|
|
A Quarterly Publication of
The American Sociological Association
ABSTRACTS--Volume 32, Number 1, January 2004
ARTICLES
- Is There a Core in Sociology? Results from a Survey ..... Theodore C. Wagenaar
- The Sociological Core: Conceptual Patterns and Idiosyncrasies in the Structure and Content of Introductory Sociology Textbooks, 1940-2000 ..... Bruce Keith and Morten G. Ender
- Beyond the Classroom: An Exploratory Study of Out-of-Class Learning in Sociology ..... Kathleen McKinney, Maria A. Medvedeva, Karey Vacca, and Janice Malak
- Using Focused Web-Based Discussions to Enhance Student Engagement and Deep Understanding ..... Caroline Hodges Persell
- Problem-Based Learning: An Exercise on Vermont's Legalization of Civil Unions ..... Susan M. Ross and Janet McNeil Hurlbert
- Service Learning for Social Change? Lessons from a Liberal Arts College ..... Tammy L. Lewis
NOTES
- Using Feature Films to Teach Observation in Undergraduate Research Methods ..... JooEan Tan and Yiu-Chung Ko
- Viewing Popular Films about Mental Illness through a Sociological Lens ..... Kathy Livingston
- Using Content Analysis Projects in the Introduction to Criminal Justice Classroom ..... Laura L. Finley
Is There a Core in Sociology? Results from a Survey
I report on a study of 301 sociologists to determine which concepts, topics, and skills they deem most important to cover in the introductory course and in the sociology curriculum. Respondents indicated high agreement that the list of skills, topics, and concepts adequately represented the range of possible items. I use both the raw ratings and the results of asking respondents to select their “top five” items. Results show strong agreement on core concepts, topics, and skills, with both overlaps and differences between results for the introductory course and the sociology curriculum. Issues of difference and inequality are important for both the introductory course and the curriculum. Core concepts are seen as more critical for the introductory course, and theory and methods are seen as more critical for the curriculum. Values and commitments as well as applied sociology rank lowest for both the introductory course and the sociology curriculum. Implications for the sociology curriculum as well as for introductory textbooks are discussed.
Return to top of page.
The Sociological Core: Conceptual Patterns and Idiosyncrasies in the Structure and Content of Introductory Sociology Textbooks, 1940-2000
Sociology is often portrayed as an errant discipline, driving forward without any apparent direction or purpose. We contend that these perceptions about the central tenets of our discipline derive from a lack of standardization of core material, which reduces the social value of sociology as a scientific field and erodes its credibility as a discipline. Insofar as common conceptual knowledge exists in the field of sociology, one ought to find evidence of it in the introductory textbook. To this end, our study examines 35 introductory sociology textbooks published in the 1940s (n=16) and the 1990s (n=19) in search of common concepts that represent cumulative core disciplinary knowledge. While our findings reveal uniformity in the structure of the textbooks’ major chapter headings within their respective decades, our analysis of concepts—the language used to introduce disciplinary content—reveals that the vast majority are referenced by only one text, with fewer than three percent of all concepts shared in common. Moreover, neither the number of concepts introduced only once nor the variability in the total number of concepts referenced declined across the two decades. In sum, while introductory sociology textbooks are structured in similar ways, we find little commonality in the concepts used by texts’ authors to frame the discipline, either within the two cross-sections or between them.
Beyond the Classroom: An Exploratory Study of Out-of-Class Learning in Sociology
In this article, we report on a study about the experiences of graduating sociology majors with out-of-class learning opportunities (OOCLO). Research questions included the following: (1) What is the nature of participation in out-of-class learning for our sociology majors? (2) What barriers do students see to engaging in such experiences? (3) What supports for involvement do students recognize? (4) What are students’ overall attitudes about OOCLO? (5) What variables are associated with participation in OOCLO? All students from one medium-sized, public, Midwestern university who were enrolled in the required sociology senior experience course in one academic year were given the self-administered questionnaire. Results indicate most students participate most frequently in OOCLO that involve low student initiative, effort, and commitment. Lack of time is reported as a critical barrier to participation. Factors viewed as key supports for participation include convenient/spare time, useful and interesting activities, no cost, and teacher encouragement. Involvement in OOCLO was significantly related to engagement in the discipline and to skipping fewer classes. Structural factors were more important for participation than were individual characteristics.
Using Focused Web-Based Discussions to Enhance Student Engagement and Deep Understanding
To increase student engagement and enhance critical thinking and deep understanding, I supplemented weekly seminar meetings with focused Web-based discussions of issues in a “Race and Education” senior sociology seminar. These Web-based discussions were structured by specific questions and discussion roles. Before seminar, Staters posted on the course Web site the most important thing they learned from a reading, describing what was most difficult, and raising new sociological questions. After seminar, Responders replied to the questions and difficulties posted and posed further sociological questions. Two days later, Integrators synthesized and integrated what they had learned that week from others’ postings, readings, and seminar discussion, and raised further questions. Analysis of student postings suggests that students’ engagement with the ideas of others increased during the semester and their thinking became more complex. This paper discusses the processes that contributed to students’ learning and suggested pedagogical changes. It also raises questions for further research.
Problem-Based Learning: An Exercise on Vermont's Legalization of Civil Unions
The majority of literature regarding problem-based learning demonstrates its usefulness as a teaching technique in the natural sciences curriculum. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the broad purpose is to illustrate the application of problem-based learning for instructing students about controversial issues in sociology. Within the second, more narrowed focus, we describe a class exercise involving the recent Vermont Supreme Court decision to legalize civil unions as an approach to addressing contemporary debates in sociology pertaining to the decline versus transition of the American family social institution. This project is developed using a three-pronged pedagogical approach involving critical theory, problem-based learning, and information literacy. While the technique described in this article is taken from a course on the Social History of American Families, the method can be modified for a variety of courses including sociology of the family, sociology of gender, introduction to sociology, and social problems.
Service Learning for Social Change? Lessons from a Liberal Arts College
This paper explores efforts by Denison University to shift its service-learning efforts from service based on a charity model toward service based on collaboration and community-based social change. The author describes the institution’s process of adaptation and a series of service-learning courses that draw upon participatory action research, asset-based community development, and what Denison service-learning faculty call “place-based” service learning. Based on ethnographic data and reports from students’ reflective journals from courses that have attempted to develop a partnership with a nearby community, the author outlines some of the challenges for faculty and institutions that are considering crossing-over from service learning based on charity to service learning for social justice.
Using Feature Films to Teach Observation in Undergraduate Research Methods
This paper addresses the issue of how to teach students to observe social relationships or ongoing interaction using feature films. Our two main objectives were to help students understand the importance of empirical evidence in sociology and to get students to distinguish between observation concerning interaction of others from their own taken-for-granted assumptions. The findings are based on the assignments of two cohorts of undergraduate students at the National University of Singapore who took Methods of Social Research in Sociology. The first cohort viewed Tokyo Story and the second How Green was My Valley. The student assignments revealed the prevalent use of cultural stereotypes as students tended to interpret the actions or behavior of characters in the film in terms of their own everyday experiences. Our findings also shed some light on how stereotypes are used and which ones predominate. This unanticipated finding provides valuable information on the way in which stereotypes are used to interpret the social world and how this inhibits observation.
Viewing Popular Films about Mental Illness through a Sociological Lens
Popular films can be useful in sociology assignments, but students need guidance in learning to view them critically. The ubiquity of characters with mental illness in popular films presents a unique opportunity to exploit students' enjoyment of media to teach the theory and concepts of residual deviance, labeling, stereotype, and stigmatization of people with mental illness. The strategy described here was successful at increasing students' understanding of all four of these concepts.
Using Content Analysis Projects in the Introduction to Criminal Justice Classroom
This article describes a content analysis project initiated in an Introduction to Criminal Justice course. Students were asked to analyze presentations of specific players in the criminal justice system, including criminals, victims, police, and lawyers. Students were then required to compare the media presentation with reality, as derived from the criminological literature. This article demonstrates that this type of project can address course objectives of introducing students to the criminal justice system. Further, the project is consistent with constructivist teaching practices. Included in the article is a description of the project, justification for the project, specific project details, examples of students' projects, students' assessment of the project, and what students learned The final section presents a personal reflection about the project, including recommendations.
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.
For book, video, and software reviews, send manuscripts to: Laurie Scheuble, Department of Sociology, 211 Oswald Tower, Penn State University, University Park, PA. Phone: 814-865-6949.
For questions about manuscript processing, contact Kathy Acosta, Department of Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0324. Phone: 402-472-6081, Fax: 402-472-6070.
The Webmaster is Pauline H. Pavlakos. Observations on form and egregious spelling may be directed to Ms. Pavlakos.
The Teaching Sociology Web Page is located at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Le Moyne College, the Jesuit College of Central New York.
Page last updated: December 27, 2003
