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A Quarterly Publication of
The American Sociological Association
ABSTRACTS
Volume 36, Number 4, October 2008ARTICLES
- Sociology as Pedagogy: How Ideas from the Discipline Can Inform Teaching and Learning . . . . . Judith R. Halasz and Peter Kaufman
- What is Critical about Sociology? . . . . . Steven Buechler
- On the Outside Teaching In: Using Internet Videoconferencing to Instruct an Introductory Sociology Course from a Remote Location . . . . . Charles Koeber and David Wright
NOTES
- Assessing an Advanced Level Introductory Sociology Course . . . . . Venessa Keesler, Baranda Fermin, and Barbara Schneider
- The "Shirt-Weenie": A Note on Teaching the Power of Face-Work and Tact in Social Interaction . . . . . Shane Sharp and Gregory T. Kordsmeier
- You Think You Know Ghetto? Contemporizing the Dove "Black IQ Test" . . . . . Kenneth H. Laundra and Tracy N. Sutton
- Bringing the Facts to Life: Facilitating Student Engagement with the Issue of Domestic Violence . . . . .Gail Murphy-Geiss
Sociology as Pedagogy: How Ideas from the Discipline Can Inform Teaching and Learning
As a discipline, sociology has produced a rich understanding of social processes, and yet the pedagogical implications of this scholarship remain largely untapped. In this paper, we employ a framework of sociology as pedagogy to show how sociology can enhance and inform teaching and learning. We select examples from a range of classical and contemporary social thought to highlight the connection between sociological theory and the practices of teaching and learning. We use these theories to demonstrate a broad application of our notion of sociology as pedagogy; however, we believe that all sociological knowledge can be mined for its pedagogical significance. Furthermore, recognizing how sociological phenomena shape the classroom experience is conducive to a more reflexive pedagogy in line with the tenets of the sociological imagination.
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What is Critical about Sociology?
Critical thinking is often presented as a generic technique. This article develops an alternative that links critique more closely to the sociological perspective. I suggest three answers to the above question: that the sociological perspective is critical for comprehending complex issues, that all sociology is implicitly critical by virtue of its debunking tendency, and that some sociology is explicitly critical by virtue of value commitments that lead to a critique of domination. The article identifies some basic themes of what it means to think sociologically, discusses sociology's "double critique" in more detail, illustrates the critical potential of scientific, humanistic and critical approaches to sociology, and explores some implications of this approach for how we teach sociology. It concludes by suggesting that the goal of fostering critical thinking in our students might better be met by returning to the critical roots of our own discipline.
On the Outside Teaching In: Using Internet Videoconferencing to Instruct an Introductory Sociology Course from a Remote Location
This study uses a quasi-experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of Internet videoconferencing technology. The instructor used a laptop, webcam, high-speed DSL connection, and Polycom™ Viewstation to teach a course unit of introductory sociology from a remote location to an experimental group of students in a large multimedia classroom. The same instructor taught a control group of introductory sociology students without videoconferencing. The groups were compared using exam scores, attendance, classroom observations, and student evaluations. The use of Internet videoconferencing did not affect exam scores or attendance. However, it substantially lowered student evaluation scores. In comparison to classroom-based instruction and due to problems with and limitations of the technology, students experienced greater difficulty communicating with the instructor, felt more separated, and were less engaged in the course. Therefore, they perceived the instructor's teaching to be less effective, and evaluations reflected lower scores, thereby "punishing" the instructor. Symbolic interactionism is used to interpret the results. This research is compared and contrasted with a previous study conducted by one of the authors (Koeber), also published in Teaching Sociology (2005 issue?), which yielded opposite results. In Koeber's study the instructor was rewarded with favorable student evaluations for the use of new technology that enhanced engagement. We conclude that when instructors choose whether or not to use Internet videoconferencing, they must weigh the potential benefits associated with bridging distance gaps versus potential costs associated with reduction in quantity and quality of symbolic interaction that may cause students to disengage.
In 2001 the American Sociological Association launched a task force with the goal of creating an advanced high school sociology curriculum that would also be a model for introductory sociology courses in colleges and universities. The principle goal of the task force was to design a college-level sociology course that would motivate students' interest and help them to acquire scientific knowledge that would better prepare them for college and pursuits in all scientific disciplines, increase their interest in postsecondary education, and help them in their future studies and work experiences, with the long-term goal of creating individual and societal benefits. In the spring of 2006 this curriculum became the basis for a pilot introductory sociology course. The primary focus of this paper is to describe the activities of the postsecondary pilot implementation of the model curriculum with undergraduate students at a large research university in the Midwestern United States and to analyze the effectiveness of the curriculum in this setting. The effectiveness of the curriculum is measured by three developmental goals: student knowledge of sociological content, the development of critical thinking skills, and the interest of students to study sociology. We find that overall, sociological knowledge and critical thinking skills appear to have increased in the course of the semester and that students expressed greater interest in the application of sociology to their daily lives.
The "Shirt-Weenie": A Note on Teaching the Power of Face-Work and Tact in Social Interaction
In this note we discuss a teaching exercise we call the "shirt weenie" (when a person's tucked-in shirt sticks out from his or her pant's zipper) that we developed and used to teach Goffmanian theory concerning face-work and tact in a social psychology class. We found this strategy useful for teaching how powerful tact-or the efforts to save and maintain the "face" of others-is in regard to students' own behavior. Student evaluations attest to the demonstration's success.
You Think You Know Ghetto? Contemporizing the Dove "Black IQ Test"
This paper introduces a revised version of Adrian Dove's "Chitling Test of Intelligence" (a.k.a. The Dove Counterbalance General Intelligence Test or the "Black IQ Test"). The mock test is designed to provide an opportunity to feel the effects of cultural bias in intelligence testing by quizzing students on black slang in order to demonstrate the inherent weakness in standardized tests (such as the SATs, ACTs or GREs) in objectively measuring intelligence. This mock test is used to generate classroom discussion about institutionalized forms of racism in education, white privilege, and other factors that play a role in divergent academic scores among racial groups. Measurable learning outcomes of this activity are presented, as well as a discussion of its utility for practitioners in the classroom.
Bringing the Facts to Life: Facilitating Student Engagement with the Issue of Domestic Violence
Teaching about domestic violence (often within sociology of family courses) requires creativity. Student unfamiliarity, and even more, incredulity regarding the topic, combined with the potential for emotional reactions can make for a particularly disturbing subject for which the traditional pedagogies of reading and lecture alone are inadequate. Pedagogies that highlight emotionally engaged methods and realistic situations can be very effective. Four specific components are discussed here, the last in some detail: (1) controversial readings, (2) a particularly powerful film, (3) expert guest speakers who work with victims and/or perpetrators of domestic violence, and (4) observations in domestic violence courts. The court observations, in particular, serve as a culminating experience which underlines the academic content of the course while also impressing students with the lived reality of perpetrators and victims and powerfully confronting them with the intersection between the private (family) and the public (courts) in a way that makes excellent sociological analysis almost inevitable.
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For articles, notes, and conversations, send manuscripts to: Liz Grauerholz, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Purdue University Stone Hall, 700 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2059. Phone: 765-494-5874, Fax: 765-496-1476.
For book, video, and software reviews, send manuscripts to: Jay Howard, Department of Sociology, Indiana University Columbus, 4601 Central Avenue, Columbus, IN 47203-1769.
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