Research projects are a common type of assignment in sociology courses. Often, however, students are tasked to collect and analyze data without much preparation for these tasks. In this article, I propose an interview practice exercise that involves group work in...

The theory of dramaturgy put forth by Erving Goffman in The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life is foundational for sociological understandings of the self, interaction, identity, and roles, which continue to be relevant for students in both their...

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...

This activity is designed to help students analyze how the hidden curriculum functions in their own educational experiences and the experiences of others. Through this activity, students will be able to define the hidden curriculum, assess their own educational...

This sociology of education syllabus is based on the following three learning objectives: 1) Analyze the education system’s role in reproducing and mitigating inequality, 2) Apply sociological theory and research to solving education problems, and 3) Reflect on...

The Mapping the Organizational Field of Social Welfare activity introduces students to an organizational theory frame for thinking about social welfare. The activity and associated readings uncover the ways that social welfare provision depends on the...

This class activity uses legislation recently considered by the United States Congress to develop students’ ability to conduct gender analyses of social phenomena. Used in a large, online undergraduate course providing an introduction to the sociology of sex and...

Fostering students’ creative thinking is a frequent goal of higher education instructors. When instructors aim to develop this skill in their students’ sociological writing, it encourages instructors to create alternatives to the commonly used research paper. This...

In this course, we will use various Japanese pop culture genres, including comics, anime, food, and music, and examine the interplay between local and global culturescapes. Students are expected to critically inquire into the reality and complexity of people's...

Teaching sociology often involves difficult, painful conversations about injustice and collective trauma. These conversations can be emotionally demanding, which may influence a student's capacity to learn and to remain in sociological studies. Perpetual ideas...