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All TRAILS Resources
All TRAILS Resources
May 31, 2023

Browse the entire collection of TRAILS resources here.

Portrait Photo of Woman Holding Up a Magnifying Glass Over Her Eye
Angel Navarro, Kristen Discola
Shifting Lenses: Invoking the Sociological Imagination to Explore How Social Positions Shape Interpretation
January 2, 2025
Subject Area(s):
Introduction to Sociology/Social Problems, Other, Social Psychology, Visual Sociology
Resource Type(s):
Assignment, Class Activity
Class Level(s):
College 100, College 200
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:

This class activity utilizes an online discussion board to enhance students' understanding of how social positions influence individual interpretation. Students analyze a single image from the perspectives of two contrasting social categories, fostering...

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Pennies falling out of a vase across a table
Zach Rubin
Life Still Happens
November 21, 2024
Subject Area(s):
Economic Sociology, Family, High School Sociology, Introduction to Sociology/Social Problems, Race, Class and Gender, Social Welfare/Social Work, Sociological Practice, Stratification/Mobility
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
College 100, College 200, High School
Class Size(s):
Medium, Small
Abstract:

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...

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The exterior of a museum
Alyssa Lyons
Experiential Learning in Sociology: Exploring the Role of Settler Colonialism in Museum Education
October 25, 2024
Subject Area(s):
Education, Knowledge, Race, Class and Gender, Visual Sociology
Resource Type(s):
Assignment, Essay
Class Level(s):
College 300
Class Size(s):
Medium
Abstract:

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...

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Two students studying
Maria Scaptura
’Learning Sociology through Social Research’: A Research Methods Course Syllabus
October 24, 2024
Subject Area(s):
Other, Qualitative Methodology, Quantitative Methodology, Research Methods
Resource Type(s):
Syllabus
Class Level(s):
College 300, College 400
Class Size(s):
Medium, Small
Abstract:

The Social Research course is a semester-long (15-week) course at the 3000-level. It was designed as 6-units walking students through the process, methodologies, analysis, evaluation, and finally, real-world applications of social research. At the beginning of the...

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A pile of Pokemon cards
Edward Smith
Teaching Durkheim’s Sociology of Religion through Pokémon
October 24, 2024
Subject Area(s):
Introduction to Sociology/Social Problems, Religion, Teaching and Learning in Sociology, Theory
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity, Lecture, PowerPoint
Class Level(s):
Any Level
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to examine Emile Durkheim’s structural framework from his book on Elementary Forms of Religious Life to explore Pokémon Platinum and its religious elements present within the game. Using Durkheim's theoretical framework from...

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spoons on a plate
Anna Penner
Spoon Theory: An In-class Activity Examining Disability and Ableism
October 9, 2024
Subject Area(s):
Disabilities
Resource Type(s):
Assignment, Class Activity
Class Level(s):
College 100
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:

This disability activity uses the sociological imagination and the social model of disability to highlight how society disables chronically ill and disabled individuals. Utilizing the spoon theory, students work through a week of their life with varying numbers of...

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AI with a silhouette head covered in googly eyes
Ellen Meiser
Artificial Intelligence and the Human Apocalypse: A Case Study Assignment
October 9, 2024
Subject Area(s):
Science and Technology
Resource Type(s):
Assignment, Class Activity
Class Level(s):
College 100, College 200, College 300, College 400
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:

“Artificial Intelligence and the Human Apocalypse” is an assignment that employs a podcast, a YouTube documentary, two general articles, and a personal conversation with ChatGPT to encourage students to consider all sides of the, “Is artificial intelligence (AI)...

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Football players making a tackle
Kristen Discola
49ers Faithful: Application of Symbolic Interactionist Concepts in Identity Construction
October 1, 2024
Subject Area(s):
Social Psychology
Resource Type(s):
Assignment
Class Level(s):
College 100, College 200
Class Size(s):
Medium, Small
Abstract:

In this activity, basic tenets of symbolic interactionism are broken down into digestible pieces and students explore each through close investigation of their own experiences of identity construction. This will not only solidify their understanding, but it will...

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A man in the grocery store
Tamika Odum
Separate, Not Equal: Exploring Food Insecurity and Health
September 25, 2024
Subject Area(s):
Medical Sociology, Public Policy, Race, Class and Gender
Resource Type(s):
Assessment, Assignment
Class Level(s):
College 100, College 200, College 300
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:

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...

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A football on the football field
Frederic Traylor
Does Taylor Make Travis Better? An Exercise in Testing Popular Assumptions
September 25, 2024
Subject Area(s):
Cultural Sociology, Research Methods, Statistics
Resource Type(s):
Assignment, Class Activity
Class Level(s):
College 200, College 300, College 400
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:

Throughout the 2023-24 NFL season, it had been claimed that Taylor Swift’s attendance at her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s games has made him play better. This short classroom activity (25 minutes) tasks students with computing, analyzing, and arguing for or against...

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