A Quarterly Publication of The American Sociological Association ABSTRACTS--Volume 28, Number 1, January 2000 ARTICLES Telling into Wholeness .....Anne Martin The Inclusion of Disability in Introductory Sociology Textbooks .....Diane E. Taub and Patricia L. Fanflik Embodying Sociological Imagination: Pedagogical Support for Linking Bodies to Minds .....Margret S. Crowdes Evolving a Developmental Curriculum in Sociology: The Santa Clara Experience .....Charles H. Powers NOTES Teaching About Institutional Discrimination and the Controversies of Affirmative Action .....Brian K. Obach Playing at Work: The Intersection of Race, Class, and Gender with Power Structures of Work and Production .....Marisa Corrado, Davita Silfen Glasberg, Beth Merenstein, and Melanie R. Peele Simulating Television Programs as a Tool to Teach Social Theory .....Mary L. Donaghy Are Deviants Different from the Rest of Us? .....Timothy Brezina Telling into Wholeness (Anne Martin) Each year, Teaching Sociology publishes the address given by the recipient of the Hans O. Mauksch Award for Distinguished Contributions to Undergraduate Sociology. This annual award is presented by the ASA Section on Undergraduate Education, and the recipient is blessed or doomed by the expectation that an address will be given to the Section membership the following year. As the 1998 award recipient, I took this opportunity to collect my thoughts on educating for sustainable communities. Modernity glorifies hyperconsumerism and hyperindividualism, and gives rise to a consciousness of human separation from and superiority to nature. To counter these threats to our biological and sociological ecosystems, higher education in general, and sociology in particular, must adopt postmodern strategies to educate for survival. The metanarratives that served the modern age, such as “science” and “progress,” prove inadequate for the postmodern age of ecological crisis. We urgently need a more life-centered vision. The ecological perspective replants our feet on the bedrock of biological and sociological connectedness. Although science has been central to modernity’s destructiveness, ecology is a subversive science which can serve us well as both science and story; it is the central transformative image of a new postmodern metanarrative. Return to top of page. The Inclusion of Disability in Introductory Sociology Textbooks (Diane E. Taub and Patricia L. Fanflik) Previous research has concluded that representation of diversity is often limited in introductory sociology textbooks. One area of diversity that has not been studied in these textbooks is the topic of disability. In this research, 25 introductory sociology textbooks, published between 1996 and 1998, are investigated to determine the portrayal of disability. Using content analysis, the authors examine these books for textual representation of disability and pictorial depiction of individuals with disabilities. Results indicate that introductory sociology textbooks provide a limited amount of information about disability. From the written material, two major themes are identified: disability as a defining social characteristic and disability as a basis for minority group membership. In addition, textbook photographs present a selective depiction of individuals with disabilities. Suggestions for providing a more comprehensive portrayal of individuals with disabilities are discussed. Return to top of page. Embodying Sociological Imagination: Pedagogical Support for Linking Bodies to Minds (Margret S. Crowdes) Drawing on insights from sociologies of the body, feminist perspective and experiential learning, I discuss a way to enhance the teaching of critical social analyses with explicit attention to experiential and somatic learning modalities. A sociology course designed to explore alternatives to normative concepts and practices of power, conflict resolution and change illustrates a pedagogic framework that assists students in not only realizing the explanatory power of critical social analysis and deconstruction, but also facilitates an experience of sociological analysis as an empowering and embodied tool of mindful reconstruction in everyday life. Return to top of page. Evolving a Developmental Curriculum in Sociology: The Santa Clara Experience (Charles H. Powers) Sociology students at Santa Clara University are expected to learn to do four things in developmental stages: recognize basic concepts to cultivate sociological perspective, apply sociological concepts, interpretive frameworks, and analytical tools to real world problems (fostering greater commitment to life-long learning about one’s community and the world at large), offer explanations extending one’s own thinking, sensibly gather data to test those explanations (providing the tools for a culture of inquiry and evidence), and envision how sociology can be used for organizational effectiveness and improvement of community outcomes (empowering our students for lives of constructive involvement). A variety of assessment strategies are proving vital. Broad stakeholder input was used when clarifying program objectives. Deliberations about how to change our program are being stimulated by performance problems in internships and on major papers. We have learned that developmental goals are not readily achieved without changes throughout the program’s curriculum, and implementation has been incremental. Initial changes have increased the confidence of graduating seniors, and job placement has improved. Return to top of page. Teaching About Institutional Discrimination and the Controversies of Affirmative Action (Brian K. Obach) This note describes a classroom exercise designed to present the concept of institutional discrimination and the controversies surrounding the use of affirmative action as a means to remedy it. "Oppressed" and "privileged" groups are created early within the class by allowing some students to have access to quiz material while others are denied the information. Even though the "oppressed" group is given equal treatment for the rest of the class period, the effect of their earlier mistreatment is demonstrated when students are later tested on the previous quiz material. In class discussion on how to rectify the resultant inequality parallels debates about affirmative action programs providing students with a simple and tangible basis for analyzing what is otherwise a complex and controversial subject. Return to top of page. Playing at Work: The Intersection of Race, Class, and Gender with Power Structures of Work and Production (Marisa Corrado, Davita Silfen Glasberg, Beth Merenstein, and Melanie R. Peele) A sociological understanding of work and production requires students to consider several alternative explanations for wage inequality. Sociologists often try to help students also appreciate the power structure of the division of labor in work and production, and the implications this may have for explaining wage inequality. A sociological analysis of that power structure can facilitate students' insights into issues like productivity and quality of production, as well as worker satisfaction. Finally, many sociologists encourage students to place that power structure of work and production in the context of the main social organizing principles of race, class, and gender: how do race, class, and gender affect the power structure of work and production. How does that power structure influence systems of inequality based on race, class, and gender? To explore this question, we assigned students social roles based on race, class, and gender, along with a task to produce objects with play dough. Part of their production assignment included a requirement to select division of labor and reward structures. The article discusses procedural techniques as well as discussion facilitation. Return to top of page. Are Deviants Different from the Rest of Us? Using Student Accounts of Academic Cheating to Explore a Popular Myth (Timothy Brezina) A comforting, well-protected, and extremely popular belief is that deviants are fundamentally different from "normal" women and men. This note describes a classroom exercise designed to facilitate a critical examination of this belief, and to enhance student appreciation of a sociological perspective. Students are asked to consider their personal involvement in academic cheating and to describe the surrounding circumstances and motivations that led to this behavior. By exploring personal accounts of cheating behavior, students see the applicability of deviance theories to their own conduct, recognize how the motivations of other offenders may not differ fundamentally from their own, and are better prepared to examine critically the belief that "deviants are different from the rest of us." Return to top of page. The Editor of Teaching Sociology is Helen A. Moore. For articles, notes, and conversations, send manuscripts to: Helen A. Moore, Department of Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0324. Phone: 402-472-6081, Fax: 402-472-6070. 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