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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

TRAILS logo with gold star superimposed on the lower right corner. Logo is composed of four vertical bars in varying shades of blue.
Colleen Elizabeth Wynn
Neighborhood Tour Project
December 26, 2019
Subject Area(s):
Urban Sociology
Resource Type(s):
Assignment
Class Level(s):
Any Level
Class Size(s):
Small
Abstract:
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...
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Anjel Stough-Hunter
Quantitative Research Project for Students with Little Research Experience
November 8, 2019
Subject Area(s):
Research Methods
Resource Type(s):
Assignment
Class Level(s):
College 300
Class Size(s):
Small
Abstract:
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,...
Cover Page Requires Subscription DOCX
Yvette A. Jean
Bibliography/Film Library for Race and Ethnic Relations
November 8, 2019
Subject Area(s):
Racial and Ethnic Relations
Resource Type(s):
Bibliography
Class Level(s):
Any Level
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
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...
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Janet Armitage
Qualitative Coding with Children’s Literature: An Exercise Using The Three Little Pigs
October 24, 2019
Subject Area(s):
Qualitative Methodology
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
College 300
Class Size(s):
Small
Abstract:
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...
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Deeb Paul Kitchen, Amber Nelson
The Social Construction of Sex
October 18, 2019
Subject Area(s):
Sexualities
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
Any Level
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
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...
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Laura Fitzwater Gonzales
Socialization Autobiography
August 6, 2019
Subject Area(s):
Introduction to Sociology/Social Problems
Resource Type(s):
Assignment
Class Level(s):
College 100
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
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...
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Judith R Halasz
Urban Sociology
July 4, 2019
Subject Area(s):
Urban Sociology
Resource Type(s):
Assignment, Syllabus
Class Level(s):
College 300
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
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;...
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Amanda Fehlbaum
Reciprocity 2.0: A Simulation Game for Sociology of the Family
June 25, 2019
Subject Area(s):
Family
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
Any Level
Class Size(s):
Small
Abstract:
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...
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Casey Errante, Kristin Godwin, Daniel Buffington
Increases in Income Inequality
April 24, 2019
Subject Area(s):
Stratification/Mobility
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
College 100
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
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...
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Amanda Wyant
Applying the Theory of Alienation using Contemporary TV Characters
April 19, 2019
Subject Area(s):
Occupations/Professions
Resource Type(s):
Class Activity
Class Level(s):
Any Level
Class Size(s):
Any
Abstract:
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...
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