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TRAILS Featured Resources
TRAILS Featured Resources
February 23, 2023

TRAILS, the Teaching Resources and Innovation Library for Sociology, provides a way for you to easily locate peer-reviewed teaching materials, showcase your teaching ideas, develop professionally, and join a community of scholarly teachers. You will find great assignments, syllabi, lectures, and other teaching ideas at TRAILS. Please also consider submitting your great ideas for teaching. The Featured Resources include some of the newest additions to our collection.

-Stephanie Medley-Rath
TRAILS Lead Editor

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Joshua Christopher Tom
Mapping out Medicalization
November 20, 2014
Subject Area(s):
Medical Sociology
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
College 100
Class Size(s):
Medium
Abstract:
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...
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Jessica A Cohen
"What is a Brony?" Challenging Modern Day Definitions of Masculinity in the Classroom
November 4, 2014
Subject Area(s):
Sex and Gender
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
College 100
Class Size(s):
Small
Abstract:
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...
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Karie Feldman
Social Context and Health
November 4, 2014
Subject Area(s):
Medical Sociology
Resource Type(s):
Assignment
Class Level(s):
College 300
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
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...
Cover Page Requires Subscription DOCX
Julie A Pelton
Seminar on Teaching: Pedagogical Theory and Practice
October 10, 2014
Subject Area(s):
Teaching and Learning in Sociology
Resource Type(s):
Syllabus
Class Level(s):
Graduate
Class Size(s):
Small
Abstract:
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...
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Jennifer Stevens
Celebrities, Crime and Deviance: Understanding Formal and Informal Sanctions
October 9, 2014
Subject Area(s):
Deviant Behavior/Social Disorganization
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
Any Level
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
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...
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Bhavani Arabandi, Stephen Sweet, Alicia Swords
Analyzing Contemporary Social Issues in a Global Context
October 9, 2014
Subject Area(s):
Political Economy
Resource Type(s):
Assignment
Class Level(s):
Any Level
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
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...
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Seth Wright
SOCIO339: Crime, Law and Society (Syllabus and Sample Assignments)
September 18, 2014
Subject Area(s):
Criminology/Delinquency
Resource Type(s):
Assignment, Syllabus
Class Level(s):
College 300
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
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...
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Stephanie Medley-Rath, Mike Rudibaugh
Research Project for Introduction to Research Methods
September 16, 2014
Subject Area(s):
Research Methods
Resource Type(s):
Assignment
Class Level(s):
College 200
Class Size(s):
Small
Abstract:
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...
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Martha A. Easton
Power, Social Institutions, and Social Reproduction Syllabus
September 3, 2014
Subject Area(s):
Socialization
Resource Type(s):
Syllabus
Class Level(s):
College 200
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
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...
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Stephanie Medley-Rath
Online Introduction to Sociology Syllabus
August 29, 2014
Subject Area(s):
Introduction to Sociology/Social Problems
Resource Type(s):
Syllabus
Class Level(s):
College 100
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
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).
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