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A Quarterly Publication of
The American Sociological Association

ABSTRACTS--Volume 31, Number 4, October 2003

TEACHING SOCIOLOGY IN HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

ARTICLES AND NOTES

SOCIOLOGY AT HOWARD UNIVERSITY: FROM E FRANKLIN FRAZIER AND BEYOND
(Charles Jarmon)

A single unified frame of reference for determining how sociology should be taught does not exist; nor does it exist for describing the optimum design for instituting curricula in sociology at different colleges and universities. Yet patterns and themes appear to persist at particular institutions that reflect the influence of their peculiar historical development and social contexts. This perspective underlies the examination of sociology at Howard University since its beginning as a series of lectures in 1895. Four factors are emphasized: the historical mission of the university; the special research and intellectual interests of departmental faculty, with particular discussion of the influence of E. Franklin Frazier; the struggles of traditional perspectives in opposition to the need to respond to new demands in society; and the demand of students for new courses outside the boundary of the existing curriculum. While I conclude that sociology at Howard University has always generally exhibited major facets of mainstream sociology, the most enduring thematic focus in research and teaching has centered on problems associated with racial and social inequality.

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THE POLITICS OF PEDAGOGY
(Beverly M. John)

The issues that shape and inform the discourse of sociology are simultaneously the issues with which the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious lens of the theorist, the instructor, the student, and the academic environment are laden. This article utilizes the case study method to review and consider the impact and implications of academic milieu on the myriad issues with which higher education and the discipline of sociology, as well as its agents and their neophytes, are confronted. Each agent and neophyte attempt to analyze the social reality in which it exists.

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"ENTER TO LEARN, DEPART TO SERVE": THE APPLICATION OF THE KUFUNDISHA PEDAGOGICAL MODEL AT A HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE
(Monica M. White)

This essay discusses my experiences teaching an undergraduate social theory course at a historically black college. Kufundisha is a culturally sensitive teaching model initially designed for teaching Black Studies. As a pedagogical model, Kufundisha pays particular attention to social characteristics of the student population and frames the discussion of the teaching-learning process, especially around educating students to critically analyze their social reality in ways that are empowering and liberatory. The components of the model, specific social theory course assignments, and student reactions are discussed. This model encourages the creation of an emancipatory educational environment that allows students to become active participants in their own learning experience.

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THE LEGACY OF ERNST BORINSKI: THE PRODUCTION OF AN AFRICAN AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL TRADITION
(Donald Cunnigen)

By using archival documents, a social history of the Tougaloo College Sociology Department was constructed as a method of viewing the significant contributions of Ernst Borinski, a German Jewish émigré scholar who played a pivotal role in the postwar development of the department. The paper examines Borinski’s life, the social context in which he worked, and his influence on the institution and its students. The archival documents were derived from the Ernst Borinski Collection in the Tougaloo College Archives, including diaries, letters, and scholarly papers. In addition, documents from the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission and secondary sources regarding Tougaloo College’s academic life such as college catalogs, institutional self-studies, and school newspapers were used to examine the unique institutional constraints related to a historically African-American liberal arts college in Mississippi. Through grantsmanship, Borinski developed a Social Science Advancement Institute, Social Science Forums, and a Freshman Social Science Seminar. Between 1947 and 1999, he produced approximately 22 students who received Ph.D.’s, approximately 10 in sociology or social work; and approximately 88 students received master’s degrees, including 26 M.S.W.s.

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SLEEPING IN THE BOX, THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX: STUDENT REFLECTIONS ON INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGICAL TOOLS FOR TEACHING ABOUT AND PROMOTING A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIAL CLASS INEQUALITY AMONG UNDERGRADUATES
(Angela J. Hattery)

Teaching about social stratification and social inequality is fundamental to any curriculum in sociology. Yet often students are not as excited about these courses as they are about others. In order to engage students in active learning, I developed a course that used a variety of pedagogical strategies designed to provide experiential and service-learning situations to help students connect readings such as those by Marx, Olin Wright, and Davis and Moore with the situation of social class in contemporary United States. Students were required to keep journals of their experiences, and their journal entries provide the data for this paper. Though there is considerable room for improvement, the data suggest that the pedagogical tools employed were successful in promoting a deeper level of learning around issues of inequality, particularly social class inequality, as it exists in the United States.

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TEACHING ABOUT SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN THROUGH FILM
(Aroza Anwary)

Using videos and relevant literature, this paper explains how students of sociology courses learn about the gender issues and sexuality of South Asian women. Particularly, it describes how videos and selected readings help students to understand how contemporary national economic and socio- political realities of South Asia are responsible for the recent honor killings, sex selective abortions, and structural powerlessness of homosexuals of South Asia. This paper also explains how South Asian women seek to control and overcome their structural powerlessness.

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TEACHING DIVERSITY AND LEARNING OUTCOMES: BRINGING LIVED EXPERIENCE INTO THE CLASSROOM
(Timothy Kubal, Rosalie Torres Stone, Teelyn T. Mauney, and Deanna Meyler)

This study examines the learning outcomes of an institutionalized program that provides artists as guest speakers. Art, guest speakers, and institutionalized programs are commonly analyzed teaching techniques, but studies have not examined their effectiveness for diversity education. Study of the diversity guest speaker program was guided by two questions: What kinds of learning outcomes does presenting the diversity speaker bring about for students? Which groups of students are most (least) likely to find the diversity speaker rewarding? Findings from the quantitative analysis indicate learning outcomes varied among student groups; older students and female students both found the program more rewarding. Qualitative analysis suggests three kinds of learning outcomes: diversity outcomes, personal outcomes, and resistance. The paper concludes by discussing diversity, resistance, and learning outcomes.

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This paper discusses the feasibility and challenges of conducting critical research on the margins of social life, specifically about race relations and racism, based in academia, the central site of official knowledge production. By drawing on feminist literature as well as on my students’ experiences within the Certificate in Anti-Racist Research and Practice (CARRP), an undergraduate certificate based in my Department, this paper raises questions on such issues as ethics, voice, identity and role of community.

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    THE PEDAGOGICAL VALUE OF TEACHING WHITE PRIVILEGE THROUGH A CASE STUDY
    (Diane Gillespie)

This article explains how the author used a case study as a powerful pedagogical strategy to teach white privilege in a predominantly white university setting. The author crafted the case, entitled "A Very Slender Thread," from a student interview as part of a larger project called Critical Moments. The article describes how the case exemplifies two theories of white racial identity development, showing how students' discussions of the case enabled them to apply these theories and recognize their own tacitly held assumptions about race and privilege. In revealing what might otherwise have remained unspoken and thus unquestioned, the case discussion challenged the students to evaluate their unexamined beliefs and allowed the author to respond meaningfully to the constellation of assumptions about race and privilege, especially those that led to fear and apathy, as they emerged in the discussion.

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    THE CLOTHESLINE PROJECT AS STUDENT PRODUCTION: CREATIVITY, VOICE, AND ACTION
    (Lora Bex Lempert)

Abstract forthcoming.

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    EXPLORING CRITICAL SOCIOLOGICAL THINKING
    (Liz Grauerholz and Sharon Bouma-Holtrop)

Much has been written about enhancing students’ critical thinking abilities, but very little empirical research on this important learning outcome exists within the sociological literature. Indeed, there is little consensus among sociologists (and non-sociologists) about what critical thinking is. In this paper we review ways in which sociologists have conceptualized and measured critical thinking and introduce a new concept—critical sociological thinking—that embodies the type of higher-level thinking many sociologists want to help students attain. Critical sociological thinking refers to the ability to logically and reasonably evaluate an argument or problem while maintaining an awareness of and sensitivity to social forces and contexts. Further, we develop a scale that can be used to measure critical sociological thinking and demonstrate its usefulness in the empirical analysis of student writing. Implications for future research and teaching are discussed.

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