowledge that cultural and structural forces shape people’s experiences. This project begins with planning steps including placing the impression management within the larger corpus of sociological knowledge the instructor wishes to teach and choosing readings that illustrate the basic concepts of impression management and other readings that demonstrate how social forces limit certain people’s abilities to manage their impressions. In the write-up that follows, I list learning goals and assessments, explain how the weeklong workshop unfolds, and include example handouts, assignment sheets for the journaling assignment, and in-class activities to structure discussions.

Using Contexts Magazines as a Resource for a Simulated Sociology Conference

Julie Whitaker — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 00:00:00 -0400

Introductory sociology classes often provide students with a broad look at the discipline. Frequently it is the first and only experience they will have with the field of sociology (Greenwood and Howard 2011:16). In one course, there is not sufficient time to do justice to the full range of topics, methods and theoretical frameworks. The assignment described here expands the exposure students have to sociology and introduces them to the most recent research. Students participate in a mock sociology conference in which they select an article from Contexts Magazine to represent and analyze, while comparing and contrasting their article to other sociological research presented in the course and on their thematically-organized panel. Greenwood, Nancy J. and Howard, Jay R. 2011. First Contact: Teaching and Learning in Introductory Sociology. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Conceptualization and Operationalization of Love

Sandra Marie Loughrin — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 00:00:00 -0400

This assignment allows students to use the abstract concept "love" to practice the process of social research. Over the course of a three-week period students will (1) conceptualize this abstract concept, (2) operationalize their variable, (3) create a survey, (4) distribute the survey to fellow classmates, (5) analyze data using a simple table of means, and (6) construct a write-up describing their process. The assignment is broken down by week, providing students with worksheets that help guide them through each step in the process. Simple data collection and analysis are required for completion. Student Learning Objectives and guidelines for assessment are included.

American Hookup Discussion Guide

Benjamin M. Drury, Lauren N. Griffin — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 00:00:00 -0400

If you are reading this, you are probably considering incorporating the book, American Hookup: The New Culture of Sex on Campus (Wade 2017) into your curriculum. We were in your shoes quite recently and knew the contents of this book would make strong fodder for discussion among our students. This guide is intended to stimulate conversation on topics such as sex, sexuality, gender, race, class, and inequality in college classrooms or other discussion-based settings. Included in this resource are 1. usage notes from the authors, including suggested instructional strategies, 2. discussion questions addressing core themes in each chapter of the book and examples of related classroom activities, and 3. two classroom assessment techniques to evaluate student learning – a short writing assignment in the form of an op-ed and a reflective survey.

Relativity of Deviance

Amy Baumann Grau — Sun, 08 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0400

A group based activity that challenges students to think about the relativity or degrees of deviance through manipulation of the context in which the deviance occurs. Students are exposed to many examples of the concept of the relativity of deviance and thus reflect over their own judgments about acts of deviance. The activity is adaptable to encourage class discussion and/or journal reflections by students over the concept of deviance and how the context in which deviance occurs influences views on the act. The activity can also be adapted to add or remove specific acts of deviance or the context in which the deviance occurs that may be of more interest to students. The goals of the assignment are for students to (1) understand and articulate what is means for deviance to be relative and (2) reflect upon what factors (i.e. social location, context, gender) impact the relativity of deviance. The activity encourages cooperation among students, fosters class discussion, and challenges students to recognize how the same deviant act can have very different responses across a variety of contexts.

"Why Don't They Just Leave?": An Immersive Role-Playing Activity on Intimate Partner Violence

Rena Zito — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 00:00:00 -0500

This in-class activity requires students to take on the role of an individual making decisions about whether to stay or leave an abusive relationship. It is designed to demonstrate the constrained choices that complicate leaving decisions, thereby addressing a common question heard in courses when discussing intimate partner violence: "Why don’t they just leave?" Like other immersive role-playing simulations such as poverty simulations (see Steck et al., 2011), this experiential activity involves perspective-taking, active engagement, and the development of empathy. It is adapted from the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) "Decisions about Staying and Leaving" game, with permission granted from PCADV (Sullivan, 2005).

Global Religious Diversity

Philip Schwadel — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 00:00:00 -0400

Global Religious Diversity is an online course for upper-division undergraduate students. It is not required but it does count toward the Sociology major and minor. My goal was to create a course that focuses on interactions between people and groups from different religions in the increasingly multicultural and interconnected global society. I approach this topic from a distinctly sociological perspective by emphasizing how sociological theories inform our understanding of interreligious contact and conflict. The course is an important addition to the sociology curriculum given the current focus on diversity and global perspectives in higher education. The online delivery makes it particularly accessible and is an integral part of the design. The syllabus and course schedule operate as a contract between the instructor and students. At the same time, I endeavored to make the syllabus welcoming and one that encourage students to want to learn about religious diversity around the world. The course provides a variety of methods of assessment, including quizzes with various types of questions (true/false, multiple choice, fill in the blank, and short essay), prepared essays, exams, learning modules from the Association of Religion Data Archives, and weekly discussions. There are several readings that are made available to the students in electronic format. These include online summaries of theories, reports from non-profit organizations such as Pew, and peer-reviewed journal articles. The majority of the readings come from two recent books. The first book (Kurtz 2016) is a summary of global religious diversity that applies sociological theories throughout. The second book (Dawson 2016) is an edited volume that addresses religious diversity in specific locations around the globe.

Designing, Conducting, and Reflecting on a Qualitative Interview

Rachel Sullivan — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 00:00:00 -0400

This is a two-part interview assignment that can be used when teaching a qualitative methods unit in a research methods class. Students can choose to take either a life history approach with this assignment (by interviewing an older relative) or a more career-focused informational approach (by interviewing alumni or current employees in a field that they hope to work in). Students submit a short interview guide that outlines the questions they asked in their semi-structured interview, as well as a summary/reflection of the interview. This assignment gives students the opportunity to reflect on their own positionality, apply course concepts in real time, and think critically about interviews as a source of data.

Developing a Sociological Imagination through Americanah: by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche

Mari Kate Mycek — Mon, 23 Jul 2018 00:00:00 -0400

In this semester long project students read, discuss, and analyze Americanah from a sociological perspective. Through a close reading, in class discussions, a group presentation, and an individual final paper, students develop their sociological imaginations and deepen their understanding of core sociological concepts.

Best Practices: From Research Problem to Survey Administration

Jenna Ann Lamphere — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 00:00:00 -0500

With this assignment, students practice best practices in writing good survey questions, designing an attractive web-based questionnaire, and administering the survey. Students write survey questions for a pre-defined research problem, design an attractive questionnaire for their questions, and learn how to administer the questionnaire using Qualtrics, an online survey platform. The assignment is useful for illustrating processes of conceptualization and operationalization, particularly the development of dimensions and indicators. The assignment is also useful for demonstrating the importance of levels of measurement when developing survey questions. Additionally, the assignment allows students to develop a transferrable skill, the proficient use of Qualtrics.

Using The Office to Teach Goffman

Karam Hwang — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0400

Erving Goffman’s theories of symbolic interaction have the potential to appeal to students due to their immediate applicability to dissect everyday social interaction. However, contemporary students may find his writing to be less than straightforward and his illustrative examples old fashioned. This limits their ability to see his theories as relevant for understanding their own lives and social practices. This activity pushes students to take Goffman’s concepts from off the page to analyze a comedic sitcom, and then to generate examples from their own daily routines.

Migration Consultant Activity and Lecture

Kenneth Chen, Gowoon Jung — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 00:00:00 -0400

These lecture and group activities introduce students to theories of international migration, and ways to apply theories to social problems. They will allow students to understand the motivations, which cause people to migrate, the processes through which they make a decision, and contexts in which migrants are situated in micro, meso, and macro level. Students will familiarize themselves with the conditions of receiving countries and cities, including local economic growth, ethnic communities, and proximity to home countries. The primary purpose of this session is to teach students about various local economic, cultural, and social contexts that shape the arrival of immigrants in the USA, as well as individual aspirations and families’ household economic situations, along with global hierarchy and economic inequalities that exist across different countries. An instructor will focus students’ attention on the topic by making them work on group activities, and conclude the session with a short PowerPoint presentation.

Integrating a Collaborative Survey Research Project

Jamie Oslawski-Lopez, Amanda Miller — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 00:00:00 -0500

This activity integrates undergraduate and graduate Sociology students enrolled in different research methods courses through a semester-long, collaborative research project surveying a campus event. Although collaborative projects are not the norm in most American higher education institutions (Watermaurer and Obach 2007), collaborative projects are valuable pedagogical tools. The project begins with planning steps taken by the instructors including listing the project on the syllabus, locating an appropriate event to survey, speaking with the campus IRB office, and teaching students about research ethics and survey design. Once the planning is complete, students work on the project in the following order: questionnaire creation, data collection and entry, homework creation, analysis, tutoring, and writing the final report. The collaborative, team-based project moves back and forth between the undergraduate and graduate students. This allows undergraduates to get a low-stakes "taste" of the research process and graduates to assume leadership roles, as they revise the undergraduates’ work and provide mentorship. Another benefit of the project is that it provides students with hands-on experience in completing a research project from start to finish. In the write-up that follows, we list learning goals and assessments, the basic steps of the activity, and lastly, we include examples of the products of our iteration of this project.

School Choice and Inequality: Choosing Schools Activity

Alanna Gillis — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0400

This in-class activity is designed to illustrate how school choice (i.e. charter schools and private schools) contribute to the growing inequality of schools by social class and race. In this activity, students are split into groups and are given a family profile that includes their income, race, family structure, neighborhood school zoning, and geographic distance from each available school (including whether busing is available and estimated time). Each group must decide which school to send their child to based on the school profiles for the 5 schools, which include information such as student demographics, test scores, and school type. After each group makes their decision, the students report back to the class their group’s demographic information and their choice(s) for schools. The instructor then facilitates a full class discussion about choices, structural limitations for some families, and the implications for inequality. The activity thus allows for active participation that engages all students, enables students to role play with different resources and perspectives, and demonstrates how individual family choices are both constrained by structures and reproduce inequality.

Home and Society Syllabus

Alexandra Hendley — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 00:00:00 -0400

The course draws primarily from scholarship on the sociology of gender, work, family, and culture, focusing on research and theory concerning "home" (whether or not it is where one resides) and the "private" or "domestic" sphere. Particular attention is given to consumption, labor, and leisure practices associated with "home." The course examines the history behind the ideology of separate spheres, contemporary implications of this division, and the ways in which the line between "private" and "public" spheres is actually quite blurry. Applying a sociological perspective, students explore the interplay between social structure, culture, and agency, examining how meanings and experiences of "home" are shaped by social location (e.g. gender, race, class, etc.) and inequalities, along with a variety of other social, cultural, economic, and political forces. In doing so, course material challenges notions of the domestic as somehow trivial or apolitical. The learning goals for this course are the following: 1) Students will demonstrate an understanding of the private/public sphere division with regard to its history, contemporary implications, and blurry nature. Students will demonstrate a sociological imagination when analyzing consumption, labor, and leisure practices associated with "home," 2) Students will design and carry out an original qualitative interview project about home and labor. This project involves developing research questions and an interview guide, gathering data using semi-structured interviews, analyzing data, putting findings in conversation with course material and outside research, and presenting findings in the form of a paper and oral presentation. And finally, 3) Students will exercise and improve skills in critical thinking and written and oral communication.

A Sociological Look at Hate Groups

Sharon Yee — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 00:00:00 -0400

This learning activity (1) introduces students to the social construction of "hate," "hate groups," and "hate crimes"; (2) identifies the extent to which a range of individual and group behaviors are labeled as hate crimes and hate groups; (3) strengthens quantitative and qualitative reasoning skills by systematically analyzing a range of intervening variables that tend to promote personal, interpersonal, and intergroup hate; (4) uses a range of theoretical perspectives to analyze hate groups members are perceived and responded to in American society; (5) uses content analyses skills to analyze trends among various hate groups; (6) enables students to debate real life scenarios to determine appropriate accountability outcomes for behavior considered "hate"; and (7) uses student reflection narratives to identify personal resolution strategies. This questions activity was initially done in a race and ethnic minorities class at the undergraduate level at a local community college. Students of can find the topic of race and ethnicity heated and controversial, which leads to a lack of discussion and participation. Applying and relying on theory to articulate different viewpoints, the personal aspect is taken out of the discussion. The theory-heavy assignment allowed for a richer class discussion and minimized the amount of personal opinions being used to justify viewpoints. Through the self -reflection portion, it also can provide students to internally reflect on their own assumptions and beliefs about the groups discussed. This assignment could be easily modified to be in an introductory Sociology course, one that focuses on modern social problems, deviance, gender, sexuality, or modules that focus on these topics. Portions of the assignment can also be completed individually for time purposes.

Fake News: Media Representations of "Truth"

Amanda Jayne Miller — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 00:00:00 -0500

Since the 2016 election, calls of "fake news" have been abundant. At times, this literally does refer to fabricated stories. However, "fake news" might also refer to stories in which some relevant information is omitted or highlighted in order to give the story a particular angle. Given the way that many students consume news (i.e., through social media) and the algorithms that now push news to individuals in particular ways, it can be even more difficult to determine what is "true." This exercise will help students examine one story across a variety of news sources to see how different media may present a topic in a variety of ways.

Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Measurement

Colleen Elizabeth Wynn — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 00:00:00 -0400

This simple set of in-class activities allow students to practice conceptualizing, operationalizing, and measuring common sociological variables. I use this combination of three activities, usually across two class periods, to let students practice conceptualization and operationalization, as well as measurement of variables. Students often seem overwhelmed by the processes of conceptualization, operationalization, and measurement, and these short activities give them the chance to practice on common sociological variables in small groups in class.

Sociological Theory Syllabus

Matthew Ward — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0500

This course teaches students about key theoretical traditions within sociology, as well as the philosophies of social science underlying these perspectives, including Positivism and Interpretivism. The course relies on a variety of primary and secondary texts, individual and group-based writing assignments, in-class activities, and discussions. The centerpiece of the course is a significant participant-observation research project aimed at getting students to grasp the utility of theory, showing them how to practically apply theory, and encouraging them to recognize the recursive link between theorizing and data collection. Early in the course, students are required to form small groups and select participant-observation field sites that they will visit at regular intervals throughout the semester. After each field site visit, students submit a written assignment that includes both their field notes and an analysis of their observations using concepts and theories recently discussed in class. The next class meeting is then devoted to small group discussion meetings in which students share their experiences from the field and collaboratively answer question sets aimed at further refining their ability to practically apply course material to the world. This basic structure is then repeated using a new set of paradigms, theories, and theorists. Students submit a final theory paper that that draws on their field site research and resembles a shortened journal article. Substantively, the course discusses philosophies of science, the purpose of theory, classical sociological theory, core theoretical paradigms (functionalism, conflict, symbolic interactionism), and 'atomistic' theories (exchange theory, rational choice theory, behaviorism). Key thinkers covered include: Durkheim, Marx, Wallerstein, Weber, Cooley, Mead, Goffman, Skinner, Homans, Blau and others. Assigned readings include several original texts, especially when covering Durkheim, Marx, and Weber.

Reasons for Cohabitation Mini Qualitative Analysis

Amanda Jayne Miller, Sharon Sassler — Thu, 21 Sep 2017 00:00:00 -0400

Active learning is an important part of the educational process. For skills like research methods, students learn are more likely to success in class when they are able to practice a skill in a supervised way (Freeman et al., 2014). Such exercises also tend to generate a greater deal of student engagement due to their tangible connection to life outside of the classroom and can often be successful even among students who have no background in sociology (Atkinson and Hunt, 2008; Eccles, 2005; Hulleman et al., 2008). In this exercise, students will learn not only about the content of the exercise (the reasons young adults romantic couples decide to move in together and how those reasons differ by sex and social class) as well as how to conduct a mini-qualitative analysis of interview data, use initial findings to create hypotheses, and consider why they expect to see particular trends. This exercise is able to be completed in a single class period and is applicable for courses on methods, family, gender, and social class stratification.

Presentation of the Profile Self

Erin K Anderson — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0400

This paper has been used in a Social Psychology course during the period of discussion on presentation of self and impression management. Using the free online program Photofeeler (photofeeler.com), students are able to post profile pictures of themselves for evaluation by others as well as participate in providing feedback to other program users on their profile pictures. Students post and evaluate in two different categories: Business and Dating. This exercise and subsequent analytic paper allow students to see and consider several aspects of Goffman’s theory on presentation of self (setting, costume, props, manner, impression management) as they actively work to construct a self for others for distinct purposes and get feedback on their level of success. Having the opportunity to provide feedback to others not only helps students articulate how the presentation of self is accomplished, but it also allows them to reflect back on their own constructed images and efforts at impression management, thus also considering concepts of role taking and the looking-glass self.

A Quest for Culture in the Campus Community

Erin K Anderson — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0400

This paper has been used in a Social Psychology course to help students understand the concept of idioculture, a group culture with shared knowledge, beliefs, sentiments, and behaviors. After a class discussion on symbolism as a necessary component of interaction, students consider a variety of symbols, how they’re interpreted, and what they communicate within the larger society (e.g., American flag, traffic signs, a swastika, etc.). We further discuss how some symbols can be interpreted very differently by people within the same culture (e.g. the Confederate flag) and the use of symbols in establishing and promoting idiocultures. We use the college campus as an example of an idioculture that has physical objects or images that carry specific meanings to those who are members of the idioculture, meanings that might not be readily available to those outside the idioculture. This assignment requires them to engage in a sort of scavenger hunt on campus looking not only for a series of items that contribute to the campus culture, but also requires them to have conversations or conduct research into what these objects/images mean to students and alumni of their own institution. The assignment could be easily adapted for other institutions and used as a paper assignment or for in-class discussion.

Examining Interactions with Dominant Social Norms

Jennifer L. S. Chandler

The social process of marginalization is maintained through social norms. Dominant norms favor some people and disenfranchise some people. Disentangling social norms is complex because there are always multiple norms operating at the same time in any situation. A process model is provided, explained, and used in this lecture and discussion to assist students in untangling and analyzing the norms. The model focuses on three common ways of interacting with social norms. The most common way of interacting with social norms is to collude with them. Collusion is compliance. The second way of interacting is colliding with a social norm. Collisions are common too. The third way of interacting with social norms is contending with them. Contention, here, means to engage with the norms in a way that pushes for changes to it. In any given situation, a person may be colluding with several norms, colliding with some, and also contending with some. The model assists in the identification and critical analysis of dominant social norms. Students have responded well to using this model because the model itself does not imply a value judgment about any specific norm. While any social norm can be analyzed using this model, recently, it has been successful in assisting learners in their analysis of reactions to actions taken by the executive branch of the U. S. federal government by understanding those reactions as collisions with dominant social norms. Recognizing that shock, bewilderment, disorientation, and dismay are indicators of a collision helps people process their collision with the dominant social norm and to recognize their options moving forward.

Exploring Gender, Relationships, Parenthood, and Poverty in the Inner City Utilizing the Work of Kathryn Edin

Lauren McClain — Thu, 03 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0400

Promises I Can Keep: Why Poor Women Put Motherhood before Marriage and Doing the Best I Can: Fatherhood in the Inner City, by Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas and Timothy J. Nelson, respectively, are excellent portrayals of young women’s and men’s lives. These texts explore issues of courtship, sexual and romantic relationships, contraceptive use (or lack thereof), poverty, parenthood, marriage, violence, alcohol/drug use, education, and the labor market. Particularly for students whose own life experience has been more privileged, these books can be profoundly eye-opening. This article will outline the way that I have used these books in my class to discuss issues of gender, family, parenthood, and more in the context of urban poverty. Half of the class reads one book and the other half reads the other book. They consult with those who read the same book for a few class periods, then decide on questions they have for the other group, finally, the two groups interview each other. More details are provided below.

Using Ma Vie en Rose to Teach about Gender Norms and Socialization

Marcia Ghidina — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0400

Ma Vie en Rose is a 1997 French language film with English subtitles. This relatively light and kind-hearted film sympathetically tells the story of Ludovic/Ludo who was born a boy but identifies and wishes to be regarded as a girl. Her parents are accommodating at first, thinking Ludo, who is 7, will outgrow this "phase". But when Ludo’s gender performance as a girl garners negative attention from the neighbors and her father’s boss, Ludo’s parents become less patient and try to make Ludo embrace and enact being a boy. The film provides multiple clear examples of norms, norm violations, gender norms, gender socialization, gender performance and transgender identity. After reviewing these core concepts from reading and class discussion and with a set of themes (questions) to observe, students watch the film in class. In small groups and then as a class as a whole students discuss what gender norms are, how they are reinforced/socialized, what are sanctions when gender norms are violated, and how gender is performed.

Campus Tattoos Project

Kevin D Dougherty, Jake Kane, Renae Wilkinson — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 00:00:00 -0400

In the United States, there is a growing acceptance and embrace of tattoos, especially among younger generations. Tattoos hold powerful messages of identity and belonging ripe for sociological exploration. The Campus Tattoos Project (CTP) is an innovative, semester-long assignment that uses tattoos to teach sociological concepts and methods. Students engage in research and reflection in four reports. The first report is a deductive analysis using original survey data to answer the research question: Who has a tattoo at the university? The second and third reports are inductive, content analysis studies using photos of tattoos taken by students for the project. Report 2 focuses on stratification. Students analyze photos to answer the research question: How do tattoos differ by race, ethnicity, or gender (students choose one) at the university? Social institutions are the topic of Report 3. Students again analyze photos taken of campus tattoos throughout the semester to assess: What social institutions are most commonly depicted in students’ tattoos on campus? The final report requires students to design and describe their own tattoo, with particular attention to the interrelationships of status, group, and social institution. The Campus Tattoos Project provides an intriguing and meaningful way for students to learn sociology by doing sociology. We used the project in a very large introductory course, but it is readily adaptable to a wide range of sociological courses regardless of size.

Subsidies, Uneven Development, and the Race to the Bottom

Colby King — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0400

Through this set of materials students listen to an engaging interview about detailed reporting on local subsidies and explore an interactive map revealing local subsidy policies. The materials include a lecture outline for teaching these concepts with reference to works of relevant urban sociologists. Uneven development is often a critical concept in urban sociology courses, and is used to discuss how spatial inequality emerges from the unequal distribution of capital across space. Subsidies are policies which create incentives for local investment and can contribute to these inequalities. This set of materials explores how policy, especially subsidies, can exacerbate uneven development by creating a "race to the bottom" in which the incentives provided may reduce the overall benefit of increased investment for localities offering subsidies. These materials illustrate the writings of Engels, Lefebvre, and Harvey on uneven patterns of capital investment, and Logan and Molotch on growth coalition activities. Because the interactive materials guide students to engage with information about the subsidy policies of their local governments, many students become very engaged with the material and more interested in spatial inequality and the policy decisions of their representatives. The steps of this material are: 1) Students read assigned urban sociological readings on uneven development and capital accumulation. 2) Instructor delivers in-class lecture and discussion on uneven development, related readings, and preview of subsidies assignment. 3) Students listen to interview with Louise Story about her reporting on subsidies on Fresh Air, explore interactive map from New York Times and listen to Planet Money podcast episode "Why Did the Job Cross the Road?" 4) Students complete subsidies assignment. 5) In-class discussion of findings. Image Credit: Photographs in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Examples of Capital in Social Media

David Diego Delgado — Thu, 11 May 2017 00:00:00 -0400

Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of reproduction involves an understanding of four types of capital: economic, cultural, social, and symbolic. This activity will promote students’ abilities to recognize these forms of capital, distinguish between them, and understand how they may influence one another in the real world. Students will be assigned into small groups, with each group focusing on a different social media platform. Once in groups, students will work together to find empirical examples of the four types of capital using their smart phones or computers. After the students have had sufficient time to record their examples, the class will be brought together to share examples. Students will be required to provide an explanation for how their example fits into the specified form of capital and how it influences social positioning. After the activity, students are assigned a short essay assignment.

Understanding the Gini Coefficient: From Conceptual Foundation to Quantitative Measure (Video Series)

Dennis J. Downey, J. Brooke Ernest, Michael McGarry — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 00:00:00 -0400

This series of brief videos (three parts, approximately 27 minutes total) explains to students the logic of the Gini Coefficient as the most common measure of income inequality, and explains how it is derived through a sequence of basic steps. The first video explains the logic of an income distribution; the second video explains how to construct a Lorenz Curve from an income distribution; and the third video explains how to calculate the Gini Coefficient from a Lorenz Curve. All videos use current and historical data from the United States (1967 to 2014). The videos are designed to be used as supplementary materials for any undergraduate class that addresses income inequality (or measurement). The videos are designed with a specific and a general pedagogical purpose. The specific purpose is to present the underlying logic of the Gini Coefficient. Given its ubiquity in the study of inequality, a conceptual understanding of the Gini Coefficient makes patterns more meaningful, and reinforces an appreciation of social scientific measurement. The general purpose of the videos (and associated classroom presentation) is to cultivate students’ quantitative literacy. The Gini Coefficient represents an ideal opportunity for doing so because it is the product of a sequence of discrete steps, each of which requires basic quantitative skills, but none of which requires advanced mathematical understandings. It also present opportunities to assess various types of graphs and to interpret different types of data. This research received invaluable support by a Carla B. Howery Teaching Enhancement Grant from the American Sociological Association

Sorting Sexual Scripts

Kenneth R. Hanson — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 00:00:00 -0400

By using Simon and Gagnon’s sexual scripting theory, students learn how to apply abstract theoretical concepts to concrete examples that resonate with the current Western sexual mores. In addition, a class discussion at the end of class helps students see how sexual scripting theory can be applied to numerous sexual contexts in their own lives.

Using infographics to learn and communicate about global problems

Nik Janos — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 00:00:00 -0400

Research papers have long been a staple of upper division sociology courses; however, this assignment combines sociological research with the creation and dissemination of a sociological infographic. An infographic is generally defined as data visualization with an emphasis on design, readability, and information usually containing pictures, graphs and charts. In this semester long assignment, students will select and research a global problem, create and design a data rich infographic, conduct peer review, write a reflection paper, and finally share their infographic publicly. The foundation of this assignment is student directed sociological research, including the requirement to collect and interpret data, as well as engage with concepts and theories related to global sociology, wealth and poverty, and globalization. However, in a twist on the typical research paper, this assignment plays with emerging new media and digital arts to allow students to work on other aspects of content creation besides written work. Further, it helps develop digital proficiency in both content creation and content understanding. Lastly, this assignment helps students understand that their school work can have an impact beyond the university since they are encouraged to share their finished infographic on social media, Tumblr, personal blog, or via email with friends and family. Additionally, a public website was created to showcase all the students’ final infographics.

Research Evaluation Activity and Paper Assignment

Colleen Elizabeth Wynn — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 00:00:00 -0500

This in-class activity allows students to apply the methodological knowledge they have learned thus far in class to critiquing and evaluating existing research. This activity is used to prepare students for a series of paper assignments assigned throughout the semester. Through this series of research evaluation papers, students apply the methodological knowledge they have learned in class to critiquing and evaluating existing research. This in-class activity and paper assignment also exposes them to sociological research and teaches them to read and critically analyze the methods section of research, a section undergraduate students may often skip as they perceive this section to be boring or difficult to understand. This activity and series of papers also gets students writing and thinking about scientific research.

Introduction to Operationalization

May Takeuchi, Alex Takeuchi — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 00:00:00 -0500

Science’s mission is to discover the underpinning behind observable phenomena or abstract principles that link relevant variables, while testing specific hypotheses deduced from those abstract principles in terms of how those variables are related to each other. Operationalization is a critical process in the initial stage of scientific inquiry to empirically define variables, so they can be measured properly. This assignment is designed to help students in a research methodology course: 1) be familiar with the concept of operationalization with simple examples; 2) practice formulating a simple bivariate hypothesis using common sociological variables; and 3) learn to assess the consistency between logical speculations and empirically testable hypotheses in typical research scenarios.

World’s Largests: Understanding Expressions of Place Character and Efforts to Attract Economic Investment

Colby King — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 00:00:00 -0500

Place character is a modern concept in urban sociology that is a critical piece for understanding how processes of economic development can be rooted in socially constructed subjective understandings of place characteristics. Because understanding the processes from which place character emerges implies dealing with social constructions and subjective understandings, it is often a challenging concept for students in urban sociology courses to work with. Through this set of materials, students read leading scholarship (Paulsen, 2004) delineating the place character concept, work with this concept in class discussion, and then apply the place character concept to a documentary which illustrates examples of place character being uniquely expressed through large sculptures in small towns across the US. These large sculptures are roadside attractions which local residents often hope will attract visitors and drive economic investment in these, often economically struggling, communities. Situated within broader study of economic development processes and an understanding of globalization, this assignment may function as a critical counterpoint to optimistic narratives about urban investment in creativity and technological innovation by asking students to reflect on places struggling to attract such investment. This material is relevant for urban sociology and rural sociology courses. The steps of this material are as follows: 1) Students read Paulsen’s (2004) "Making Character Concrete" prior to class. 2) In-class lecture and discussion on concept of place character 3) Students read King and Cazessus’s (2012) review of World’s Largest, "Small Town, Big Totem." 4) Students watch World’s Largest. 5) Students complete video assignment. Image Credit: The Jon B. Lovelace Collection of California Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America Project, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Measuring Sexuality

Tal Peretz — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0400

This activity involves walking students through an abridged history of sexuality categories and measurements, using their own sexual identities as examples. Freud, Kinsey, and Klein are discussed as all measuring sexuality in different ways, and thus collecting different data and reaching different conclusions. As sexuality measures change throughout the activity, the picture of student sexuality also changes, becoming more complex and less heteronormative. This shows both the effect of existing categorization systems on personal identities, and the effect of systems of measurement on the data measured. It concludes by questioning the very object of the measures, the idea of a stable sexual self that is being measured more-or-less accurately by these different scales, and thus introduces queer theory.

Gender in the Slasher Film Genre

Brandon Bosch — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0400

Slasher films typically involve a lone killer/monster stalking a group of people, often picking them off a few at a time. Formulaic and full of long-lived franchises, it is relatively easy for students to pick up on themes and patterns in the slasher films. Moreover, I always find that many students in my class have seen some of these films, and even those that have not seen them often have a general idea about the genre. A lot of the class participates in this lecture, and while it does skew towards male students, I always hear from a lot of female students. The purpose of this presentation is to introduce students to how gender is represented in slasher films, have them apply sociological theories to the content, and make linkages to representations of gender in mass media more generally. Although used in a 300-level Sociology of Mass Media class (roughly 35 students), this lecture could also be used without any major modifications for a class dealing with sex and gender, deviance, cultural sociology, media and violence, or film studies.

Introduction to Sociology Semester Project

Eve M. Blobaum — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0400

This capstone project engages students in the social science research process. Working in groups, students must design and carry out an original research project. This is primarily completed in the last two-thirds of the term, although some preliminary in-class discussion occurs earlier. Each group must also produce a presentation and write-up, loosely modeled after professional presentations and refereed journal articles typically found in social science research. Students choose from predetermined project options, including a typical "breaching experiment" and two content analyses, and the instructor assigns groups (based on project preferences, in combination with other factors). This resource includes a description of the project options, detailed instructions for each project option, student handouts on a suggested project timeline and evaluation criteria, general instructions for completing the write-up, individual and group evaluation rubrics, and sample student work.

Sociology of Film Syllabus

Judith Rachel Halasz — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0400

Designed as an upper division undergraduate elective, the sociology of film fosters the capacity to analyze film sociologically by pairing carefully selected films that address central sociological issues such as class, gender, sex, sexuality, race, ethnicity, deviance, urban life, and immigration with topical scholarship in sociology and film and weekly sociological film viewing guides. We often watch movies for entertainment, paying little attention to the sociological aspects of film. Yet, cinema influences and is shaped by ideology, social structure, norms, and social relations. And the film industry reveals the tensions between the drive to profit, make art, send a message, influence the audience, and establish power. The course delves into the way films have reproduced and challenged social conventions by contextualizing current sociological developments in cinema, with topics such as unconventional women and feminism; masculinity in crisis; trans bodies and the horror genre; urban poverty, race, and policing; and immigration and identity in global perspective. This course will enhance students’ understanding of culture, media, and sociology by examining classical, contemporary, independent, and foreign films and related scholarship. This syllabus uses critical and collaborative pedagogies, including peer and active learning, making it especially well-suited for courses that emphasize student participation, but it can also be used for lecture based courses. Students are expected to watch and analyze films, read scholarship on sociology and film, participate in an active discussion, write about individual films weekly, write two major comparative sociological analyses of films spanning multiple genres, give a group presentation on assigned readings, lead a class discussion, and deliver a presentation on an original film analysis in class. Detailed guidelines and grading rubrics are provided for the course assignments.

Community Engagement: Theory, Practice, and the Politics of Help

Teresa Irene Gonzales — Thu, 29 Dec 2016 00:00:00 -0500

Why do community service? What does it mean to help? What kinds of communities need help in order to thrive? Where should that help come from? What should that help look like? What is the difference between help and engagement? In this course, we will explore the uniquely American perspective on community service and community engagement in order to answer the aforementioned questions. We will begin with some historical foundations in the U.S. and then focus on contemporary ways to build community via engaged participation. At times, we will also challenge ourselves through comparative analysis of neighborhood-based responses to local and national policies. We will consider the place, significance, and outcomes of community engagement within the public realm using an asset based rather than needs based focus. Although this is a Sociology course, and the bulk of what we’ll read is sociological, we will also read literature and discuss concepts from other disciplines in order to better understand what it means to "help." This is a project-based seminar. This means that everyone is expected to produce a well-thought out engaged project at the end of the course. As part of this, you are required to keep up with the reading and contribute to the intellectual environment of the classroom, which will, in turn, inform the development of your work for this class.

Research Methods Mad Libs

Jess Butler — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 00:00:00 -0400

Introducing sociological research methods in an entry-level course with a mix of sociology majors and non-majors can be challenging. This activity engages students at each stage of the research process, providing an interactive alternative to traditional approaches and allowing students from various disciplinary backgrounds to collaborate in the production of knowledge. This class activity uses a "Mad Libs" format to cast students in the roles of sociological researchers. Students learn to identify independent and dependent variables, operationalize concepts, check for reliability and validity, formulate and justify hypotheses, select appropriate research methods, simulate literature review and data collection, analyze and share results, and reflect on the research process.

Introduction to Sociology Syllabus employing Team-based Learning

Mark P Killian, Horizon Worden — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 00:00:00 -0500

This is a syllabus for an introductory sociology course. The units contained in the course are administered through the Team-based Learning (TBL) process. TBL is a pedagogical strategy that uses student teams "to provide students with both conceptual and procedural knowledge" (Michaelson & Sweet 2008). As reflected in this syllabus, students in TBL classes are expected to learn concepts on their own outside of class, refine their understanding of concepts in teams during class, and work cooperatively with their team to solve application-oriented activities. By the end of the course students have an understanding of the theoretical and conceptual core of sociology, use their sociological imagination to evaluate social life, and reflect on their own subjective social reality.

Using County-Level Health Data to Examine the Social Determinants of Health

Kristen M. Schorpp — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 00:00:00 -0400

This assignment prompts students to apply understandings of the social determinants of health to analysis of publically available socioeconomic and health data, with the ultimate goal of encouraging students to critically engage in and personally relate to course material. Students are asked to use data from the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program (www.countyheathrankings.org), a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, in order to analyze the county-level social and economic contributors to health within a county of their choosing. This assignment 1) tests understanding of social conditions as fundamental causes of disease, 2) evaluates student ability to interpret population data, and 3) garners interest in the material by providing the opportunity to study a county of personal relevance to the student.

Who am I? : The Looking Glass Self

Ava Isaac — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0500

In this activity, students will familiarize themselves with the concept of the Looking Glass Self (1902) by participating in a low-stakes classroom sales pitch. Volunteer participants will complete pre- and post-questionnaires asking them to rate their performance and ability as public speakers. Unknowingly, they are subjected to pre-determined reactions from their classmates, eliciting either enthusiasm or boredom. After the pitches, pre- and post-questionnaires will be used for class discussion. At the end, students will be able to understand how sense of self is developed through social processes and interpersonal interactions. Students will then be assigned a brief, 1-2 page take-home response essay defining and detailing how the concept of the Looking Glass Self applies to their own lives. In the following class session, students will also be given a short period to anonymously write any comments, concerns or recommendations regarding the activity.

Debate: The Medicalization of Childhood Psychiatric Illness

Kristen M. Schorpp — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 00:00:00 -0400

Medicalization is the process by which human problems or experiences become defined as medical problems with medical solutions. The goal of this in-class activity is to enable students to apply and evaluate a contemporary example of medicalization to better understand the driving forces and social implications of medicalization. The medicalization of psychiatric conditions in childhood, such as ADHD, bipolar disorder, and depression, has been a controversial issue given the sharp increase in medication use among children and the potential lasting impacts that this medication use has on individual outcomes, and is thus a fitting topic for in-class debate. This collaborative group activity engages all students in the class, encourages "big picture" thinking of the process of medicalization, and also incorporates core sociological themes related to medicalization.

Teaching the Sociological Imagination: Using Actual Lenses to See Personal Troubles as Public Issues

William J. Scarborough — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 00:00:00 -0400

This classroom exercise uses a comic strip to introduce students to thinking with a sociological imagination by providing the opportunity for them to view personal troubles through various sociological lenses. In the activity, students are introduced through a comic strip to a character, Mason, who experiences personal troubles. Students then overlay transparencies over the comic strip, which provide new ways to view Mason’s troubles as public issues that extend beyond the personal characteristics of the individual and allow for an understanding of the systemic social forces that affect our lives. In this activity, the transparencies symbolize different sociological lenses that we adopt to view social problems from different perspectives. Each lens (transparency) is designed to shed light on a different social force affecting the comic’s protagonist, such as race, gender, sexuality, religion, and the intersection of multiple forces. Through this activity, students will learn one how sociological lenses give us the ability to observe how complex social forces shape our everyday lives.

Sociology of Therapy and Service Animals

Meghan L. Mills — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 00:00:00 -0400

Syllabus and usage notes for "Sociology of Therapy and Service Animals." The focus of this course is on emotional support, therapy, and service animals (collectively referred to as support animals) in U.S. society as viewed from a sociological perspective. Emphasis is on understanding the role of non-human animals in society, disability identity, disability-based discrimination and stigma, support animal laws, and service dog culture, In partnership with "Hand in Paw," a local non-profit organization aimed to improve the health and well-being of children and adults through animal-assisted therapy teams, the course will emphasize a social science research component. Students are required to complete approximately 20 hours of fieldwork outside of the classroom.

Understanding Intersectionality Through a Roll of the Dice: What Might the Experience Be?

Nicole Rosen, Aya Christie de Chellis — Sat, 12 Mar 2016 00:00:00 -0500

The term "intersectionality" was developed by women of color organizations in the 1960s and 1970s and was included in articles written by black feminist scholars Kimberlé Crenshaw and Patricia Hill Collins in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Women of color further expanded the theory and application of intersectionality throughout the 90s. The concept of intersectionality draws attention to how various social identities intersect and influence one’s experience of power or oppression in society. Initially, intersectionality theorists focused on how race, class, and sex intersect to give some people more power or privilege over others. Increasingly, social justice oriented theorists are expanding this to consider how other social identities (i.e. ethnicity, age, gender, sexuality, ability/disability, immigration status) overlap and influence one’s privilege or marginal status in society. Intersectionality is used as a part of a human rights and social justice framework and as a result, students who have a firm understanding of intersectionality may take their newfound knowledge outside of the classroom. Understanding intersectionality is paramount in one’s pursuit to conceptualize how relations of power are maintained, as well as how one’s identity is socially constructed and relative to our community and environment. However, grasping the nuances of intersectionality can be rather abstract for some undergraduate students. This activity is designed to enable students to consider how various social identities intersect and influence a person’s experiences, choices, and status. By conversing with their peers and "rolling the dice," students are able to see how difference pieces of an individual’s experience identities intersect and shape one’s experience. In addition to participating in the in-class activity, students are required to reflect on what they learned in a formal essay. Instructions for students and instructors are provided.

Perspectives on Gender Inequality in the Labor Force: Gloria Steinem & Sheryl Sandberg

Holly Straut Eppsteiner — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 00:00:00 -0400

Scholars argue that we have reached a period of "stalled" gender equality at work: the wage gap between men and women persists, and men and women continue to be concentrated in different types of occupations with differential rewards. The literature on work and gender provides several supply-side and demand-side explanations for gender inequality in labor markets. On the supply side, theories include human capital explanations and gender role theory. On the demand side, scholars offer more structural explanations. In this exercise, students watch two videos presenting different explanations for and solutions to gender inequality in the U.S. labor market. One perspective is presented by Sheryl Sandberg, the Chief Operating Officer for Facebook, in an interview with 60 Minutes. The second perspective is presented in a PBS interview with Gloria Steinem, a noted feminist, activist, and journalist. After watching the videos, students discuss the similarities and differences in the perspectives and approaches from the videos, and will apply different theories for gender inequality, based on readings and class lecture, to the videos.

Teaching Sociological Theory: Engaging Visual and Creative Learning

Jennifer R. Darrah-Okike, Keith Scott, Penn Pantumsinchai — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 00:00:00 -0400

We provide instructions for three classroom activities to use in an introduction to sociological theory course for undergraduates. The goals of the activities are to develop students’ understanding of key concepts from sociological theory and to practice applying those concepts to ‘real-world’ examples. Class lessons aim to engage students in active-learning and collaborative group-based inquiry, and are tailored to engage visual and auditory/creative learning styles. These activities were originally designed for use at a large state university with a highly multi-ethnic student population and a presence of first-generation-college students but the activities are broad enough to be used effectively with any student population. The three activities are as follows: 1. Exploring Marx’s concepts of exploitation, ideology, and commodity fetishism through music 2. Visually representing Durkheim’s concepts of organic and mechanical solidarity 3. Using magazines to illustrate and identify Foucault’s view of discourse as power

Literature Review Group Activity

Brandon Bosch — Sat, 11 Nov 2017 00:00:00 -0500

I use this literature review activity for two capstone classes (Sociology and Political Science) where students must write a 15-20 research paper. The presentation and group activity below helps students better understand how to write an effective literature review and topic sentences. Working in teams, students reassemble an existing literature review (from an actual published article) and write new topic sentences for each paragraph. By the end of this activity, students are more confident and capable about writing their first literature review. In addition to being a useful learning exercise, students also tend to really enjoy doing this group activity.

OPEN ACCESS AND OPEN EDUCATION RESOURCES READING LIST FOR INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

Stephanie Medley-Rath — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 00:00:00 -0500

This document provides the detailed reading list of open education and open access materials used in an Introduction to Sociology course. The course is divided into 13 topical modules. Under each module, readers will find the learning goals for the module and under each learning goal, the readings used to support that goal are listed.

Considerations For Selecting Open Education and Open Access Readings

Stephanie Medley-Rath — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 00:00:00 -0500

Textbook costs are increasing. Students opt to get through a course without the textbook to save money. Faculty recognizing this challenge might consider free alternatives to the conventional textbook to save students money and increase the likelihood of students having access to the textbook by using open access and open education resources. In this document, I identify and discuss several factors that instructors should consider before choosing open education or open access textbooks readings for their courses. I used open education and open access materials in Introduction to Sociology, but many of the factors to consider apply to courses beyond Introduction to Sociology.

Gender Roles and Yankee Candles

Matt Reid — Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 -0400

From 2012 to 2014, Yankee Candle had a special line of "Man Candles" which were, as the name suggests, candles specifically marketed towards men. These gendered candles from the well-recognized brand included fragrances such as "Riding Mower", "First Down", "On Tap", and "Man Town" among others. As a creative, arts-based exercise in intellectual playfulness, students are asked to conceptualize and design Yankee Candle fragrances specifically marketed towards men or women (candles "for him" or "for her"). By designing absurdly gendered candles, students demonstrate their understanding of gender as a socially constructed, performative role. This assignment forces students to think critically about the gender binary through an engaging- and even humorous- exercise utilizing images. Additionally, this assignment can be turned into a contest where students vote for their favorite gendered candles through an instructor-created online survey.

An early semester exercise to promote the application of social conditions and the development of a sociological imagination for introductory students in large classes

Brett Lehman — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 00:00:00 -0500

This exercise involves giving students an opportunity to introduce themselves to their classmates through short presentations during one class period at the beginning of the semester. Students are instructed to apply the concepts of social conditions and the sociological imagination to their presentations. After each presentation, the audience should know more about what social conditions were significant in bringing the speaker to the classroom, or how the speaker uses a sociological imagination to reflect on some of their life experiences. For large classes, this opportunity can be provided as a bonus assignment so that only a sample (albeit biased) of the class participates, saving time. Allowing students to introduce themselves and their diverse backgrounds is intended to serve several purposes. The entire class should gain an immediate appreciation for the diversity of their classmates which is important at the beginning of the semester; the precedent for safely sharing one’s ideas and experiences is set for future discussions; students engage with fundamental sociological concepts on their own terms to create a dialogue about these concepts early in the semester. Creating a community of learners reduces anxiety in the classroom (Macheski et al. 2008) while allowing students to take center stage in the classroom can promote engagement and retention of information (King 1993). The extent to which students have learned about social conditions and the sociological imagination are assessed both soon after the exercise and deeper into the semester through reflections, future class discussions, and exam questions.

Sociology of Mass Media

Brandon Bosch — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 00:00:00 -0500

This class will focus on mass media representations of gender, race, class, and politics, as well as the cultural, legal, economic, and institutional factors influencing the production of media texts. We will also discuss the ways in which media audiences (not just media scholars) make sense of media texts. Types of media to be discussed include advertisements, film (including romantic comedies, drama, horror, action, and war films), news media, comic books, video games, "reality" television, and sitcoms. Due to time constraints, popular music, novels, and "new" media will receive relatively less attention. Much of the class will focus on classic theories and media texts. Many of the examples discussed in class will likely be things that you have not seen (e.g., It Happened One Night, The Maltese Falcon, Halloween, Apocalypse Now, When Harry Met Sally). This is done to expose you to media texts (and historical contexts) that you might be unaware of, and give you the opportunity to compare them with the media that you consume today.

Intersectionality and Intimate Partner Violence: An Interactive Activity to Assess Prior Knowledge

Jessica R West — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 00:00:00 -0500

Using an intersectional lens, this activity aims to assess student’s preconceived knowledge of intimate partner violence prior to covering this topic in class through the use of audience response systems, such as live polls. The anonymity of the poll will allow for a greater participation by removing the concern with peer judgment. The results are then to be compiled into statistics and used throughout the module on intimate partner violence to underscore student’s preconceived ideas. After completing the section on intimate partner violence, a two-part written reflection is to be conducted, first a personal reflection to assess student’s personal growth, and second on the effects of preconceived ideas in society. This activity provides many opportunities for students to reflect upon their own opinions and the opinions of others and observe how those relate to factual information.

Globalization and World Systems Theory: An Introduction

Anthony Jack Knowles — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Understanding the social world from a global perspective is becoming increasingly important for sociologists. World Systems Theory is a useful framework for explaining some of the macro level dynamics occurring around the globe. However, undergraduate sociology students are not usually introduced to World Systems Theory until they take upper division level classes. This PowerPoint and lecture notes presentation is designed to be a concise and easy to understand introduction to some of the major concepts in World Systems analysis. It is primarily designed to be used for introductory sociology classes. This resource has a dual focus on the economic aspects of globalization and World Systems Theory, as well the ecological effects of global economic processes. With both aspects in mind, the resource is designed to introduce one of the approaches sociologists use to frame global economic developments, relationships between countries, and the relationship between society and nature.

What is Subculture?: Identifying and Exploring Subcultures on Campus

Liz Burkhalter, Teresa Evans Ryan — Mon, 30 May 2016 00:00:00 -0400

Students are usually able to understand the concept of culture and identify dominant cultural groups. Yet many struggle with understanding how the concept of subculture is an "unnatural break" from the dominant culture (Hebdige 1979). This activity helps students understand the concept of subculture and recognize the existence of subcultures in their everyday lives. Subculture is defined as cultural patterns that set apart some segment of a society’s population (Macionis 2007). Students are introduced to the concepts of culture, ideology, hegemony, and subculture through lecture. Then, working in groups, they collaborate to create a short video describing a subculture on campus.

Teaching Microaggressions in the Classroom: A Multimedia and Popular Education Approach

Tamra L Gilbertson — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 00:00:00 -0500

This class lecture and assignment aims to teach students how to recognize and cope with microaggressions. Microaggressions are offensive comments or actions directed at minority and other non-dominant groups that are intentional or unintentional and reinforce a stereotype. Research has shown how microaggressive behaviors can have real and lasting emotional implications on minority groups such as affecting self-esteem, academic achievement and depression. This classroom multimedia-based lecture and popular education assignment helps students understand the meaning of microaggressions, fosters their understanding and provides an opportunity to explore and express the sociological implications of these behaviors which perpetuate inequalities in society.

The American College Hookup Scene: Findings from the Online College Social Life Survey

Jessie Ford, Paula England, Jonathan Bearak — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Connecting sociological analysis with topics of timely relevance to students and our society is a valuable feature of our discipline. This extensive PowerPoint presentation provides the foundation for a comprehensive class session on sex in college, hookups, relationships, persistent gender patterns and sexual assault. The data come from the Online College Social Life Survey (Paula England, principal investigator), a survey of more than 20,000 students from 21 four-year colleges and universities in the U.S., collected between 2005 and 2011. These empirically based slides provide a rich source for educating students around an issue of immediate relevance while advancing sociological understanding.

Gravestone Assignment

Tyler R. Flockhart, Maxine P. Atkinson — Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 -0400

This assignment introduces students to the historical importance of symbols in American culture by analyzing gravestones. There are four goals related to this assignment. Students will collect data from gravestone inscriptions, describe, categorize and analyze this data with particular attention to institutional and sub-institutional symbols. They will explain how symbols and inscriptions on gravestones are related to culture and the historical period in which the deceased lived. The time periods examined in this specific assignment are 1860-1929, 1930-1959 and 1960- present. However, the assignment could easily be adapted to other time periods.

Marks of Civilization: A Cultural Examination of Tattooing

David C Lane — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 00:00:00 -0500

From Otzi the Iceman, to ancient Egypt, to Moby Dick, to Ed Hardy shirts for sale at the mall, tattooing is a cultural practice that has been a part of human life for over 5,000 years. Despite the existence of tattooing across cultures and throughout history, and its recent popularity, little academic attention has been devoted to the subject. Marks of Civilization is a course that will critically examine what we know about the subject of tattooing. Over the semester students read a wide array of literature from several different perspectives within sociology and from tattooists. While we read a broad array of literature, the emphasis is on understanding the production of culture model, or the ways that tattoo work is conceived of and created, distributed, and received by members of society. Students also use conventional research methods to critically evaluate tattooing. Throughout the semester they design three different research projects. The title of the course, "Marks of Civilization" is an homage to contemporary tattoo practices, and a reminder that we are merely standing on the shoulders of giants. This is groundbreaking and a rare opportunity to understand tattooing academically.

How Social Capital Affects Resource Sharing

Maureen K. Day — Sun, 28 Feb 2016 00:00:00 -0500

This is a fun, in-class activity that teaches students the ways social capital affects resource distribution. It is best done after students have been exposed, either through reading or lectures, to the idea of social capital. It does not teach them about social capital so much as it teaches them some of the potential ramifications of social capital, specifically that it can mitigate resource disparity. The "game" portion takes about 45 minutes and discussion can be fairly lengthy at 15-25 minutes. If you have a shorter class, it would be feasible to have the discussion in the following class period.

HIV/AIDS and Society: Service Learning Syllabus

Benjamin Drury, Aimee Zoeller, Carrie Foote — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 00:00:00 -0500

Over the last 30 years, nearly 60 million people have been infected with HIV and nearly half of them have died from AIDS. Despite breakthrough treatments, affording long-term survival to many, fatalities continue to mount and AIDS remains one of the top causes of death worldwide. This course examines the HIV/AIDS epidemic from a sociological perspective. Topics include the social construction of HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS-related stigma, how the history, prevailing social norms, social structures limit and/or continue to encourage the spread of HIV on a global scale, and how the pandemic is driven by inequalities across race, social class, sexual orientation, religion, and gender. In the end, students who enroll in the AIDS in Society will achieve course goals, which are to: learn the language, structure, evolution, and critical issues surrounding the HIV/AIDS pandemic from a medical sociology perspective.

Transnational Migration and Latina/o Communities Syllabus

Julie Collins-Dogrul — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 00:00:00 -0500

This course helps students examine transnational migration and its effects on communities in the United States and Latin America. The geographical focus is transnational communities that span the United States and the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America. The course includes multiple ethnographic assignments that help students explore, analyze, and engage with local transnational communities. The course includes journal articles and three books. The journal articles develop theory and provide empirical analyses of transnational migration using multiple methodologies. Enrique’s Journey, written by Los Angeles Times journalist Sonia Nazario, explores the hardship of transnational love and family by telling the story of a child in Honduras trying to reunite with his immigrant mother in the United States. Translation Nation, by Hector Tobar, another Los Angeles Times journalist, examines how immigrants are creating a new America. The Transnational Villagers is a theoretically rigorous monograph written by sociologist Peggy Levitt about transnational politics, culture, and family in the Dominican Republic and Boston.

Two Hypothesis Testing Assignments Using the Survey Documentation and Analysis Website

Robert S Bausch — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 00:00:00 -0400

These assignments are intended to provide Introductory Sociology students an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the hypothesis testing process by analyzing General Social Survey data available at the Survey Documentation and Analysis website. Students are provided with a series of paired independent and dependent variables from which they choose any four pairs. Students are required to write a hypothesis regarding the possible relationship between those pairs, in addition to providing a brief rationale behind each hypothesis. Students are then directed to U.C. Berkeley’s SDA website to run the relevant statistical procedure to test their hypotheses. Students must summarize the results of these statistical tests, decide whether or not their hypotheses were supported, and include copies of their statistical output with their completed assignment. While the assignments (or variations of them) can be used in a variety of sociology courses, the assignment is designed particularly for online Introductory Sociology courses.

Accessing Emerging Online Content in Sociology via RSS

Michael V Miller — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 00:00:00 -0400

RSS enables easy access to emerging online content. The potential of RSS to promote research and teaching is illustrated in this brief description of a model developed for use by sociology faculty and students at The University of Texas at San Antonio

Facts in Fiction: Using Creative and Analytical Writing for Sociological Learning

Amanda Kennedy — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Students of sociology often struggle to see how society impacts their individual identities, decisions, relationships. This assignment invites students to explore "the social" by creating a fictional character. I have the students read the novel, American Circumstance, by Patricia Leavy, but instructors could use any novel that incorporates sociological insights. I then ask them to create a new character to weave into the fabric of the story. They must imagine the character’s background, and write a 5 page interaction with at least one of the existing characters. After the creative writing, students must analyze (in 5 more pages) the choices they made with their character, and how their character is influenced by social statuses and inequalities. You can also have the students analyze the choices made by Leavy (or the author of the novel you choose) in additional pages. The benefits of this assignment are clear. First, the fun, unassuming veneer of a novel does not feel like work. Students enjoy the reading, and therefore, it gets completed in a timely and thorough way. Second, students are pushed out of their element in creative writing which creates the opportunity for new ways of thinking. The analytical portion returns them to a writing style to which they are accustomed, and provides an opportunity to explain, using course materials, how their character is affected by social structures. Using different writing styles, students’ different strengths are balanced. The mix of writing styles is also addresses students’ different learning styles. Third, students relate to the characters in the novel, thus humanizing concepts that may appear as abstract in lecture. And, when creating their own characters, students often, though perhaps inadvertently, venture into autobiography, leading to a kind of auto-ethnographic analysis of how social structures influence their own lives.

Community Engagement

Mary-Beth Raddon — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0400

This resource is a two-part syllabus for SOCI2F60 Foundations for Community Engagement, a high enrolment, full credit Sociology course. The design of the course is a variation on service-learning, a model of teaching and learning in which students' academic studies enhance their community engagement and vice versa. The course combines academic exploration of philosophies and politics of community engagement with experiential learning in community settings in the Niagara region of Ontario. Traditional teaching formats, such as course readings, lectures, small group and on-line discussion, dialogue with, and open the way for, the new ideas of community engagement that students acquire through out-of-classroom learning opportunities. Through this dialogue of academic and experiential learning, students develop capacities for critical reflection. This course teaches various methods of reflection, which is fundamental to service-learning pedagogies. Through reflection, students conceive of new ways to conceptualize and problematize community engagement, while also becoming more aware of, and responsive to, community issues. In particular, the course expands students' conception of community engagement beyond 'service', and provides examples of how to enact social change in the direction of participatory democracy, inclusivity and social justice. The course offers analytic frameworks for, and first-hand experiences of, becoming active community participants, capable of working collaboratively and catalyzing positive change.

The Other Me: An Assignment to Develop the Sociological Imagination by Imagining a Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes

Fletcher Winston — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 00:00:00 -0400

This assignment asks introductory sociology students to create a new biography and imagine how this change in their personal profiles affects their interests, predilections, goals, and opportunities. Comparison between the personas and projected outcomes of their other me with their true selves illuminates the way social forces shape their lives and develops student understanding of the sociological imagination. This assignment is most effective as a culminating experience to more fully examine sociological concepts learned during the semester. In this manner the exercise promotes deeper learning by tying together several topics covered in an introductory sociology course and asking students to reflect upon the sociological perspective. The assignment advances the learning objectives through completion of four handouts in one class meeting and a written homework assignment that requires higher order levels of critical thinking.

Introductory Criminology Portfolio of Exercises

JoAnn Chirico — Thu, 28 May 2015 00:00:00 -0400

This booklet of seven exercises can be completed in class or assigned as homework. Three of the exercises are "mini research" projects in which students must collect data through survey (Severity of Crime exercise), observation (Neighborhood Analysis) or interview (Crime Causation). Other exercises require students to use online sources to gather information or data. Students will use critical thinking skills to analyze data looking for patterns, make comparisons, and generalize about features of particular types of crimes. The exercises cover a variety of topics typical in Introductory Criminology courses such as the UCR and NCVS, white collar crime, theories of crime, social disorganization, and domestic terrorism. The exercises are presented as a "portfolio" but can be separated as desired by the instructor. Assessment can be incorporated into regular tests or quizzes. Students could be required to write lab reports or essays on the exercises to submit along with the worksheets. Students will need internet access for most of the exercises.

Technology & Society Research Paper Assignment

Kristin Holster — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0400

Research has demonstrated that the use of nontraditional readings can provide undergraduate students with an accessible medium to explore sociological ideas and concepts (Castellanos, DeAngelis, & Clark-Ibanez, 2008). Specifically, science fiction novels involve both real and imagined life and require the reader to develop critical and analytical skills (Laz, 1996). For this paper assignment students read science fiction novels to explore the impact of technology on society and society on technology. After reading the novel, students write a research paper in which they compare technologies predicted in the novel to technologies that actually exist today, analyze how the predicted technologies reflect the social conditions of the time the book was written, and evaluate the impact of the existing technology on today’s society.

Teaching Sustainability through Activism: The Greening University Projects

Shawn A. Trivette — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0400

This class project asks students to work in small groups to "green" some aspect of their university or college, applying theory and course concepts to the process of making environmental change in the world around them. The project entails writing a proposal, working to implement that proposal, and reporting to other class members the process and outcome.

Linguistic Ideologies, Fallacies of Racism, and the Construction of a Racial "Gaffe"

David Lee Rigby — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 00:00:00 -0400

The purpose of this activity is to introduce students to sociological and linguistic concepts useful for analyzing media narratives often encountered during the "moral panics" that follow infamous racist utterances. In order to do this, the activity utilizes video of an infamous racist chant that went viral in early 2015, along with several articles and statements that were published online in the ensuing discussion. This activity will assess students’ understanding of linguistic ideologies that underlie common English usage in the United States, as well as the five fallacies underlying the folk-ideology of racism. Part 1 of the activity involves a review and discussion on course readings. Part 2 involves small group work, wherein students complete a worksheet, and teach one another, sharing ideas. Finally, in part 3 of the activity, answers to the worksheet are reviewed via class discussion, and students address the implications of new concepts for personal experiences with racial "light talk," and the circulation of racist language through media discourse surrounding gaffes.

Naming and Framing Gender: Analyzing Gendered Vocabulary

Virginia Little — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 00:00:00 -0400

The objective of this assignment is to give students the opportunity to apply knowledge about how gender is socially constructed through vocabulary. Students will identify vocabulary that is gender-biased, then create "new" vocabulary that is gender-neutral or inclusive. Students will engage in small group discussion and complete a given worksheet on the topic. This assignment is meant to follow a lecture on the social construction of gender and should be tied to discussions of class lecture and readings.

Identifying Colorblind Ideology on The O'Reilly Factor

Jessica Anna Cebulak — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 00:00:00 -0400

The purpose of this activity is to engage students with examples of colorblind racism in media discourse. To do this, this activity utilizes an excerpt from The O’Reilly Factor. This activity will assess students’ understanding of the four central frames of colorblind racism. Part I of the activity involves a review and discussion on the four central tenets. Part II of the activity involves group work, where students fill out a worksheet containing quotes from the video, identifying which of the four frames the quote represents. Part II also utilizes a "runner" technique, where one member from each group switches groups, and then returns to their original group to check their answers and assumptions. The final portion of the activity, Part III, involves a review of the worksheet, as well a critical on modern day inequalities that still contribute to racism and discrimination in America.

Criminological Theories Through Rap Music

Katherine L. Newton — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 00:00:00 -0400

The objective of this classroom activity is to engage students with examples of criminological theories found in popular culture. This activity will assess students’ understanding of criminological theory such as labeling theory, differential association theory, and strain theory. In order to do this, the activity will consist of a think-pair-share technique of learning and a jigsaw technique of learning. Students will work individually for a portion of the activity, work in small groups for another portion, and then teach other students what they learned for the final portion of the activity. Students will be given lyrical excerpts from four rap songs. In order to engage students, this activity uses excerpts from songs by popular rappers that most students are familiar with: Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, and 2Pac. The focus of this activity is to have students better identify, dispute, and utilize criminological theory and to have students better discuss criminological theory.

Power and Privilege Class Activity

Brianna Turgeon — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 00:00:00 -0400

As Johnson (2006) describes, people often have a hard time coming to terms with privilege and oppression without feeling uncomfortable and sometimes even defensive. While discomfort may be part of learning new topics, especially those pertaining to inequality, this activity intends to diffuse some of that difficulty by getting students to apply concepts surrounding privilege and oppression to public figures. Additionally, students will gain practice discussing privilege with classmates. The activity draws on Peggy McIntosh’s approach, wherein privilege is framed in terms of having privilege in some areas and not having privilege in other areas, showing that people experience an intersection of domination and oppression. At the end of the activity, students will write a reflection on their own privilege, considering how privilege and oppression relate to their own lives and experiences.

Watching the Culture Industry at work: Superbowl commercials as cultural products

Carla D Ilten — Tue, 19 May 2015 00:00:00 -0400

In this media activity, students will learn to watch advertisements through the lens of Critical Theory. Students will discover how "the whole world is passed through the filter of the culture industry" and distinguish the fun and amusement of this genre from the cultural messages of inclusion and exclusion it entails. This media activity is intended as an in-class exercise that follows a lecture on Horkheimer and Adorno's text "The Culture Industry. Enlightenment as Mass Deception" (1944). It uses a hit list of "10 funniest Superbowl commercials" to facilitate students' active recognition and understanding of central Critical Theory concepts such as the "commodity character of culture," consumerism, totality and alienation, as well as amusement, fun, entertainment as vehicles for repressing resistance and mitigating powerlessness.

Sociology of Native Americans

Melanie D Hildebrandt — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 00:00:00 -0500

This course is designed to introduce undergraduates to some of the history, cultures, and dramatic changes experienced by the indigenous populations of North America as a result of European settlement and American conquest. Using a sociological approach, the course explores the social, political, economic and cultural challenges facing contemporary Native Americans, both on and off reservations. Activist responses to colonial forces, power and domination are an integral part of the course, although activism is examined as both formal and informal resistance to oppression. By adopting the sociological imagination’s mandate to connect "personal troubles and public issues", student will learn about how Indian-US relations, including massacres, broken treaties, forced sterilization, land and fishing rights disputes, and the boarding school movement, have led to the near-extinction of indigenous languages and cultures, and high rates of chronic disease and poverty on reservations. Native American responses to those events, trends and problems highlight the role of resistance and self-determination, and the strength of indigenous people continuing to fight for rights in the courts as well as in the global consciousness. This course offers a crucial but often overlooked piece of undergraduate learning by addressing issues of power, privilege and cultural hegemony that continuously operate to silence the voices of Native Americans, both in the academy and beyond.

What is the difference between a Private Trouble and a Public Issue? Exploring the Sociology Imagination

Jessica A. Cohen — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 00:00:00 -0500

By adapting the in-class exercise described in Adams (2010), the following activity helps students explore C. Wright Mills’ sociological imagination by generating examples of private troubles and public issues. By the conclusion of the activity, students should be able to explain the difference between troubles and issues, provide their own examples of each, and brainstorm their own public solutions to contemporary social problems.

Technology in the Traditional Classroom

Landon Schnabel — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 00:00:00 -0500

Technology presents challenges for maintaining student engagement, but I argue that it can enhance communication and interaction. In the course of this brief essay, I provide answers to two technology-related questions for the traditional classroom: (1) Can technology aid class engagement, and, if so, how? (2) Should instructors allow computers in class? In answer to the first, I show how technology can be used to facilitate engaged learning both in and outside the classroom. I also discuss how technology can be used to automate some processes, giving instructors more time in and outside the classroom. In answer to the second question, I propose a solution in which computer use in the classroom is allowed, but highly regulated.

Mapping out Medicalization

Joshua Christopher Tom — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0500

This is an in-class activity designed to introduce the concept of medicalization, or the process by which human problems become understood, defined and treated as being medical in nature. This activity also provides the opportunity to discuss the avenues by which this process occurs and its social implications. I have used this on the first day of a Health and Medicine week in an Introduction to Sociology course, but it could be easily adapted for topical courses in the Sociology of Health or Social Deviance. Students respond to multiple prompts by labeling states of affairs as being medical conditions or not. The classroom responses are mapped out on a continuum to visually stimulate and guide discussion about the placement of each state of affairs. This activity engages the entire classroom and requires students to interact directly with their classmates in their discussion of medicalization.

"What is a Brony?" Challenging Modern Day Definitions of Masculinity in the Classroom

Jessica A Cohen — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0500

Using Brony subculture as an example of challenging traditional gender roles, this learning exercise introduces the concepts of gender socialization and performance from a male perspective; while opening a dialogue about prejudice, discrimination and intolerance in our society. The exercise spans two fifty minute classes, and can garner much discussion and introspection about how society defines masculinity and femininity and the negative sanctions that are inflicted upon those who fail to perform the prescribed gendered behavior.

Seminar on Teaching: Pedagogical Theory and Practice

Julie A Pelton — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 00:00:00 -0400

This Seminar on Teaching is a graduate level course that emphasizes the connection between pedagogical theory and practice. After exploring a variety of theoretical approaches to teaching at the undergraduate level, including critical, feminist, and other pedagogical theories, much of the class involves the practical application of theory to teaching in the college classroom. Particular emphasis is placed on exploring how pedagogical perspectives might translate into particular teaching styles, methods of instruction, classroom activities, student learning objectives, and course requirements. Students are also introduced to research on the sociology of teaching and learning as a source of teaching innovation, best practices in course design, and quality assessment techniques. Students write a philosophy of teaching, develop a course, write a syllabus, complete a teaching demonstration, and create a teaching portfolio that reflects their pedagogical approach in the classroom. While a number of graduate-level teaching seminar syllabi are represented in TRAILS, this course offers a unique approach to the teacher seminar that simultaneously requires students to read pedagogical theory, practice the art and science of teaching, learn from and emulate best practices in the scholarship of teaching and learning, develop course materials, and prepare for the job market. This syllabus also updates the many excellent resources from the syllabi set on preparing graduate students to teach that are already available through TRAILS.

Celebrities, Crime and Deviance: Understanding Formal and Informal Sanctions

Jennifer Stevens — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 00:00:00 -0400

In this activity, students will learn how to distinguish informal deviance from crime (formal deviance), as well as distinguish informal social sanctions from formal social sanctions. Students will also be called upon to identify the connection between social sanctions and social norms. Celebrity biographies are used to apply the concepts of deviance, crime, informal social sanctions and formal social sanctions. Students discuss the concepts in small groups and then engage in a larger class discussion.

Social Context and Health

Karie Feldman — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0500

The underlying conditions in our society influence the diseases that individuals experience as well as the resources allocated to prevent disease. Historically, the government’s reaction (or lack thereof) to HIV/AIDS offers an illustrative example of how a marginalized population experiences differential treatment in terms of health. More currently, we have an institutionalized view that smokers are due disease consequences because of their personal choice to smoke. Policies such as increased healthcare premiums neglect the underlying conditions that lead individuals to smoke. This assignment is aimed at helping students to see the ways in social context relates to health.

SOCIO339: Crime, Law and Society (Syllabus and Sample Assignments)

Seth Wright — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 00:00:00 -0400

This course is divided into four major topics. First, we will explore how sociologists define and study crime, as well as existing sources of data on crime in the United States and abroad. Next, we will review theories of deviance, which seek to explain why individuals engage in criminal acts. The third (and most substantial) part of the course looks at various types of crimes, with a focus on cross-cultural comparisons. We will also learn about the criminal justice system, including the police, courts, and prison system. Finally, we will cover crime that transcends national borders, specifically crimes committed by or against a state.

Stratification Active Learning Assignments

Annette Lareau — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:00:00 -0400

As part of a lower division stratification seminar, 2014 ASA President Annette Lareau offers her students a series of exercises to be completed across the semester. This invited resource in the Presidential Pedagogies series presents 5 of her activities. They represent an engaging set of active learning assignments that TRAILS users can adopt and adapt in their own courses. The activities are empirically based and lead students to a deeper understanding of the impact of inequality.

Analyzing Contemporary Social Issues in a Global Context

Bhavani Arabandi, Stephen Sweet, Alicia Swords — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 00:00:00 -0400

Using the Google Public Data World Development Indicators (http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_) that have been constructed by the World Bank, students will examine the commonalities and disparities with respect to contemporary social issues in a global context. They will compare poor nations with medium income nations, with affluent nations. Students will also consider specifically how social wellbeing and development indicators in the United States compare to other nations and the trajectories of change over time. The importance of teaching American students about global inequalities, the debate about globalization, and an assessment of the assignment is forthcoming in an article titled, "Testing the Flat World Thesis: Using a Public Dataset to Engage Students in the Global Inequality Debate" in Teaching Sociology.

Research Project for Introduction to Research Methods

Stephanie Medley-Rath, Mike Rudibaugh — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 00:00:00 -0400

This is a semester long research project to be used in a research methods course. The assignment involves scaffolding: topic proposal, annotated bibliography, proposal, final paper, and oral presentation. This assignment has been successfully used at a community college and results in projects that are suitable for professional presentation or could be used as graduate school application writing samples. The assignment focuses as much on library and writing instruction as it does on the research methods process.

Developing and Assessing Critical Thinking in Introductory Sociology

Lyndi Hewitt — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 00:00:00 -0400

Introductory sociology courses are well suited to cultivate critical thinking skills, particularly the ability to evaluate evidence, distinguish between fact and opinion, and appreciate multiple points of view. This resource is at once a critical writing assignment and a tool for assessing students’ critical thinking skills and development of a sociological perspective. The assignment brings together common learning goals of introductory sociology courses with widely used standards of critical thinking (Paul and Elder 2010), and asks students to apply these standards to a contemporary, sociologically relevant text chosen by the instructor (e.g., an Op-Ed piece; a contemporary political speech). Students then incorporate their analysis into a "letter to the editor." When used a minimum of 2 times during a term, the exercise simultaneously cultivates and assesses appropriate application of sociological concepts and demonstration of critical thinking skills. The pre- and post-test design enables the acquisition of useful information on instructor pedagogical practices and student progress toward learning outcomes. In other words, this resource provides concrete tools that inform meaningful reflection on the part of students and instructors. Furthermore, the public nature of the intended venue for the writing product enables students an opportunity to practice engaged sociology. While the prompt remains the same or similar across assignments, instructors can vary the texts that serve as subjects of analysis according to their content needs.

Contemporary American Society

Erik Olin Wright — Tue, 13 May 2014 00:00:00 -0400

*Invited Resource* What kind of country do we live in? What does it even mean to talk about a "kind" of country? We all know what it means to ask of a strange creature "what kind of animal is this?" But it is less clear how to ask the same question of a society. The question is muddied further by the fact that societies can change. A leopard can’t change its spots. But a society can become more or less productive in the organization of its economy, more or less equal in its distribution of opportunity, more or less democratic. This course provides an extended answer to the question of what kind of a country the United States is. It also explores the implications of that answer for understanding, and making progress in solving, some of the social problems that confront America today. Our discussion revolves around five key values that most Americans believe our society should realize: 1. Freedom: the idea, commonly thought to be the most essential to the "American creed," that people should be able to live their lives, to the greatest degree possible, as they wish. This means people should be free from coercive restrictions imposed by others and, as much as possible, have the capacity to put their life plans into effect. 2. Prosperity: the idea that an economy should generate a high standard of living for most people, not just a small privileged elite. 3. Economic efficiency: the idea that the economy should generate rational outcomes, effectively balancing costs and benefits in the way resources are used. 4. Fairness: the idea that people should be treated justly and that they should have equal opportunity to make something of their lives without unfair privileges and unfair disadvantages. 5. Democracy: the idea that our public decisions should reflect the collective will of equal citizens, not of powerful and privileged elites.

Teaching the Sociology of Climate Change

Scott G McNall, Andrew Szasz — Tue, 13 May 2014 00:00:00 -0400

Pedagogical Essay Resource: The goal of this article is to provide guidance to those introductory sociology and social problems instructors who want to introduce the subject of the sociology of climate change into one week of an existing quarter or semester class. We do so with the understanding that this is where sociologists can have the greatest impact on the majority of students we teach. We also deal with issues raised when instructors provide students with deep insight about an "intractable" problem but do not give them the tools or encouragement necessary to help them craft their own futures. Finally, while it is critical for those teaching about climate change to have a grasp of the science of climate change, the authors argue that sociology can have its greatest and most meaningful impact by teaching the sociology of climate change.

Sociology 125: Contemporary American Society

Erik Olin Wright — Thu, 01 May 2014 00:00:00 -0400

What kind of country do we live in? What does it even mean to talk about a "kind" of country? We all know what it means to ask of a strange creature "what kind of animal is this?" But it is less clear how to ask the same question of a society. The question is muddied further by the fact that societies can change. A leopard can’t change its spots. But a society can become more or less productive in the organization of its economy, more or less equal in its distribution of opportunity, more or less democratic. This course provides an extended answer to the question of what kind of a country the United States is. It also explores the implications of that answer for understanding, and making progress in solving, some of the social problems that confront America today. Our discussion revolves around five key values that most Americans believe our society should realize: 1. Freedom: the idea, commonly thought to be the most essential to the "American creed," that people should be able to live their lives, to the greatest degree possible, as they wish. This means people should be free from coercive restrictions imposed by others and, as much as possible, have the capacity to put their life plans into effect. 2. Prosperity: the idea that an economy should generate a high standard of living for most people, not just a small privileged elite. 3. Economic efficiency: the idea that the economy should generate rational outcomes, effectively balancing costs and benefits in the way resources are used. 4. Fairness: the idea that people should be treated justly and that they should have equal opportunity to make something of their lives without unfair privileges and unfair disadvantages. 5. Democracy: the idea that our public decisions should reflect the collective will of equal citizens, not of powerful and privileged elites.

Identities and Inequalities: Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality

Susan J. Ferguson — Mon, 05 May 2014 00:00:00 -0400

This course syllabus explores sociological theories, research, and experiences of privileged and oppressed identities, including race-ethnicity, social class, gender, sexuality, and ability. Sociologists have many ways of conceptualizing identity-based inequality, and this couse will explore these various frames, focusing specifically on theories of intersectionality and the importance of centering personal experiences often silenced. On a personal level, we will attempt to use sociological theory to explore various identities presented via narratives or memoirs, and we also will use these lived experiences as evidence to support or challenge theories. Thus, throughout the semester, we will work to synthesize theory, research, and experiences into a unifying conceptualization of the dynamics of power, privilege, and oppression in U.S. society.

Intersectionality in the Toy Store

Michael Ramirez — Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Introduction to Sociology courses often include the triumvariate of inequalities of race/ethnicity, social class, and gender in them. In working through these sections of the course, many instructors emphasize the intersectionalities of these three dimensions of inequality. The following exercise prompts students to analyze 1) the significance of race, class, and gender in toy culture, and 2) the multidimensionality of inequality and the extent to which one dimension influences the others. For this assignment, I have students listen to Elna Baker’s "Babies Buying Babies" segment on This American Life (episode 347: Matchmakers, originally aired January 18, 2008) and analyze the podcast in terms of the intersections of race, class, and gender. They are then asked to analyze the story more deeply to come to a sociological understanding of how the events in the story illustrate not only race, class, and gender, but also their intersections.

Social Activism Assignment

Kristin Holster — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0400

In this paper assignment, students develop their sociological imaginations by exploring the impact of individual, group, and societal level actions in addressing social problems. Students use course concepts and theories to describe a specific social problem, brainstorm various levels of action that could help produce a positive change in that problem, and then actually undertake one of the individual level actions to better understand the impact of individual actions as compared to group or societal level actions.

Greeting Card Analysis: Gendered Constructions of Love and Parenthood

Summer McWilliams, Anne Barrett — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

This class activity uses greeting cards to illustrate how our understandings of both love and parenthood are shaped by gender, in particular dominant ideas about masculinity and femininity. To address constructions of love, students are asked to bring Valentine’s Day cards to class. To address parenthood, they bring in Mother’s and/or Father’s Day cards. Working in small groups in class, students analyze the cards for gender norms conveyed in the text and images, focusing on themes like social roles and emotional expression. The activity could be expanded into a more systematic data collection and analysis project, giving students experience with social research methods.

The Simpsons Help Us Understand Deviance and Social Control

Elizabeth Anne Larsen — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Marge in Chains, an episode from the 4th season of the popular animated television show, The Simpsons, provides a wealth of opportunities for students to actively engage with concepts related to deviance and social control. Students first read about deviance and social control in any introductory textbook. I use Schaefer's Sociology in Modules. In class, we review these concepts using a PowerPoint presentation. Then I show this episode of Simpsons. It is not necessary, and may be distracting, to show the entire episode. I usually forward the DVD to the third track and begin there, as the deviance concepts start popping up in force after a minute or two. While they watch the video, students have a worksheet in front of them in which they answer both factual questions about the plot and about deviance concepts that are being depicted. Afterward, we discuss all the answers as a class to make sure that each student has a good artifact from the experience that they can use as they study for the deviance portion of the upcoming test. Student feedback from this learning experience has been singularly positive as a means for developing a real sense of what these concepts might "look like" in real life, albeit the real life of The Simpson family.

Seussiology

Danielle Lavin-Loucks, Danielle Lavin-Loucks — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0400

When I set out writing this assignment, the intent was to create an activity for students that was fun but offered them insight into how to understand and apply Mills's concept of the sociological imagination. One of the most challenging things for students in an introductory sociology course is to step outside their way of making sense of the world and consider something anew, or as Mills reminded us, viewing the familiar as strange. And so, Dr. Seuss seemed the appropriate tool to allow them to explore the concept of the sociological imagination. At the same time, it would offer many students something that is accessible, and not nearly as abstract as many of the other concepts we were dealing with in class. Thus, Seussiology was born. Through the short paper, students gain an understanding of how literature can socialize children, by presenting stories that reflect larger social ideals and lessons. At the end of the assignment, students will have applied their sociological imagination, and invoked critical thinking skills to explain how concepts such as inequality, ethnocentrism, racism, prejudice, stratification, power, coercion, authority, deviance, consumerism, material culture, and capitalism, among others, appear in the works of Dr. Seuss.

Literary Intersections: Using Junot Diaz’ The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao to Teach the Sociology of Gender

Tennille Nicole Allen — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0400

This is a collection of resources designed to facilitate the teaching of Junot Diaz’ Pulitizer Prize-winning debut novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao in a Sociology of Gender course. This novel was chosen to exemplify and illuminate many of the theories, concepts, substantive areas and data discussed within the course.

The Clothesline Project: Unpacking Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence through Sociology of Gender course readings.

Tennille Nicole Allen — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Given the high incidence of intimate partner violence as well as sexual abuse, assault, and violence that occurs within relationships, this assignment is designed to offer students an opportunity to deepen their understanding of the impacts of such abuse and violence in the lives of survivors. This assignment also allows students to connect course readings, popular cultural artifacts, and with lived narratives around surviving multiple forms of violence within relationships. Students will do this through designing a t-shirt from the perspective of a character who survived such abuse and violence in the Junot Diaz novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, using the international violence awareness and prevention program, The Clothesline Project as a model.

The "No Pants Subway Ride" and Discussions of Deviance

Jeanne E Kimpel — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The purpose of this exercise is to introduce the concept of deviance and create a fun-filled atmosphere in which to begin this discussion. This exercise facilitates a discussion on various concepts of deviance using short 5-6 minute clips from www.improveverywhere.com. The students will gain knowledge and understanding on the concepts of deviance, conformity, norms, folkways, mores, relativity of deviance, as well as ethics in research. At the end of this class session, the students are able to discuss and apply these concepts to specific situations.

The four sources of evidence

Daniel T Buffington — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0400

This in-class activity is designed to introduce beginner-level students to the four major sources of evidence (ethnography; surveys; experiments; archival documents/texts) used in most sociological research. Although it could be performed as a stand-alone activity, I usually include it as part of a larger module on research methods within Introduction to Sociology. After students have read the assigned textbook chapter on methods and heard a lecture about the same subject I distribute the four activity sheets ("Methods Activity A/B/C/D"). Each includes a brief abstract of a fictional research project that describes the methods for gathering data without explicitly identifying the source of evidence. Students are then asked 5 questions that ask them to apply the information about research methods learned via the textbook and lecture. When students are done performing their individual activities, I display each activity sheet and ask groups to provide their answers. In this way, all students are exposed to each sheet. For additional practice, instructors may also lead students in a discussion using the "sources of evidence chart" by having them fill in each of the cells.

PL384: Sociological Theory through Film

Morten G. Ender — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0400

This course guide should assist you in the organization of your efforts toward successful completion of this course. Careful study of its contents will enable you to organize and prepare for this class. In this course, we will examine both classical and contemporary sociological theory and do so through films. There will be a strong interrelationship between introductory sociology (PL371) and this course. Please view these courses as complementary. For some of you, you’ll be taking PL371 at the same time as PL384 this semester; you will see many parallels between the courses, which will enhance your learning in sociology. I encourage you to integrate what you’re learning and doing in one course with the other; it will be to your benefit to do this! This course combines discussion, application, and some lecture, as the teaching philosophy and intent explained. In order for classroom time to be meaningful, come to class prepared with written reflective notes, and take copious notes during classroom discussions and movie analyses. In addition, again, share your reflective ideas and questions in class, participate in classroom discussions, and make solid applications and contributions to our movie discussions regardless of whether it’s your discussant day.

Stepping into Inequality: An Activity to Prepare Students for Understanding an Unequal Education System

JoEllen Pederson, Patrick McGrady, Hanna Jokinen-Gordon — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Motivated by experiential learning strategies and critical self-reflection, this activity to introduce students to educational inequality and the effects of race, class, and gender within the education system. Doing the "Educational Steps" activity enables students to not only critically reflect on their own educational experiences, but to also understand the diversity of experiences in the classroom. We explain the activity and then the discussion questions used to facilitate critical reflection. The unique value of this activity is that students are encouraged to expand their knowledge of the educational system based on their own past experiences as well as those of their classmates: the social difference between themselves and others are communicated by the physical difference between students. We present data that suggest that this activity increased the students’ knowledge of education inequality.

Friendship Diversity and the Sociological Imagination

James A. Vela-McConnell — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The purpose of this class activity is to acquaint students with the idea of the sociological imagination and demonstrate its relevance for their own personal lives by exploring their friendship patterns. Students discuss the friendship diversity scores they’ve calculated and the overall pattern of such scores in the class, drawing comparisons between race, class, gender, and sexual orientation and connecting these patterns to the opportunity structures they experienced.

Penal Spectatorship

Gretchen Purser — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0400

This essay prompt invites students to reflect upon their own relationship to the criminal justice system. It does so by having them reflexively engage with the concept of the "penal spectator" (Michelle Brown, The Culture of Punishment: Prison, Society and Spectacle, New York University Press, 2009). The assignment invites students to discuss the cultural imagery, discourses and/or experiences that have shaped their working understanding of criminal justice and it helps the instructor assess the range of student contact with the penal system.

"Diagramming the Argument" Activity

Gretchen Purser — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -0400

This activity fosters active learning and peer collaboration by asking students to diagram the argument of a text, using a set of instructor-provided concepts. This example relates to a book taught in an Urban Poverty course (Both Hands Tied: Welfare Reform and the Race to the Bottom of the Low-Wage Labor Market), although the activity can be easily adapted for use with any sociological monograph. The strength of this fun, yet challenging, activity is that it forces students to both visually document and orally narrate their understanding of the book's argument, piecing together theoretical concepts with empirical details. To complete this activity, students will have to return to the text, locate concepts and debate interpretations. In the process, the instructor will be able to assess the accuracy of students’ understanding and the coherency of their narrative explanation.

Latinos and the Media Syllabus

Clara E Rodriguez — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0500

The COURSE OBJECTIVES are: (1) To understand the history of Latina/os in U.S. media within larger political-economic and social contexts. (2) To analyze Latina/o images in U.S. television and in films, paying particular attention to representations of class, gender, color and race and to those attempts that have tried to alter or challenge superficial depictions. (3) To develop analytical and critical skills for assessing and analyzing the role of the media in modern society.

Public Sociology for Political Sociology: A Politics and Society Op-Ed Assignment

Hana Erin Brown — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

In lieu of a research paper, this assignment requires political sociology students to compose an op-ed piece modeled after those in the most widely respected U.S. and international newspapers. After selecting a particular issue related to politics and public policy, each student compiles sociological research on their topic to make a compelling and publicly accessible argument about the issue, complete with policy recommendations. The assignment requires the sociological expertise of a research paper but demands that students present this expertise to an educated lay audience in an insightful, engaging, thought-provoking, and brief op-ed piece. Although designed for a political sociology course, this assignment can easily be adapted for use in multiple sociology courses across specialization areas.

Personal Network Analysis

Alexandra Marin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Students complete a name-generator based network survey, calculate common measures of network properties and write a short paper analyzing their own personal networks/ego-networks. This assignment is used in the course Introduction to Social Network Analysis. Students have read about ego networks, ways of measuring their properties, and the factors that shape them. The assignment is divided into three steps. In the first step students complete an ego network survey, including 6 name generators, a number of name interpreters, and a density matrix. Next the students use a worksheet to guide them in calculating properties of their network such as size, density, homophily, diversity, and average tie strength. The worksheet has students calculate these measures separately for their entire network, their weak ties, and their strong ties. In the final step, students write a short paper in which they analyze their networks, examining what their overall personal network looks like and how their strong ties and weak ties differ. The formating of the survey is based on the formatting of surveys created by Keith Hampton, including a survey included in TRAILS resource #9796.

Article Comparison Assignment: Same Question, Different Methods

Alexandra Marin — Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Students write a short paper comparing two journal articles in which the authors use different research methods to address the same research question. This assignment is used in an introductory research methods course to encourage students to think about how research methods related to other aspects of the research process: using a particular paradigmatic lens, asking research questions, developing hypotheses, and interpreting findings. Students choose a pair of journal articles from a list provided by the professor. Each pair of articles consists of one primarily qualitative and one primarily quantitative article, each examining very similar research questions. After obtaining and reading these articles, students write a 4-6 page paper in which they examine how different assumptions and questions lead the authors to favour different methods and how the methods chosen shaped the findings. Sample article pairs and feedback form included.

Print Media and Modernity

Casey Brienza — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

This course explores the role of the printing press in the formation and development of modern societies. Beginning with the transition from orality to literacy and drawing upon an interdisciplinary range of readings consisting of both classics of the field and cutting-edge empirical research, we will see how the world’s first mass medium has influenced conceptions of nation-state, the public and the private, and indeed sociality itself. The first part of the course introduces some of the key theorists of print media and modernity, including Walter Ong, Harold Innis, Elizabeth Eisenstein, Benedict Anderson, and Jürgen Habermas. The second part of the course focuses upon the privatization of print, through copyright and through gendered reading. The final part of the course focuses on the sociology of contemporary book publishing in America and of book culture in the marketplace. We will conclude the course by contemplating the place of print in a digital future.

Globalization, Social Justice and Human Rights

Rodney D. Coates — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

This course focuses on the theories, issues, and debates related to promoting social justice and positive change. Students will analyze how current frameworks – including values, assumptions, and actions – maintain the economic, political, and cultural structures shaping our lives. They will also build competencies and skills to transform these structures toward a more just society. This course draws on literature in political science, sociology, and social movements to address sustained efforts to bring about social and political change. Through the use of social networking, This course focuses on the theories, issues, and debates related to promoting social justice and positive change. Through the use of the internet and social networking, students will be expected to regularly interact with students and faculty from partner universities around the world. Students will analyze how current frameworks – including values, assumptions, and actions – maintain the economic, political, and cultural structures shaping our lives. They will also build competencies and skills to transform these structures toward a more just society. The course draws on literature in political science, sociology, and social movements. Social justice can be understood as a general process of creating sustainable communities of inclusion, diversity, and equity. At the most basic level, it recognizes that social justice projects can have global impacts even when they occur on the local level. Thus, we will investigate how decisions made locally may have global significance. We will look at how the decisions of the individual – such as in how and what they choose to wear, eat, and drive – can have global implications. As we move outward, we will see similar concerns about equity, fairness and justice at the national and international levels. We will consider such issues as war and peace, labor and immigration policies, food and health, access and success, technology and innovation, and pollution and economies all have social justice dimensions, and in this way will demonstrate the ways the world we live in is infinitely interconnected and delicate.

Writing Empirical Research Papers

DaShanne Stokes — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Writing is a common activity in academia for students and professionals alike. Below are a number of the considerations that many journal reviewers and professors have in mind when reviewing empirical manuscripts. This checklist is by no means comprehensive and is directed at helping to shape student writing activities so as to generate quality empirical research papers.

EMBRACING THE LEARNER-CENTERED APPROACH: A NEIGHBORHOOD RESEARCH EXAMPLE

Daniel Monroe Sullivan — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Teachers struggle with helping students learn complex content, on the one hand, and encouraging students to become more engaged at the beginning of the course, on the other. After nine years of teaching in a traditional way, I now employ a more learner-centered approach. To engage students intellectually right away, I hand out a neighborhood research project on the first day of class. Because I divide it into manageable steps, however, they are not overwhelmed. So, why wait? My students spend the first weeks of class engaged in research in which they are genuinely interested and, at the same time, learn the basics of urban sociology. I argue that students in any course can learn the content more deeply by engaging in meaningful research starting on the first day of class.

The 99%

Hayley Lotspeich — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0500

This assignment is designed to have students identify the role of sociological perspective in understanding the Occupy Wall Street movement as well as the similarities and differences of those participating in the movement. Students will employ sociological imagination to understand the meaning of the movement on a global scale. Students will receive brief notes and discuss the origins of the Occupy Wall Street movement and how it went global. Students will also analyze the letters and testimonies of participants in the movement via website access. Students will use their learning to make conclusions about sociological perspective and how it shapes one’s self concept as well as the sociological imagination to determine what external factors brought the participants to this frustration with their government.

Using Article Abstracts to Illustrate Research Concepts

Katherine B Novak — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0400

This exercise requires students to read a number of abstracts from the research literature and answer a set of questions related to the research process individually and in a group discussion context. The key concepts covered include: inductive vs. deductive research: types of research questions or research purposes (descriptive, explanatory, exploratory and evaluative); quantitative vs. qualitative data; hypothesis; independent vs. dependent variables; and unit of analysis. The discussion that ensues reinforces students understanding of these concepts and the students quickly begin to see the interconnections between the concepts and how they "fit together" within a specific research study. An additional positive outcome of this assignment is that students develop the ability to read an abstract and develop a strong foundation for reading and understanding research articles.

Using Drunk Driving Deaths to Understand Sexual Assault

Monika Ulrich — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

EXAMPLE RESOURCE. I challenge student’s ideas about who is responsible to prevent rape by comparing rape to drunk driving deaths. I argue that there is little that an individual can feasibly do to prevent being killed by a drunk driver today. We do not expect individual self-protective behaviors to be an effective means to reduce drunk driving deaths in the community. Instead we rely on macro-level approaches focused on the perpetrator, such as stricter laws or better policing. In contrast to the macro-level approach used to prevent drunk driving deaths, when it comes to rape prevention, there is an inappropriate reliance on micro-level, victim initiated measures. Women are expected to protect themselves from their own assault. These micro-level measures, like advising women to carry mace at night, are ineffective. Also, because they hold the victim responsible for their own defense, the victim is also held responsible if they fail to adequately protect themselves. Just like with drunk driving deaths, the real way to reduce rape is to use perpetrator-focused, macro-level, community approaches to prevention. This comparison helps students problematize the victim-based approach to rape-prevention and develop a sense of personal responsibility to help prevent rape in the community.

Illustrating the Social Construction of Race and Racial Stereotypes with Images

Gwen Sharp, Lisa Wade — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Instructors often encounter resistance when they challenge students’ pre-existing beliefs about race and ethnicity. Students often find the idea that these categories are socially constructed, rather than purely biological, difficult to grasp, if not threatening. We developed a classroom activity to use when discussing the social construction of racial categories and stereotypes that actively engages students in comparing and critiquing their beliefs about racial and ethnic groups, as well as the stereotypes we apply to them. The activity uses images that illustrate to students how inaccurate our perceptions of race often are. Responses to the activity were overwhelmingly positive. Students reported that the activity helped them understand the concepts we were discussing. Because they analyzed their ideas themselves, students seemed to enjoy, rather than resist, challenges to their beliefs about racial and ethnic categories and stereotypes.

Syllabus and Instructor Page- SOC 382: Intro to Social Research

Daniel B Davis — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

This syllabus offers an alternative approach to teaching research methods for undergraduates. On one hand this course seeks to accomplish many traditional learning outcomes for a research methods course (e.g. understanding qualitative vs quantitative methods, ability to apply theory to method, ability to operationalize variables, increasing oral and written communication skills), yet these outcomes are approached in creative ways that accomplish two goals of ever growing importance: [1] an interactive and engaged pedagogical method, and [2] decreasing the amount of time necessary for grading while still offering students opportunities for adequate performance feedback. Seven practices are outlined in a separate Instructor Page.

Public and private urban space

Paul Walker Clarke, Carla Rose Corroto, Ph.D. — Tue, 22 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

This exercise with corresponding PowerPoint combines the application of concepts adopted from the now classic Jane Jacobs’ Death and Life of the Great American Cities with introductory urban sociological lessons. The key concepts for this session include: neighborhood, urban residential patterns, urban ecology, urbanization, private, semi-private, and public space. Examining realms of the urban landscape is an investigation of urban ecology, or "the study of the link between the physical and social dimensions of cities" (Macionis 2008, p. 588). By diagramming the private, semi-private, and public spaces in residential blocks depicted in street-view photographs, students become familiar with how the built environment conveys meaning. The success of architectural arrangements – whether there is a clear understanding of the connection between social interaction/ meaning and physical design - can be assessed by understanding Jane Jacobs’ concepts of "eyes on the street." Students also identify cities by category and history, thereby framing the residential block in contexts. The "Private and Public Space" activity explores the connection between the physical and the social in cities. Students are asked to photograph a residential block and diagram the public, private, and semi-private demarcation of space. More specifically, the aim of this activity is to directly engage students with (1) the built environment; (2) how we define neighborhood and places; and (3) digital technologies – google earth, digital camera images, and PowerPoint – for presentations and analysis. This presentation and exercise is part of an interdisciplinary course on the theory, form, principles, and social context of urban issues and design in Western contexts. This is an introductory illustration of the social meanings and symbolic role of the built environment and the PowerPoint depicts how we (literally) architecturally construct meaning in the built environment.

Getting Students Excited about Quantitative Data Analysis

Teresa Ciabattari — Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

In this essay, I discuss several lessons I have learned for how to successfully engage students in quantitative data analysis, especially in introductory, non-statistics courses. These lessons include offering activities that allow exploration, challenge but do not overwhelm students, move students towards cumulative learning in the course and in the curriculum, and explicitly reinforce the theoretical and conceptual ideas in the course.

WebQuest Project: Poverty and Social Structure

Gretchen Arnold — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400

This WebQuest project is designed to help undergraduates understand the social structural bases of poverty in the U.S. Specifically, students evaluate how useful our employment opportunities and social safety net are for families who do not possess wealth or social capital. The project gives them the opportunity to see that individual motivation and talent are much less important than are the structure of jobs and social services for determining poverty rates in the U.S. The students work in teams to help one of three hypothetical families get back on its feet after ending up in a homeless shelter. They are asked to do research on the Internet and develop a plan for how the family can use available social services to establish independent, sustainable households while seeking employment. At the end of the project, students are able to: • describe the impact of public and private social service programs and policies on the choices available to families who are poor; • critically assess what current programs and policies work and what ones don't work to help alleviate poverty, and explain why; and • propose changes and/or alternative programs or policies that are likely to be more effective. There are three parts to the assignment. In the first, students must research social services available in their community as well as gather information about the larger policy context (e.g., newspaper and scholarly articles). This information is shared through an online discussion board and gives students some experience working together on a real-life problem similar to what they might have to do in a human services job. In the second part, students work together to write a coordinated plan for how "their" family can best make use of the available resources to become financially independent and meet their other needs. This part is designed to help students understand how the structure of opportunities looks from the point of view of individuals with unique personal histories and circumstances. The third part is a final paper in which students analyze current poverty alleviation programs and policies, evaluate and explain their effectiveness, and propose more adequate policies. This part is intended to help students develop a social structural analysis of how poverty is affected by social policies and programs.

Sexuality and Cultural Values

Reginald A Byron — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Students often enter college believing that sexuality is solely a personal issue. After all, "it’s no one else’s business what goes on in other people’s bedrooms." This exercise challenges students to question this belief. It measures student’s favorability towards different sexual behaviors and allows the instructor to begin a discussion about how culture and social institutions affect these judgments.

Sociology of Popular Culture Syllabus/Assignments

Gordon C Chang — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0400

AREA EDITOR EXAMPLE RESOURCE: This course brings students to critically consider how popular cultural forms in modern society change individuals, shape social relations, and contribute to the environmental challenge. The "hegemonic standardization" and "creative localization/hybridization" perspectives are emphasized in this course. An exercise of film analysis is also included in order to introduce the basic techniques of cultural de-coding.

Poverty and Life Chances

Hayley Lauren Lotspeich — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0400

This assignment is designed to have students analyze the role of poverty in affecting people’s life chances, the difficulty of breaking out of poverty, and what obstacles exist when the poor attempt intergenerational mobility. Students will receive brief notes and discuss the effects of poverty. Students will also analyze a song related to life chances. Students will use their learning and the song to prepare for a large group discussion. The lesson can be followed by a suggested reading or video clip.

Drugs and Deviance

Chris Salituro, Lana Blitstein — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0400

This activity uses real pharmacological descriptions of unnamed drugs as a discussion piece for deviance. Students will be asked to label the drugs as illegal or legal based on the drugs' descriptions. This activity helps to illustrate the relativity of deviance and how that is reflected in both the United States drug policies and the prison system.

Abandon Ship!

Chris Salituro — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0400

This lesson is a simulation based on real life events. Students will take on a status, role-play based on that status and then debrief the activity. The goal of this simulation is that Students will understand the social construction of individual’s identities; Students will understand macro and micro levels of analysis in sociology; Students will analyze how social status shapes individuals experiences, or how Berger’s private difficulties are public issues. I have used this lesson for the following units within an introductory sociology class: introduction, culture, or groups and social status. This lesson is usually two fifty-minute class periods. The simulation is based on these real-life events: An ocean liner has struck a derelict mine from World War II. Because of the unexpected explosion and the quick sinking of the ship, the radio man was not sure any other ship heard your "S.O.S.". When the incident occurred, you were in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with a bad storm approaching. The life boat you are on is overcrowded past the danger mark. Unless you lighten the load – which means that some will have to go overboard – the lifeboat and all aboard will perish. The lifeboat was designed to hold 9, but there are 16 people aboard yours. Your job is to decide who will go over the side.

A Story of Positive Deviance

Hayley Lauren Lotspeich, Chris Salituro — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0400

AREA EDITOR EXAMPLE RESOURCE: This assignment is designed to have students examine the difference between positive and negative deviance. First, students will take notes on a PowerPoint explaining key terms such as deviance and symbolic interaction. Students will then read or listen to a primary source – the true story of Julio Diaz. The activity involves analysis of an article, participating in a related sociological experiment, and student application and synthesis of their thinking of our norms and our culture.

Using the MP3 to Learn Selections of Marx’s Capital

Christopher Schneider — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0500

This exercise is most suitable after students have developed a basic understanding of social structures and the historical conditions of capitalism. This exercise requires students to concentrate on a single example: the MP3 commodity. This exercise is designed for students to introduce and develop selections of Marx’s Capital Volume 1, particularly elements relating to the key Marxist concepts of commodities and exchange. Students will use the MP3, a popular form of music media, as a contemporary example to promote and develop Marx’s theory of capital. This example is useful primarily for an undergraduate Sociological Theory course after having read Chapters 1 and 2 of Capital Volume 1. Use of the MP3 develops the relevance and importance of some key Marxist ideas in specific relation to something that most students, indeed most people, have at least a vague knowledge about. Such an application of Marx’s concepts to a modern everyday technology encourages students to develop some of the necessary skills required for sociological theorizing.

Sociology of Urban Education

Cynthia Taines — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0400

In this course, we will use disciplinary perspective of sociology—both its theoretical orientations and empirical approaches—to analyze urban education in the United States. We will begin by examining the social context surrounding urban education: the economic forces, demographic movements, and politics that have shaped both cities and urban schools alike. Next, we will consider urban educational policy and attempts at reform from a sociological perspective. We will then take a more micro-look at both schools and students, working to comprehend the social and cultural processes that influence urban students’ achievement. Finally, we will examine urban community-school relationships, with particular attention to the growing trend of community organizing for educational equality. Throughout the course we will read from classical texts in sociological theory to familiarize ourselves with the analytical tools of the discipline and test their applicability and usefulness for understanding current dilemmas in urban education. Additionally, we will link the content and discussions of this course to the urban educational systems in closest proximity to DeKalb, in order to place what we learn within the local context.

Qualitative Data Analysis Using Microsoft Word 2007

Mikaila Mariel Lemonik Arthur — Wed, 18 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

In courses with only a single semester to cover both qualitative and quantitative data analysis (through multivariate regression), there is little time to teach students the intricacies of qualitative data analysis software. This series of assignments aims to bridge the gap by using the features of Microsoft Word so that students can get a taste of computer-aided qualitative data analysis and them put those skills into practice in a small-scale analysis assignment.

Understanding Legal Systems

Mikaila Mariel Lemonik Arthur — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0500

AREA EDITOR EXAMPLE RESOURCE:This series of class sessions and assignments is designed to introduce students to the way legal systems are organized around the world as well as within the United States by covering the history of modern legal systems; the structure of the US government and law-making process; families of law (common, civil, theocratic, authoritarian, and tradition); types of law (criminal, civil, and administrative); and processes of dispute resolution. This learning resource includes two PowerPoints, a quiz, and an essay/take-home exam assignment in which students analyze the legal system of an imaginary country to apply what they have learned.

Compensating Carework: An Activity about Gender Inequality and Devalued Labor

Megan Rolfe, Caitlin Walsh — Thu, 19 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Through asking students to provide a salary for cooking, cleaning, and childcare services, the "Compensating Carework" activity focuses the classroom lens on the traditionally unpaid, devalued, female-typed of carework in order to illuminate persistent gender disparities. Although college students may not see carework as a contemporary issue reflecting gender inequality, the "Compensating Carework" activity encourages students to engage with the way in which carework remains ‘woman’s work’ and explore the social perceptions of carework as devalued and unpaid – or poorly compensated – labor stratified by gender, race, class, and nationality. This activity destabilizes students’ acceptance of carework as devalued and leads students to consider how mothering/parenting is underappreciated both in and beyond their own lives.

PRESENTATION-OF-SELF EXERCISE

Jeff A. Larson, William Tsitsos, Kalfani Turé — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400

In this in-class exercise students are sensitized to the presentation of self in a modified speed-dating setting and gain experience in qualitative research by engaging in participant-observation. Students meet in pairs and talk with one another in back-to-back three-minute interactions. Immediately following the meetings, they confidentially record "field notes" as they reflect upon the social psychological processes of impression formation and impression management. The exercise, which also works well as an ice-breaker early in the semester, is an entertaining and useful way to introduce principles of symbolic interaction and presentation of self in an interactive context.

"The Mist" and Sociology of Religion: Film Clip Analysis

Marci D. Cottingham — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

This exercise involves the application of sociology of religion concepts (from the reading and a PowerPoint presentation) to selected clips from the film "The Mist." The key concepts for this session include: religiosity, secularization, charismatic leader, structural-functional and social-conflict approaches to religion, organizations of religion, fundamentalism, and its distinct features. Taking the five main characteristics of fundamentalism (Macionis 2007), I lead students in an application of these definitions by analyzing clips from "The Mist" and discussing the relevant themes and their cognitive and emotional responses to the events shown. From this analysis, students should reflect on the value of defining religion and approaching it sociologically. Students should be able to define, comprehend, provide examples, and recognize in various contexts the concepts mentioned above. Furthermore, the five distinctive features are illustrated clearly in the film clips. These include: (1) sacred texts are taken literally, (2) personal experience of God’s presence is emphasized, (3) a rejection of religious pluralism, (4) opposition to secular humanism, and (5) an endorsement of conservative political goals.

Power, Social Institutions, and Social Reproduction Syllabus

Martha A. Easton — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 00:00:00 -0400

How are central components of society transmitted over time? This course examines the process of social reproduction. We will look at the importance of children in our society, how families socialize children, the institution of marriage, how schools teach a "hidden" curriculum of social normalization, and how religion and the media all contribute to social reproduction.

Norms, Deviance, and Social Control

Martha A. Easton — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0500

There is a great pressure in our society to be normal, and this course looks at how ideas of normal are created and defined. This course also looks at how norms are enforced, and what happens to people who violate norms. We examine different theories of deviance, and we will discuss such topics as crime, mental illness, beauty, and disability. We will discuss the idea of moral panics. We will also look specifically at how the criminal justice system and medical institutions create and enforce powerful norms for behavior.

Science, Technology, and Development

Gili S. Drori — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This course addresses the role of science and technology in development, offering a global and sociological perspective. It reviews the phenomenal rates of global expansion of science, technology, and most recently information technology, comparign among different nations and different world regions. It also relates these trends to their social impact; primarily concerning economic development, but also relating to more general notions of progress (democratization, human rights, welfare of local populations, and national security). Relying on literature from diverse sources, we will refer to current discussions regarding globalization, S&T policy, the digital divide, development debates, commodification of the public good, and notions of social change. Overall, the course assesses the implications of science and technology globalization, as they shape the diverging trajectories of nation-states worldwide.

Technology, Society and Culture

Alondra Nelson — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Implicit within the utopian commercial narratives that framed the information revolution of the last twenty-five years has been a variant of "technological determinism"----the philsophy that technologies are the sole or primary engines of social change. In this course we will take a different approach. Taking our cue from the social constructivist school of the sociology of science and technology, we will consider technologies as objects and systems that derive significance and definition from their embeddedness in social, political, and economic contexts. In contrast to the view that technology shapes social life and not vice versa, we will approach technology as a social entity, the production of which reflects political and economic interests, and the useage of which reflects social and cultural priorities. In addition, we will explore the ways in which social interactions, social change, and social structure are increasingly mediated by technological artifacts. Topics to be discussed include technology and idology; race, gender, and "information work"; the "digital divide" and technological access; virtual communities; and technology and popular culture. At the conclusion of the course, students will have learned to look more closely and critically at the information technologies they use in everyday life.

The Effective Use Of Videos In Sociology Courses

Kathleen Piker-King — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

I use both educational and popular videos in all the sociology courses that I teach. These courses range from the introductory level to the upper division level. Instructional scaffolding consists of teaching specific theoretical and/or empirical material before showing the videos, then students are given the opportunity to build their understanding of the theoretical and/or empirical material by viewing the videos and applying the information from the previous lectures to the video presentation. The viewing guides are used as templates for achieving scaffolding.

ANALYSIS OF A RELIGIOUS GATHERING

Jay Howard — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

After your visit write a 3–4 page analysis of your observations. Indicate what gathering you visited and when. The objective of the paper is to get you thinking about the role of religion in the lives of individuals and in society. Focus on the questions that are most provocative to you. A good strategy is to look for inconsistencies or conflict (i.e., Praising women, but not having any women in leadership roles). You may even have some more interesting observations not based on questions in this list. These questions will apply more directly to some types of religious gatherings than others. However, feel free to observe a nontraditional religious gathering (i.e., a Christian Rock concert) and adapt your paper accordingly.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL): Publishing Your SoTL Work*

Jeffrey Chin — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

While good work in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) may take many forms, in my opinion, for SoTL to be taken seriously, it must pass through a rigorous peer review (Shulman 1999, 2000), which occurs most often as a preliminary to a conference presentation or publication. As a former editor, my intention here is to de-mystify this process and make it more transparent. Knowing what goes on both in the editorial office and in the minds of reviewers will help you prepare a strong paper. I hope my colleagues who are or have been editors will agree that these comments are applicable for most journals.

SOCIOLOGICAL ISSUES IN COLLEGE PEDAGOGY AND HIGHER EDUCATION

Bernice A. Pescosolido — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This second course in Sociology's Preparing Future Faculty Program is designed to continue the preparation of graduate students in Sociology to teach to a variety of audiences, including students and the public, to become active members of the university community, and to consider the opportunities and challenges in becoming a sociologist in the academy, the public sector or the private sphere. In this course, students will be asked to take a reflective look at teaching, to become conversant with the larger issues and literature on college teaching and higher education, and to make connections to these issues outside their classroom by engaging with larger debates.

Homework Assignments & In-Class Activities

Heather Sullivan-Catlin — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Homework Assignments & In-Class Activities on the topic of Sociology of Food.

"The Life Course: Structures and Institutions"

Martin Kohli — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Course Description This graduate-level seminar is designed as the core introductory course for the Sociology of the Life Course area. The course introduces you to theories, methods, and substantive topics which exemplify the life course paradigm. The sociology of the life course is a perspective that brings together strands from sociological foci on socialization, social structure and social policy, and sociology of age. It is concerned with how social factors, including historical events, combine with individual resources and vulnerabilities at any given time to shape the trajectories of individual lives and to influence subsequent generations. Taking seriously both social selection and social causation, studies that take a life course perspective aim to understand both continuity and change across time and across generations. The seminar will focus on four themes: (1) human lives as embedded in and shaped by institutional and historical context, (2) linked lives, (3) human agency and structural constraints, and (4) work-life transitions and trajectories. This course will blend both lecture and class discussion. The first half hour of class will pro-vide an introductory lecture and overview of the week’s topic. The second hour will be dedi-cated to in-depth discussion of the week’s readings, as well as discussion of questions that you introduce – thus you will take major responsibility for presenting and discussing the weekly readings. Each week’s discussion will be based on assigned readings, so it is essential that these readings be completed before each class session. The collection of articles – assigned as required readings – will be provided as a reader (pho-tocopied packet).

Final Research Paper: Quality of Life Across the Life-Span: Do Advantages/Disadvantages Accumulate With Age

Merril Silverstein — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Do the rich get richer and the poor get poorer over the years such that that inequalities earlier in the life-span grow with aging (a form of double jeopardy)? Or is aging a great leveler, reducing earlier advantages?

SOC 360: SOCIOLOGY OF AGE

Cheryl Laz — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Introduction and Course Description Many of you probably signed up for this course, listed in the class schedule as Sociology of Aging, with the assumption that this would be a course about aging, old age, and gerontology. You are half right. We will examine population changes over the past century that have led to the unprecedented increase in older people in the US and other industrialized countries. We will consider the ways in which these population changes have influenced society and how, conversely, the meaning and experiences of "elderly" are shaped by social, political and economic forces... Course Objectives 1. To appreciate age as a fundamental feature of human social life 2. To be familiar with the sociology of age, aging, and old age, including some of its main topics, questions, and findings 3. To understand age as a social phenomenon: as a structural feature of society, as constituted in social interaction, as meaningful in social settings, and as a significant component of identity 4. To develop skills in working collaboratively 5. To develop skills of critical thinking and analysis 6. To develop skills in written and oral communication

POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY: States, Citizens & Globalization

david A. Sonnenfeld — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

What is "the state"? What role do elites and common citizens have in the working of the state? What is bureaucracy and how does it affect modern society? What is the relationship between states and the market in encouraging economic development? How do competing processes of globalization undercut the traditional functioning of the nation-state? This course will address these and related questions through a close reading of classical and contemporary sociological theory and case studies. Students will read course texts and the daily New York Times, see films, participate in class discussion, and write several short papers.

SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

Michael Schwartz, Louis Esparza — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The goal of the course is to provide an overview of major ideas in social movement theory and to develop student confidence in contributing to the research literature. Though this seminar is aimed primarily at doctoral students pursuing a specialization in social movements, it can also be adapted slightly for an upper-division undergraduate course. Stony Brook University has 22,000 students and the Department of Sociology has 50-60 graduate students. The course counts as an elective towards the doctoral degree.

WEBSITE LIST

Tiffany Smith — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Website list of resources on the subject of Medical Sociology.

SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH CARE

Rosalyn Darling — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This course will examine the structure and function of the U.S. health care system from a sociological perspective. The focus will be both macro- and micro-level and, in addition to organizational issues, will explore the roles of physicians and patients as well as their interactions with one another. Current issues in health care funding, consumer empowerment, and the medicalization of society will be emphasized.

HEALTH CARE AND HEALTH CARE POLICY

Denise Anthony — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This course explores the policy issues and implications associated with health care in the United States. More specifically, we will explore the social, economic, organizational and institutional contexts of health care and medicine to answer questions such as, who is healthy in American society and who is not? Why are some healthy and others not? How is our health care system organized? And why is it different from most other industrialized nations? How does the organization of medical care affect the quality and cost of that care? Our goal will be to gain a deeper understanding of the organization and delivery of health care in the U.S., and to appreciate some of the relevant policy issues.

Media Research Project

Joan Toms Olson — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Media Research Project. Interpret your findings using insights of your own, as well as insights that might be derived from at least one of the theoretical perspectives we have been studying this semester.

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

Carol A. Jenkins — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

COURSE DESCRIPTION: The systematic study of social behavior and human groups, particularly the influence of culture, socialization, social structure, stratification, social institutions, differentiation by race, ethnicity, gender, age, class and socio/cultural change upon people’s attitudes and behaviors.

AIDS in Sub-Sahara Africa: A Detailed Examination of Botswana, Swaziland, South Africa, and Uganda

Katherine R. Rowell — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The module is intended to introduce you to one of the greatest social problems to face this planet, the global epidemic of HIV/AIDS and to increase your computer and research skills within sociology. We will be doing the majority of this module in class. There is a final project at the end of the module that you will complete outside of class time.

Technique 1: Activities for the First Day , Defining the Discipline, Gender, Methods

Maxine P. Atkinson — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Teaching Objectives/Student Learning Outcomes: To assure that every student knows at least one other student in class, if used as a first day activity; to establish expectations that students will be actively engaged in class; to increase student understanding of sociology as an empirical discipline; and to introduce the process of data analysis.

Human Destructiveness and Politics

Roger W. Smith — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Genocide pervades the contemporary imagination, yet both the origins and the meaning of this form of human destructiveness are problematic. What is genocide? What is its history? How, if at all, is it related to specific forms of government? To types of economic organization? Is there a basic structure to genocide? Or perhaps a logic, though irrational, that underlies various examples of genocide? Do present attempts to explain genocide actually succeed? What conditions must be met if genocide is to be averted? Who bears responsibility for genocide? Realistically, what would seem to be the future of genocide?

IDSC 480-03: "A BILL OF HEALTH FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY"

Janet R. Grochowski, Meg Wilkes Karraker — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Families are complex webs of relationships that meet critical human needs while serving basic societal objectives. In this course we will critique the myth of the 'perfect' or 'ideal' family through a lens that views family structures and functions as adaptive, boisterous, and changing. In our analysis of marriage and family issues, we will apply a 'health' model, specifically Iowa State University's typology of families that are thriving, safe, or at risk.

SOCIOLOGY 495: CHILDHOOD, FAMILY, AND PUBLIC POLICY

Julie E. Artis — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Over the last decade, there has been a great deal of public debate over the current state of the family. Recent news headlines about families and children include debates over the legalization of gay marriage, the importance of marriage in ameliorating child poverty, the leniency of current divorce laws, and the developmental problems of young children in day care. All of these public debates are related in some way to policy debates: the Defense of Marriage Act, 1996 welfare reform, Louisiana’s covenant marriage laws, and Canada’s recent legalization of gay marriage. Although we will discuss these and other family policies throughout the class, we will not focus on policy analysis per se. Instead, we will use current public debates about family life as a starting point for learning about sociological research on children and families. The first few weeks of class, we will discuss current debates on the family, how sociologists took part in these debates, the history of the family, and how theories of the family can inform policymaking. Then, using the debates, history, and theories as a backdrop, we will turn to research on more specific topical areas: divorce, child support, marriage & cohabitation, gay marriage, child care, and welfare reform. The last day of class we will reflect back on what sociology can contribute to each of these public policy debates.

Social Context Lecture

Barbara R. Keating — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Part I: Pre-lecture activity: distribute handout with statements and discuss. Part II. Discussion: What do these quotes, verbalisms, comments have in common? Part III. Lecture on the Social Context of Violence

Classroom Exercise: "Assessing Responsibility"

Barbara R. Keating — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Purpose: To explore and challenge the assumptions found in victim blaming.

Simulating the Crisis hotline to teach about Domestic Violence

Jennifer Keys — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Overview: In this small group exercise, students are asked to imagine that they are answering a crisis hotline. Students assess each vignette by identifying the types of abuse taking place and the level of danger. They evaluate the resources available and discuss possible solutions for each caller. Then, the entire class reconvenes to decide which caller will be admitted to the shelter. The instructor facilitates this discussion by asking critical-thinking questions and presenting relevant research findings. Students often comment in the end of the term course evaluations that the crisis hotline activity really opened their eyes and made them think critically about the issue of domestic violence. As one student, insightfully remarked, "I realized that ‘Why doesn’t she just leave?’ is not the question we should be asking."

OPPRESSION AND PRIVILEGE: TOWARD A RELATIONAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF RACE

Betsy Lucal — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

In this paper I bring together this diverse literature into what I call a "relational" model—one that focuses on both the oppressive and the privileging aspects of race. Using the concepts of white privilege and white supremacy to show how race implicates everyone, this paradigm provides a more realistic account of race and its effects on people's lives. After outlining this model in contrast to the traditional view, I focus on issues involved in teaching about race as a relation: preparing to teach about race from this model, taking it into the classroom, and dealing with white students' reactions to this conceptualization.

Selected Video Titles on Development, Women and Development, and Related Topics

Basil Kardaras — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

List of video titles on Development, Women and Development, and Related Topics. This is one of Thirty three selected bibliographies spanning over one hundred pages are presented focusing on scholarship on the Sociology of Development and Women in Development organized by social, political, and economic themes, by global regions (Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East), and by specialized subjects (for example, globalization, non-governmental organizations, and sustainable development). Additional bibliographies are devoted to journals, internet resources, and videos, along with an annotated bibliography on selected United Nations agencies and organizations

Population and Society Assignment

Martin Piotrowski — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This is the first of a series of assignments that will ask you to research the demographic experience of a particular country. Using basic formulas you will create a demographic profile for that country, and then compare indicators for your country to those for the United States. The first assignment focuses on basic demographic data – their sources, uses, and their meaning.

Outcomes of Poverty

Lisa K. Waldner — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This guide was compiled with your students in mind. The Demography Teaching Resources Guide presents course syllabi for undergraduate and graduate courses in demography as well as resources for data used in demographic analysis and classroom exercises. Several of the syllabi and learning exercises offer suggestions for using online or other electronically available data as well as utilizing technological tools for self-guided and classroom learning. Among the undergraduate level syllabi are included some introductory syllabi and accompanying exercises as well as some more specialized syllabi focusing on race, economics, family, health issues and the environment. The graduate syllabi submissions include nine different syllabi focusing on theory, methodology, and some specific areas of demographic study. The learning exercise section has been organized to supplement all of the syllabi and includes over thirty different exercises covering the broad range of demographic topics.

Education and Child Well-Being

Lisa K. Waldner — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This module focuses on education and child well-being.

GRT 485: Death and Dying

Carol Barbee Wortham — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This course is designed to provide an investigation of some of the major areas of death and dying research and to relate them to older people. Course Objectives: 1. To become sensitized to issues in death and dying. 2. To gain a better understanding of issues in death and dying. 3. To see life as a continuum from conception to death. 4. To become more comfortable in discussing death and dying as an academic area and as a personal experience.

GOVERNMENT STATISTICS AND MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS OF THE AMOUNT AND DISTRIBUTION OF CRIME IN SOCIETY: AN ASSIGNMENT

Katherine B. Novak — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

In this assignment, students explore crime rates in the UCR and NCVS, and the "rates" of criminal activity in the media. They are, then, asked to examine the ways the media representations of crime rates and official crime rates differ, and the implications of those differences.

Sociological Practice

Jim Sherohman — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

A syllabi providing the outline for a course on Sociological Practice. COURSE GOALS: 1) To connect the specialized interests of students in the class to broader themes in sociology and social science. 2) To develop a better appreciation for the value of sociology and the sociological perspective in practice settings. 3) To develop greater confidence in the benefits of a sociology major and to strengthen one’s sociological identity. 4) To learn how applied and clinical sociology differ from each other and from basic or academic sociology. 5) To develop a better appreciation for the range of sociological practice. 6) To become more sensitive to the role of ethics in sociological practice. To sharpen one’s sense of what is ethical behavior and to develop greater confidence in one's ability to act ethically. 7) To develop a better understanding of how sociological concepts, theory, methods, and findings are used in practice, especially, in settings related to one's own career interest. 8) To develop a better understanding of how sociological theory and public policy influence each other. 9) To develop an appreciation for how social and political contexts constrain sociological practice. 10) To assess one's own knowledge and skills and develop better ways of presenting these to employers. 11) To research a prospective career, to develop professional contacts with practitioners, and to learn more about the types of positions available and the qualifications needed to secure them.

OVERVIEW OF THE FIELD

Jan Marie Fritz — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Some basic information is provided here - a definition of the field, a brief history and a list of general references:

SOCIOLOGY OF CHILDHOOD

Elizabeth A. Osborn — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The primary objective of this course is to introduce you to the sociological concepts, methods, and theoretical perspectives for understanding the relationship between children and their environment. Understanding this environment requires us to examine not only micro-level socialization processes, but also macro-level structural environments. The goal of this class is to familiarize you with some of the questions and problems that are being addressed by sociologists and examine some of the research on the child and society. We will be taking a global perspective to explore the diversity of children’s experiences across (among other categories) family structure, ethnicity, race, social class, and gender.

SOCIOLOGY OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

Laura Fingerson — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

In this senior/graduate seminar, we will delve into sociological research and thinking on children and adolescents. A major goal of this course is to familiarize students with this exciting subfield in sociology and to develop students’ analytic and critical thinking skills. Through readings, discussions, lectures, and presentations, we will focus on three overall themes: children and adolescents’ experiences, their agency, and their place in the social structure. First, we will explore the history of childhood and sociological thought and theory on children and adolescence. Then, after a discussion of research methods, we will explore substantive issues surrounding children and adolescents’ lives, such as peer cultures, media, families, schooling, gender, health and medicine, work and employment, deviance, social class, and race. We will conclude the course with a discussion of the future of sociological research and thought on children and adolescents and the implications of this research on social policy.

THE SOCIOLOGY OF CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH

Cheryl Albers — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This course challenges traditional thinking about the interaction between society and its youngest members. Sociology is no longer limited by the developmental and socialization models of the past. Contemporary sociologists are interested in understanding the two directional relationship between society and youth. Our model for the central section of this course is developed by William Corsaro. This interpretive reproduction model suggests that children and youth learn about adult culture while creating their own culture, which in turn shapes the culture of the wider society. Historical work will help us understand how time and place determine the experience of childhood and adolescence. Contemporary work will contribute to our understanding of the ways the contributions of children and youth shape various aspects of culture or cultural fields, such as education, economics, family, and community. Finally, we will investigate, both, how children and youth are perceived AS social problems, as well as, social problems OF children and youth.

Sociology 151/M, Chicanos in American Society (Undergraduate)

Tomás R. Jiménez — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Course Description: The Mexican-origin population is like no other in the United States. Its history includes colonization, immigration, and mass deportations and the size of present-day Mexican immigrant population is unparalleled. Individuals in this population range from those crossing the border today, to individuals whose families were in the southwestern territory when it was still Mexico. This course examines the experiences of the Mexican-origin population through the sociological lens. The course pays particular attention to the incredible diversity within the Mexican-origin population, focusing on issues of identity and integration into American society.

Work-Family Films

Stephen A. Sweet, Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

A list of suggested films for teaching the Sociology of Work and Family

Problem-Based Learning: An Exercise on Vermont’s Legalization of Civil Unions

Susan M. Ross — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

(Originally Published in Teaching Sociology, 32: 79-93.) The majority of literature regarding problem-based learning demonstrates its usefulness as a teaching technique in the natural sciences curriculum. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the broad purpose is to illustrate the application of problembased learning for instructing students about controversial issues in sociology. Within the second, more narrowed focus, we describe a class exercise involving the recent Vermont Supreme Court decision to legalize civil unions as an approach to addressing contemporary debates in sociology pertaining to the decline versus transition of the American family social institution. This project is developed using a three-pronged pedagogical approach involving critical theory, problem-based learning, and information literacy. While the technique described in this article is taken from a course on the Social History of American Families, the method can be modified for a variety of courses including sociology of the family, sociology of gender, introduction to sociology, and social problems.

Linking Theories to "Real World" Decisions: A Paper Project

Kathryn Hynes — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Abstract: This project is designed to help students develop a deeper understanding of theories about maternal labor force participation by comparing theoretical models to the actual experiences of people who have children. The project includes reading a review of theories of maternal labor force participation (Hattery 2001), conducting a semi-structured qualitative interview, and writing an empirical paper that uses the interview data as a test of the theoretical models. Rationale for the Project and Goals for Student Learning: Lower-level undergraduates often have a difficult time getting interested in comparing and contrasting competing theoretical frames. They also often have a hard time in learning about the strengths and weaknesses of various empirical strategies. This project is designed to facilitate these processes by having them examine whether people’s "real lives" fit into, or contradict, existing theoretical models of behavior. Students also gain hands-on experience with the research process by learning about and completing a qualitative interview. This practical experience provides a good opportunity to help student become better consumers of empirical research, creating easy opportunities to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative and qualitative methods, the challenges of conducting high quality research, and the complex interactions between theory and data. Students typically enjoy practicing and conducting the interviews, and having collected data themselves, become quite engaged in the process of integrating theory and empirical findings.

Teaching Sociology of Sports in Sociology of Children Classes

Yvonne Vissing — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Summary There are a variety of other ways that one can incorporate the study sports with traditional sociological concepts in the teaching of the sociology of children and youth. Because of the interest that young people naturally have with sports, incorporation of the sociology of sports into Introductory Sociology classes and Sociology of Children and Youth classes is bound to create enthusiasm among students. Students can use their sociological imagination in a variety of ways, including 1) writing reflection pieces in which they attempt to apply theory to their own experiences, 2) conducting research with athletes, their families, or at sporting events, 3) evaluating the organizational policies that are in place to protect children when they play sports or attend sporting events, and 4) developing a set of recommendations about how sports could more adequately address children’s needs. By doing so, it makes sociology real, and demonstrates the relevance of sociology in everyday life.

ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFER REDEMPTION: AN INTERACTIVE EXERCISE

JEANIE AKAMANTI — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This exercise is an interactive participation process that emulates using an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card, the distribution method that has replaced paper food stamp coupons. EBT is a delivery option that at first glance might easier, faster, and safer for administrators and recipients alike, but EBT must be looked at from the users’ perspective to see the problems. -- I am a person with a disability who receives food stamp benefits. I created the exercise to show what it is like for me and 19 million other food stamp recipients (Health and Human Services, 2000) to use EBT. I can no longer get food coupons and have no choice in delivery method. EBT is like a debit card, swiped at checkout terminals with the amount deducted from my food stamp balance.

INCORPORATING DISABILITY STUDIES INTO SOCIOLOGY COURSES

Lynn Schlesinger, Diane E. Taub — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

As the two former chairpersons of the ASA Committee on Society and Persons with Disabilities, we have been fortunate to work with numerous individuals in identifying ways in which the ASA can better integrate sociologists with disabilities in all aspects of the profession. Through their efforts, Committee members have increased attention on disability issues and have advanced knowledge about disability research and teaching. In this article, the fourth in a series on disability and sociology, we focus on the incorporation of disability related issues and research in sociology classes.

WOMEN AND DISABILITY

EMILY S. KOLKER — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This is intended to be an upper division, undergraduate Women Studies and/or Sociology course that would meet twice a week for four months. It is structured to examine, explore, and analyze the lives of women with disabilities as they intersect with race, class, sex, sexuality, age and disability type from a feminist social political perspective. Women with disabilities are to be invited to be guest speakers throughout the semester. The course is designed to make comparisons between non disabled women and women with disabilities, as well as between men and women with disabilities. Through the course work, each student should be able to understand the mechanisms and institutionalization of "ableism" and sexism in U.S. society, as well as in social/political movements. The instructor and students will be expected to work together throughout the semester to come up with ideas on how to better align feminist and disability rights movements.

TEACHING A COLLEGE-LEVEL "AIDS AND SOCIETY" COURSE

Hugh Klein — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Despite much informal sharing of knowledge abotu AIDS, little formal (i.e., published) information is available on teaching about AIDS in sociology courses. The present article suggests how an "AIDS and Society" course might be structured. The article begins by explaining how "AIDS and Society" is introduced to students on the first class meeting, proceeds to discuss the course requirements, and examines how each requirement is designed to address the pedagogic goals. Next the author reviews several potential pitfalls in teaching about AIDS in the sociology classroom. The article concludes by providing a brief critique of the course's success in past semesters, based both on the author's own perceptions of the course and on the students' comments in their end-of-the-semester evaluations.

STUDENT PROJECT Sociology B113 Sociology of the AIDS Epidemic -

Kathleen Grove — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This is an optional assignment for students who would like to be involved in activities as diverse as providing direct assistance in HIV prevention efforts (e.g. safe sex campaigns), organizing for HIV/AIDS charities (e.g. fund raisers), providing informal support at non-profit agencies, or researching the web services available in San Diego to individuals with HIV/AIDS.

A Community Study of AIDS Attitudes in a Small Town:

Jeffrey S. Victor — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

On October 27, 1997, public health officials and police announced that many teenage girls in the small town of Jamestown, New York, had been infected with HIV by one young man, named Nushawn Williams. Suddenly, a great deal of publicity was focused on "the AIDS problem" in Jamestown. This research is designed to investigate attitudes toward AIDS as a social problem in Jamestown, and the conditions particular to small towns that shape those attitudes. The basic research question is: How do different types of community opinion leaders define the social problem of AIDS, in terms of its causes, consequences and possible solutions?

REPRODUCTION, SEX AND POWER: Cross-Cultural Studies in Contraception and HIV/AIDS

Amy Kathleen Kaler — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The principal aim of the Teaching the Sociology of HIV/AIDS: Syllabi, Lectures, and Other Materials is to provide a reference of up-to-date information about how sociologists are teaching about HIV/AIDS for those interested in developing courses or modules on HIV/AIDS and for those already teaching HIV-related material who wish to explore different pedagogical ideas or approaches. There are thirteen syllabi for courses on the topic of HIV/AIDS. The syllabi vary in their approaches. Some focus on the socio-historical and contextual themes to organizing the study of the epidemic, while others take a more topical approach, highlighting both traditional epidemiological topics as well as many emerging issues regarding the experiences of those infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS. There are also ten lectures (complete with references for instructors and students and hard copies of materials for overheads). Teaching ideas, tips and challenges are offered through the inclusion of workshop handouts from the ASA 2004 Teaching the Sociology of AIDS Workshop. The teaching resources provided include a 75-Question HIV Lesson, an updated and annotated list of documentary and feature films dealing with the topic. In addition, an annotated resource directory of well-established HIV/AIDS internet sites is also included. Intended to help instructors and students access this type of information, these websites listed are as a means of staying abreast in new developments.

SOCIOLOGY OF TEACHING

Mary H Metz — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

In this course we will consider several overlapping perspectives through which to understand teachers and their work. We will also look at how public and researchers’ images of teaching and of teachers have shifted over the last thirty years. We will look at teaching as a career in a way that invites comparison with other careers. We will consider the school as a workplace and examine the distinctive character of the actual work of teaching as it is practiced daily and yearly. Teaching is carried out within the complex organizational context of school, school district, and state. Pressures from the federal and state levels on local districts and schools are changing rapidly. As a foundation for understanding these rapidly evolving pressures and their effects, we will look at the organizational characteristics of schools in conversation with the needs and demands of teaching as work. This understanding of the fundamental social characteristics of teaching in organizational context is critical to understanding not just the present moment but the past and the future of teaching.

Qualitative Research in Education

Amy J. Binder — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This course will provide experiences that will help you: •Understand the theoretical and methodological traditions that guide contemporary qualitative research in education •Learn how to frame a research question •Become better trained in qualitative fieldwork and other data collection activities in an ethical and technically defensible manner •Use interviewing and field observation techniques in your educational setting •Become skilled at a variety of strategies for analyzing and interpreting qualitative data •Think creatively and collaboratively about qualitative research design and analysis issues •Draw on your own empirical research, as well as the social science literature to write a report •Present your findings to the rest of the class

RECENTLY PUBLISHED TEXTBOOKS AND OTHER SOURCE BOOK REVIEWS FOR TEACHING THE SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION

Edith King — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The following strategy was utilized in selecting the sociology of education texts that are reviewed in this 6th edition of Teaching the Sociology of Education: Texts and ancillary readings reviewed were obtained from lists of the resources used in the teaching of sociology of education courses and related courses. These titles were gathered from the responses to the ASA Teaching Sociology of Education Questionnaire distributed to instructors in early 2003 and from syllabi submitted for the volume. Recent editions (published since 2000) of major texts in the field, and new offerings specifically designated for courses in the sociology of education or social foundations of education were selected from these lists for review. The year 2000 was chosen because the last edition of ASA Teaching the Sociology of Education manual was printed in early 2000. The editors felt reviewing books that had been published before that year would be redundant and some are actually no longer in print or available for course or seminar use. As of spring, 2004, there were only two major textbooks in print with publication dates of 2000 or later, specifically designated for teaching the sociology of education at the graduate level or upper division undergraduate level. These two basic textbooks, specifically devoted to major concepts and theories in sociology of education, are reviewed on the pages that follow.

Possible Final Paper Topics

Bud Mehan — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

With my permission, a project that investigates an aspect of the educational process can be substituted for the second midterm and the final. (All students take the first midterm.) If this option is approved, the work due in lieu of the second midterm would be an outline, a literature review and some indication of how the issue ties into our course topics and readings. The work in lieu of the final would be a 20-25 page paper or an oral presentation to the class. These topics are only suggestions; students are encouraged to suggest other topics.

Gender Identification Exercise

Jeffery P. Dennis — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Students must guess the gender of several people, basing their judgment purely on information supplied: occupation, relationship status, hobbies, tastes, and interests.

Gender Adventure

Barrie Thorne — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Students are invited to explore and decode the gender (and racial-ethnic, age, and/’or class-related) marking of a domain of material objects, like shavers, big wheels, or watches. They gather and analyze empirical examples, using readings on the social construction and coding of gender.

Gender Norm Observations

Joan Z. Spade — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This project asks students to simply observe gender. It is used at the very beginning of my class to help students distinguish between gender and sex as categories and to understand the diversity of gendered behavior across individuals and social situations.

Crossing Legs and Opening Doors: A Lesson in Gender Socialization

Cherise Harris — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This exercise is primarily designed to help students understand the concept of socialization, particularly as it relates to gender. It is also designed to help students understand how gender roles are formed and acted out in daily life. Lastly, the exercise should assist students in identifying and remembering the major agents of socialization (e.g. family, religion, school, peer groups, and media) and the ways in which each of these institutions are gendered.

A Visit from the GLBT Fairy Godmother

Adina Nack — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

I designed this activity to help undergraduate students better understand the lived realities of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered individuals. In addition to helping students "personalize" the experiences of these groups, the activity also asks students to analyze their reactions to more abstract concepts: gender identity, sexual orientation, homophobia, and heterosexism.

USING A COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH IN TEACHING SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

Scott Sernau — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Scott Sernau teaches social stratification, international inequality and development, and race and ethnic relations. He is the author of Bound: Living in the Globalized World (Kumarian 2000) and Worlds Apart: Social Inequalities in a New Century (Sage 2001). This essay is excerpted from an article by the same title in Teaching Sociology, October 1995, Vol. 23: 364-373.

VERSIFYING YOUR READING LIST: USING POETRY TO TEACH INEQUALITY

Timothy Patrick Moran — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Timothy Patrick Moran is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. His inequality class is taught as an upper-level elective and usually enrolls between 40-60 undergraduates of various social science majors. In addition to his interests in undergraduate education, his current research focuses on historical patterns of inequality between and within nations. Among his publications, he co-authored "World Economic Trends in the Distribution of Income, 1965-1992" appearing in the American Journal of Sociology (vol. 102, 1997). This is an excerpt from an article by the same title in Teaching Sociology, April 1999, Vol. 27:110-125.

The Self and Social Interaction

Keith A. Roberts — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Micro sociology is concerned with processes of interpersonal interaction, with the emergence of the "self," with group processes, with the ways in which societal structures and norms interface with micro-processes. The self is formed through social processes, yet "selfhood" is at the very core of the human experience and is the central distinction between humans and other animals. Becoming "human" is a learned process, and that learned process is awesome and wonderful. It is fascinating to examine, in part because it inspires much personal insight and reflection. In this course we will investigate the interaction between the individual and her/his social environment. While exchange theory, cognitive developmentalism and other paradigms will be used, the primary theoretical perspective of the course will be symbolic interactionism (sometimes called social constructionism).

Network Methods

Phillip Bonacich — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Social network analysis is both an approach and a method for the analysis of social structure. The social network approach has been used on a variety of topics, from the position of the Medici family in Florence in the Middle Ages to the spread of AIDS, from the activities of economic elites to how people get jobs. In this first of two courses we will be reading new and classic substantive papers that use the social network approach. In the 208B we will learn more about the mathematics and statistics of network analysis, including how to use some computer programs, and you will write papers analyzing the data sets you have chosen.

The Political Economy of Social Movements

Lesley J. Wood — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Social movements are intrinsic to societies characterized by unequal access to property, political power, and cultural resources. In this course, the relevance of political economy to the study of social movements will be critically reviewed in relation to other approaches. This course compares a political economy approach to studying social movements with approaches rooted in collective behaviour theory, resource mobilization theory, political process theory, and newer approaches that emphasize culture, networks, and recurrent processes and mechanisms.

INTRODUCTORY READING LIST ON THE SOCIOLOGY OF SEXUALITY

Tracy E. Ore — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This bibliography notes some of the key texts in the sociology of sexuality. It is by no means intended to be a comprehensive listing. Rather, the intent is to provide those not very familiar with the field to some of the most widely read, cited, or discussed works in the area as well as works which represent historically neglected areas of sexuality such as those by and about the sexualities of people of color. Additional sources are noted in the reading lists of the preceding syllabi. When taken together, these listings provide a fairly extensive guide to the literature. It was compiled for the first edition of this manual by Vera Whisman, updated for the second and third editions by Paula C. Rust with the help of PJ McGann, David Greenberg, Colin Williams, Peter B. Anderson, Kate Hausbeck and Barb Brents, and updated for this edition by Tracy E. Ore. The list is divided into fifteen topical segments. Many readings would fit under more than one subheading, but each is listed only once.

SOCIAL JUSTICE: LESBIAN, GAY, BI, TRANS. QUEER?

Aaron E. Devor — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

An examination of issues of concern to contemporary gay, lesbian, bi, trans, and queer social movements. Topics to be covered may include theoretical explanations of gender and sexual variance, cross-cultural and historical gender and sexual variations, cultural representations of gender and sexual variance, political strategies for change, gender and sexual variant social roles, the impact of HIV/AIDS on sexuality and community.

IDENTITY/POLITICS: CONTEXTUALIZING BISEXUALITY

Robyn E. Ochs — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This course explores the ways that various disciplines – including psychology, sociology, feminist analysis, law, history and popular culture – deal with (or fail to deal with) bisexuality. Particular attention is paid to developing a cross-cultural perspective on attitudes toward bisexuality. In addition, we will discuss various theoretical perspectives on sexuality in general and bisexuality in particular, and issues involved in the development of a "bisexual identity," as it relates to the larger glbt political movement and to identity politics in general.

Why I Teach Senior Experience (Capstone Course) as I Do

Kathleen McKinney — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The Senior Experience is a course designed to give you the opportunity to review major sociological theories and concepts, to experience additional professional socialization, and to engage in a full-scale sociological research project from start to finish. In this section of the course, you and a partner will select a sociological research question(s) that is of importance to both of you. You should work on a topic that is intrinsically rewarding to you. Given the size of the class, you will do the projects in this two-person team. Some work will be accomplished and evaluated individually. Students will be held responsible, in a number of ways, for contributing in an equitable manner to the team project and thesis. In addition, each team will be paired with another team to allow for reciprocal peer support, review, and feedback on projects. Though we will use the research project and thesis topic to apply our sociological imagination, this course is more a skills course than a content course. Skills and assignments later in the course build on earlier assignments. Thus, you must keep up with the work in order to successfully complete the course.

Senior Seminar: An Integrative and Transitional Experience

James A. Crone — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The objectives of this course are as follows: 1. To learn: a.) how to write a good resume, b.) where to look for social work and social policy types of occupations, c.) how to interview for a job, and d.) how to get into graduate school. 2. To integrate what you have learned in all of your sociology courses over the last four years. 3. To share your sociological insight in a class, consisting of senior sociology majors. 4. To prepare for the Senior Comprehensive Examination and the National Sociology Exam. 5. To learn from the experiences of sociology grads: how they got their jobs, what their jobs are like, and what graduate/law school was like. 6. To develop a skill at teaching—a skill that you will use in many facets of your life. 7. To reflect on the development of your "self" in the last four years—how you have developed personally and sociologically and where you see your life going after Hanover.

EDUCATIONAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Diane L. Pike — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate your thoughtful, sociological reflection on your college education and your evaluation of its relevance for your future. Consider the models of analysis reflected in the Merton and Hesser article. Throughout this essay consider and apply sociological concepts and ideas to your life; that is, this essay should reflect that it was written by a sociologically attuned author. All work must demonstrate writing proficiency and higher level thinking skills (see course overview outcomes). Length is typically 10-12 pages.

"To Be (Applied) Or Not to Be? That is the Question" & Example Syllabus

Theodore C. Wagenaar — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This course serves as a culminating experience for your study in sociology. The introductory course introduced you to the discipline. Most of your subsequent sociology courses examined particular topics within the sociological framework. By now, you probably have taken (or are taking) the required methods, theory, and statistics courses. Most of these individual courses tend to be discrete in their examination of various topics and issues. This capstone experience serves to build on these more discrete learning experiences by coming back to the discipline itself, and also by connecting the discipline to basic Miami Plan goals. The purpose of the course is to synthesize and integrate and assess what you have learned in sociology and to reflect on the role and contributions of the discipline. In one sense, you could think of it as an advanced introductory course since we will look at the discipline overall, but it is much more than an advanced introductory course, since you will be expected to use and assess what you have learned in other sociology classes. You will be expected to show how your exposure to sociology as a discipline contributed to your attainment of Miami Plan goals. Your ability to accurately summarize and critically assess the readings through oral participation in the course will constitute a substantial part of your grade. This part of the grade will also reflect your careful response to and assessment of other students' ideas.

From Hip Hop to Opera: The Production and Consumption of Culture

Elizabeth Armstrong — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This class will introduce students to sociological approaches to the production and consumption of culture through a series of active learning projects that emphasize writing, public speaking, teamwork, and research skills. This class requires that students engage actively in all parts of the course. There will be no examinations and very little lecture. Your grade will be based on your reading, writing, speaking, teamwork, and research skills.

Sociology 489: Senior Seminar

Jan E. Thomas — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This advanced seminar, required of all senior majors, explores fundamental issues regarding the process of sociological inquiry and the promise of the discipline. Faculty forums and student directed discussions will consider the boundaries and purposes of sociology, the relationship between theory and research, sociological writing, and the planning and execution of scholarly research. Students will apply their understanding of these issues through individual projects on subjects of their own choosing, presenting their work in progress for critical discussion.

The Internship Experience as a Service Learning Capstone

Scott Sernau — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

As part of the course, students complete the following: 1. Together, with our internship office and myself, they select a field site and formulate a Field Experience Plan. The one-page plan states their personal learning objectives and planned activities to achieve those objectives. I share a copy of this plan with their field supervisor, along with a letter of introduction on the program, to assure that all three parties—student, faculty, and site supervisor—share the same vision for the work. 2. Complete a minimum of 80 hours in a field setting appropriate to sociology and to your career objectives. We have varied the requirement, from as high as 160 hours. Our current goal is to serve the agency well, but leave enough time for reflection. Many students put in more hours than the minimum. 3. Attend bi-weekly group meetings with other interns to discuss topics, issues, and problems relevant to the internship experience. 4. Keep a log book/journal recording activities, observations, and critical reflections about the field experience. In the journal, they are to use sociological concepts to analyze experiences in the field.

Sociology 495: Senior Assignment Seminar

P. Denise Cobb, Connie Frey — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This syllabus represents the capstone course for general sociology majors. Sociology majors can choose one of two tracks that yield very different senior assignment experiences for students. For example, the Employment Relations program revolves around students’ sociological analyses of their internship experiences. For general sociology majors, the assignment requires students to design an empirical research question, generate an appropriate literature review, implement a research protocol suitable for that question, analyze data, and report findings, in writing and orally. The department transformed the senior assignment in Fall 2003.

Sociology of the Body

Susan J. Ferguson — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This course examines one of the most contested terrains of human experience, the body. In particular, the sociology of the body is a subfield of sociology that utilizes sociological inquiry and feminist scholarship to understand how bodies are socially constructed in different societies, cultures, and time periods. In this course, we examine the politics of appearance and the body, how bodies are gendered, sexualized, and racialized, and how social forces shape human bodies and bodily experience. Thus, we examine the body not merely as a physical object, but as a container and expression of the self, as an object of social control, and as a social construction with complex and shifting age, gender, race, and social class meanings. Potential topics include: aging and the body; women’s, men’s, and intersexed bodies; pregnancy and the body; body work, sports, exercise, and athleticism; sex and sexuality; disability; illness and the body; ethical dilemmas related to the body; body objectification, beautification, and mutilation; and the treatment of dead bodies.

Social Work - Appalachia

Robert L. Lewis — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This course is designed to provide students an understanding and appreciation of the unique cultural characteristics of Appalachians, with a focus on the impact of major social institutions, e.g., family, religion, social welfare, education, and economics. The purpose is to enable students to understand the role of generalists social work practice in Appalachia and prepare them to become more effective service providers in the region.

Animals and Society

Lisa Anne Zilney — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This course explores various aspects of the interrelationships of human and nonhuman animals in society today, including the ecological, environmental, cultural, economic, social, psychological, and health and medical dimensions of these interrelationships. Multidisciplinary knowledge of how and why these factors interact is considered to be essential to a better understanding of the human-nonhuman animal bond. The course will examine the following topics: (1) The constructed and changing role of nonhuman animals in society, historically, and the changing human-nonhuman animal bond. (2) The important individual and organizational players involved in social movements advocating for nonhuman animals. (3) The role of industrialization in (ab)uses of nonhuman animals. (4) The changing role of ethics in the treatment of nonhuman animals.

INTEGRATIVE SEMINAR ON ALCOHOLISM

Tom Gregoire — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Alcoholism and other drug addictions are ubiquitous. Regardless of the arena in which you choose to practice social work, you cannot avoid addiction and its consequences. The intent of this course is to introduce concepts of addiction and to review current issues for social work practice. During this quarter, we will explore explanations for the etiology of alcoholism and review current approaches for assessment, treatment, and relapse prevention. Our agenda, also, includes considering the differential impact of alcohol and other drug addictions upon a number of special populations.

DRUGS & SOCIETY

Jennifer Friedman — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This course will explore the social construction of substance use in the United States. By engaging in an historical analysis of substance use, students will take a look at the numerous dynamics which work to define the legality status of particular drugs. In particular, we will utilize the theoretical perspectives of labeling and moral panics to show how certain racial/ethnic, class, and immigrant groups were targeted by powerful whistle blowers as a mechanism to create anti-drug hysteria and, hence, legislation. When analyzing the current war on drugs, students will move beyond the U.S. borders to explore drug trafficking and global politics. After highlighting large macro dynamics, we will move to individual users and the popular perspectives on the causes of substance use and abuse such as the medical, psychoanalytic, and sociological models. Once students analyze and critique these popular perspectives, it is essential to take a close look at the various solutions proposed by medical practitioners, legislators, and the criminal justice system. Finally, students will synthesize all that they have learned in this course by analyzing popular culture and media’s role in maintaining particular images of and perspectives on substance use and abuse. I will run this course as a large seminar and will bring only general notes and questions to class for discussion. I will expect students to do the readings and contribute comments, examples and critiques. Your active participation is essential and will make the class an exciting experience