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This article presents a step-by-step guide for the undergraduate instructor in how to launch a student journal. The authors describe their experiences over the past four years in publishing the student journal at Wayne County Community College in Detroit, Michigan. Though there were some problems and pitfalls, the authors concluded that it was a rewarding educational experience and strongly recommend its replication at other undergraduate institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the procedure described was to emphasize writing in an Introduction to Sociology class of 77 freshmen. The instructor and a writing specialist teamed in establishing criteria for a writing assignment, in conducting a class devoted to the writing process, and in grading papers. The criteria proved most useful since the grades both instructors assigned to students' papers were consistent, proving that an outside grader could be used, and students were able to integrate sociological concepts with the writing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the history, organization and benefits of The Nebraska Undergraduate Sociological Symposium (NUSS). Colleges, faculty and students can gain many advantages from participation in a symposium. However, the biggest gain is to the discipline of sociology. Forums where sociological issues are discussed increase public knowledge about sociology. As the results of events such as the symposium, colleges are likely to take a greater interest in sociology because they see the program as able to interest a large number of students. Sociology faculty are likely to feel energized by the symposium and to go into the classroom with a greater desire to get students involved. Students' interest can be heightened by an event like the symposium. Through it they can come to understand that sociology is a broad enterprise that extends beyond the walls of their own institution. In some cases, participation in the symposium has been a critical experience in solidifying a student's decision to enter sociology professionally.

This article discusses the use of contemporary novels to supplement textbook reading assignments in a way that allows sociology students to apply what they have learned and broaden their understanding of family issues. Contemporary fiction reflect the changing demographics and family configurations in our society. Current novels are frequently focused on timely family issues and, when well-written, they can make the experiences depicted seem real to the reader. Literature has the ability to transport the reader, but the readers of novels, generally, are not transported very far from their own lives. Oftentimes, the appeal of novels is that they so closely parallel common human experiences. Because of the multiple connections with the reader's own world, and the focus on issues of central interest to undergraduate family students, namely love and marriage, novels can help students better understand human behavior. Many excellent nonfiction sociological works that address current family issues exist today. However, an advantage of having students use fictional works for their analyses is that the analysis is not done for the student, but rather by the student. Sociologists who have used novels in teaching sociology suggest that this experience brings the process of discovery to students.

Instructors of introductory sociology may have difficulty in developing a project for students that is both beneficial and easy to administer and grade. Such a project should be designed to help students develop the functional and transferable skills, which are so important in a workplace. Traditional term papers can help a student to sharpen his or her thinking and writing skills, but these papers may not work in all settings. For instructors with small classes or for graduate teaching assistants, a traditional term paper or other lengthy written assignment is feasible. For instructors with large classes, multiple sections and no assistants, however, grading these written assignments becomes a nightmare. In addition, students may be required to write so many term papers during their college careers that the process becomes mechanical and boring and they may overlook the professor's carefully worded comments of constructive criticism. As a result, students may not develop the very skills that the term paper is intended to develop.

Poetry may be used effectively with other methods of teaching sociology. Poetry offers new insights, stimulates thinking, and contributes to a holistic education when used both in lectures and with paper assignments. Examples are presented of poems used in lectures and of poems integrated into students' papers. The paper examples include both poems written by the students and those selected by the students from the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper illustrates one way in which a small research team can use microcomputers to learn sociological methods as part of a large introductory sociology course. Data from the research team can be used to teach a number of basic sociological principles to the larger class. In addition to beginning the process of integrating microcomputers into the classroom, this approach provides a strong empirical base for the instruction of sociology, provides students with skills as well as facts and ideas, and increases the relevance of introductory sociology by developing student-generated examples of sociological concepts. While the example in the paper is drawn from the experience of a mass class, the same principles can be applied using a sociology methods class as the research team. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I examine the effects of an environmental sociology travel study program in Zion National Park (United States) on 11 students during the summers of 2018 and 2019. I outline the program, and then I use students' reflections in their posttrip final papers to illustrate the effects of the program on their sense of environmental identity. While there was some variance in the growth of environmental identity, all students reported that they were profoundly affected by the program. For many, their environmental identity became salient. I also argue that we, as sociologists, need to grow our experiential environmental education so that many will become advocates for environmental change but also so that some will become the leaders we need to address the climate crisis and the environmental, social, and economic injustices that are deepening because of it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critically evaluates work of Janet Malenchek Egan. According to the author, Egan's paper was quite thought-provoking. Early in the paper, the Egan states that she will discuss specific factors affecting the self, recognizing that the causal role of the structural aspects I examine is mediated by individual variability among entering students. This seems very reasonable, the impact of graduate school should be very different for different students, depending upon one's undergraduate experience, and possibly upon some demographic features such as gender. Unfortunately, she then goes on to make a series of sweeping generalizations, unmodified by any attention to the effects of these different backgrounds and expectations. The author develops a questionnaire that assesses several undergraduate experiences that could have an anticipatory socialization effect that might moderate the negative effects of the graduate school experience. It also assessed three reactions to the graduate experience.

This paper discusses some functions of simulation games in clarifying the relationship between the abstractions of sociological theory and everyday experience. Simulation games can provide direct experience with the referents of sociological concepts and make them meaningful. Games also facilitate synthesis of cognitive and affective learning. These, and other, outcomes are illustrated with selections from graduate students' reaction papers after playing the game "BaFa BaFa." Several other games of interest in teaching sociology are briefly described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the strategy used by the author in teaching the course Social Movements and Social Change. The course is an upper-level undergraduate course for sociology students who have taken the introduction to sociology class. On the first day of class, students become aware of the fact that they will be required to join and be an active participant in a social movement organization (SMO) of their choice for the entire semester. At the end of the semester, students must analyze their experience as a participant and, in a paper, report on the success of their chosen SMO. I begin the assignment by providing students with a list of campus and local organizations. I devote two or three class sessions to training students in observation techniques. First, students are assigned readings on how to conduct field research and then proceed with their research. Throughout the first several weeks of the course, I introduce theories of social movement emergence, stages of SMO development, predictors of success or failure of social movements. I also discus the relationship between news media and SMOs. We spend the rest of the semester analyzing specific social movements. As the course progresses, students become more involved in their own SMOs.

The article describes an approach to teaching research methods that involves student group projects. Class size at many colleges and universities today have grown far beyond the optimum for effective instruction. Large classes overburden instructors and often require changes in course format, such as limiting class discussions and reducing the number of assignments. Such changes in format alienate students and deprive them of learning opportunities. Group projects can help solve pedagogical problems associated with teaching large sections of research methods. Assigning group research projects can enhance instruction in large classes. First, group projects produce fewer research papers to grade. Ultimately the students benefit from these projects because the instructor can spend more time on each paper and can require multiple revisions. Second, group projects are useful when large class size results in a shortage of computers for the students. In the project, students are required to conduct an entire survey research project from the proposal to the final report. The steps include problem recognition, literature review, problem definition, creation of the research design, choice of research method, selection of the sampling procedure, collection of the data, analysis of the data and preparation an writing of the report.

Although the idea of using literature in the sociology classroom is not new, we extend it to include the teaching of sociological concepts in interdisciplinary classes. This paper explores the challenges associated with teaching sociological theories and concepts to nonsociology majors in an interdisciplinary technology and society course and suggests that literature encourages these students to exercise the sociological imagination. A review of students' weekly response papers and examinations showed that they began to learn and understand basic sociological concepts and theories while discovering a new technological culture through their readings of the autobiographical novels Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line, and the more overtly sociological The Electronic Sweatshop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critically evaluates Janet Malenchek Egan's article on graduate school and the self. According to the author, Janet Egan's paper has two major values, which put us deeply in her debt. First, she points out the diversity of effects on students resulting from institutional arrangements developed for graduate education. The second value of this paper is the application of a socialization or resocialization framework to the analysis of the graduate school experience. In effect, Egan points out that the structure of graduate education presents students with a paradox, they are expected to perform as mature, independent scholars while still in a dependent and subordinate position. For the first group of students she argues that the expectations simply cannot be met. For those who have learned to function independently and to value their autonomy, being placed in a dependent or subordinate position is not commensurate with their image of themselves. In short, Egan points out several problems in the structure of graduate education. She challenges us to rethink what we do in order to ameliorate.

This paper is a beginning attempt to introduce teachers of intermediate and advanced sociology courses to the potential benefits of using conceptual analysis as an alternative didactic strategy. The basic framework for this approach is outlined briefly in terms of its foundations in analytic philosophy. The paper then reviews some relevant sociological literature which has incorporated the viewpoint of "ordinary" language analysis (or, alternatively, conceptual analysis). Several techniques are outlined and their use for instruction is discussed. These include ways of analyzing basic sociological terms through types of definitions (the definitional approach) and through the transition from definitions to use (the use approach), as well as ways to analyze vagueness and ambiguity. Several methods for developing "cases" are also given. This paper then expands upon these techniques by showing how they can be applied to the analysis of the phrase "equality of educational opportunity," and also gives other applications for classroom practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I report on the common themes derived from three small-scale qualitative studies that focused on how sociology majors believe they learn our discipline. These studies include a group interview, analysis of content in learning logs, and individual face-to-face interviews. Based on the results of these studies, five types of connections appear critical to student learning in sociology: to others, those among related ideas or skills, to students' lives, across courses, and to the discipline. In addition, students were at different points on three overlapping pathways of learning: level of success in the major, use of surface-deep approaches, and degree of novice-expert learning. I also offer implications and suggestions for teaching, sociology programs, and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the latest installment in a series that is designed to bridge the gap between teaching and practice by developing classroom applications based on a current research article from the American Sociological Review. We discuss the ways in which a recent ASR paper on child care fatalities can be used to help students explore Burawoy's conception of "public" sociology in a manner that is consistent with a subject-centered pedagogical approach. To illustrate this approach, we offer three experiential exercises designed to facilitate the active engagement of students' hearts, as well as their minds, thereby linking our subject-centered approach to the increasingly popular notion of character education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents comments of the author related to reviews of his book "Teaching in the Small College." The author appreciates the reviewers' largely favorable reviews of his book. In concluding review of a reviewer, the reviewer makes some critical remarks which are at best wrong and at worst offensive. According to the author, reviewers must know that in edited books, a considerable difference often exists between what is initially solicited and finally published. When the author tried to contact the reviewers, one expressed lukewarm interest in his offer in a conversation at a professional meeting, but never answered a subsequent personal letter. The other agreed to write a paper-which incidentally was envisioned as the lead chapter in the book-in February 1984. According to the author, one reviewer makes a fair and accurate criticism when she claims that "the voices of women teaching in small colleges should have been included" in the book. It is also fair and accurate to note, however, that editors of books cannot publish manuscripts they solicit but do not receive.

This article presents three years of experience of the author in developing a research laboratory which provides students with the opportunity to more closely approximate the work of a research sociologist. The goal of such a laboratory is to provide the facilities and personnel which will: allow the student to examine research ideas with the use of data; make computational problems easy to solve; allow for theoretical alterations; and reexamine new ideas in terms of further data-processing. The problems which face most faculty and their administrators are, how to set up a laboratory to accomplish these or similar goals. In the past, discussions on computerized education have presented elaborate computer systems and used computers as teaching machines. While these discussions are profitable for large universities with specialists in computer applications, they generally have not met the needs of the instructor in the smaller college setting who was not trained in computer use . This paper attempts to fill this gap with a programmatic statement of procedure.

The article discusses teaching about HIV infection and AIDS in a hostile environment. Despite differing views on many aspects of AIDS crisis, there is, with few exceptions, general agreement that education, particularly safe sex education, plays the paramount role in controlling and combating the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus. According to the author, school age populations in particular have been delineated as being in critical need of AIDS education. The major focus has been on elementary and secondary populations, but there is evidence of a critical need for education at the college level since students are not only at risk, but also naive as to susceptibility and the necessity for safer sex practices. The author in this paper describes southwest Louisiana, an area where norms, values and beliefs constitute an even greater barrier to educational efforts than previously encountered and suggests ways in which sociologists are uniquely suited to provide AIDS education within the framework of existing courses.

The writing-across-the-curriculum movement has taken two directions. One direction (the stronger to date) emphasizes writing in substantive courses in the disciplines. The other advocates actual writing courses taught in the disciplines rather than by English department faculty. This second direction is relatively undeveloped, but is growing. The continuing development of writing courses in sociology has two primary needs: 1) a theoretically informed composition pedagogy and 2) a set of assignments on which such a course can be based. We provide an overview of the "social constructionist" approach to teaching composition and describe a course team-taught by us (a sociologist and an English professor) which was based on the social constructionist paradigm. We conclude by stressing that sociological writing is a special type of discourse which can be taught most effectively by sociologists who understand pedagogical theory in the teaching of writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major objective of this paper is to outline the goals and the use of speculative (or free) writing and to demonstrate its usefulness in sociology classrooms. This form of writing is compared to other conventional written sociology assignments; the relative benefits are enumerated, particularly in the context of a lecture-discussion course format. On the basis of experiences with free writing in two different universities, some illustrations and suggestions are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the author presents a classroom technique for demonstrating the post-factum interpretation problem. In sociology implications of this adage can be found in discussions of pitfalls of post-factum sociological interpretation. The essence of such discussions is that theories always can be molded to fit the patterns we find in the data. My intent in this paper is to present a classroom technique for demonstrating the post-factum interpretation problem. In introductory sociology classes I let the issue rest. In my research courses, however, I use this exercise as one of my starting points to introduce the concept of spuriousness and the problem of establishing causality in nonexperimental studies. That is, I teach advanced students how to test for spuriousness. Post-factum interpretations of those data patterns which maintain themselves after the introduction of control variables will gain in credibility. In addition, post-factum interpretations always will have implications for other relationships in one's data set. If further analysis should realize these relationships, one's post-factum interpretation will gain further credibility. Of course, the end result of such a process can lead sometimes to the reformulation and clarification of our interpretations of social reality and of existing social theories.

This article presents an extensive review of the literature on simulation games for teaching and learning, with a special emphasis on sociology. The key features of simulation gaming are discussed by addressing the following questions: What are simulation games? What are they designed to teach? On what learning theory are they based ? How effective have they been? What are the problems involved in using them? How should they be used properly? What are some popular simulation games relevant to instruction in sociology? This paper is addressed to teachers of sociology who are using simulation games currently, those who wish to return to using them, and those who are interested in using them for the first time. The paper argues that even though simulation games long ago passed their peak of popularity, they are still alive and well and offer instructors of sociology one more tool on the pedagogical shelf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I examine the training needs of applied demography and suggest how demography courses and programs can better meet the needs of applied demography students. After defining applied demography, I discuss the topics that applied demography courses might cover, how to structure a program in applied demography, and available and needed teaching resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students beginning the study of deviance often believe they are basically different from the people they classify as deviants or criminals. Theirs belief interferes with their ability to accept people who engage in deviance as fully human, competent beings. A structured exercise is described here in which students articulate the rationalizations for their own deviant behavior and then criticize their own rationalizations. In this process they come to recognize that their ways of thinking about their deviant acts are not very different from the rationalizations of serious or professional offenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effectively teaching sociological theories to undergraduate students is challenging. Students often enroll in theory courses due to major requirements, not personal interest. Consequently, many students approach the study of theory with anxiety. This study examined the effectiveness of an experiential learning activity designed to teach Karl Marx’s theory of alienation. Based on pretest/posttest surveys, responses to open-ended questions, and observational data, students reported that the activity helped them gain a clearer understanding of Marx. They also reported finding the activity interesting, enjoying being able to apply theory, and being able to see how Marx’s theory related to real life. Assessment data revealed that students were confident in demonstrating their understanding of Marx’s theories on assignments but not always effective in doing so. The findings contribute to literature on active and experiential learning techniques as successful methods for teaching abstract sociological concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The January 1988, issue of the journal "Teaching Sociology," contains some interesting and valuable articles and reviews regarding teaching courses in complex organizations. In the Fall of 1987 the author presented his own version of this course in a totally restructured way which may be of interest to people who teach the course. The State University of New York at Albany instituted a new requirement several years ago. This requirement was that all students must take at least two "writing intensive" courses. These courses were to have papers and essay exams and be a clear break from mass classes with multiple choice format exams. First and foremost, the writing assignments worked, the students did them well. The authors' assistant, Gene Schackman, and the author, both read all of the papers and graded them independently and then met to consider final grades. Parenthetically, a benefit for both students and instructor is that "writing intensive" courses are kept small in size. They made a point of getting the materials back to the students by the next class period-they missed on this once. Course evaluations were positive and comments indicated that the students got more out of the course than they would have if it had been given in a more traditional way.

This paper examines the textual coverage of the topic of work in Canadian English–language introductory sociology textbooks. Our findings are based on a content analysis of 21 Canadian texts published between 2008 and 2012. We found that only 12 of 21 textbooks included a chapter on work, suggesting that work occupies a peripheral position in Canadian sociology texts. Most chapters on work discussed economic systems, economic sectors (e.g., secondary and service), and major transitions in the world of work over the past two generations. However, topics such as service sector work were given a disproportionate share of attention, while others (e.g., work-life conflict, workplace physical injury) were given short shrift. Textbook portrayals of content such as manufacturing work were frequently characterized by a lack of nuance. These findings highlight a gap between current research in the sociology of work and the “sociology of work” in many Canadian introductory sociology textbooks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on methods of evaluation of teaching. Teaching sociology is a prime task of most sociologists. In fact, various data on time devoted to teaching and research bear this out. It is not correct, however, to assume that teaching cannot be evaluated, nor is there a total lack of interest in improving teaching. Student evaluation forms are one imperfect way in which instructional ability can be measured. Another way is for colleagues to sit in on classes to evaluate their peers. These two techniques, although at best controversial, allow for the assessment of classroom skills. But class meetings are only a part of higher education. Teaching is also the selection of course materials, the setting of pedagogical goals, the construction of courses and course organization, teaching techniques, teaching exercises, discussions with students and other activities. While many of these methods of teaching cannot be assessed in evaluations by students or colleagues, they can and are being judged in the profession.

Teaching about intersecting, fluid and historically contingent identities has been taken up extensively within the sociology of race, class and gender and women's studies. Oddly, the case of Jewish women has been virtually left out of this robust literature. This article explores the challenges raised through teaching the course "Jewish Women in Contemporary America," and links these challenges to the pedagogy of race, class and gender more broadly. Using the classroom as a research site, the authors conducted post-course interviews with students and kept detailed field notes on class sessions. The authors use Judith Butler's theorization of performativity to analyze classroom dynamics. After redesigning and teaching the course a second time, the authors conclude that the relationship between "experience" and "theory" must be constantly interrogated by both instructor and students; that personal narratives merit space within the classroom, but must be problematized; and a critical Jewish Women's Studies, based on illuminating the socially constructed and hybrid character of contemporary Jewish American women's identities, can help to expose the tendency to methodological essentialism still prevalent in much of the feminist race, class, and gender literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the significance of the assignment exercise in recursive thinking and writing on students. According to the authors, the exercise include writing an essay that respond to the question that is provided. They reveal that by encouraging students to think recursively, they have an opportunity to examine their views and the chance to observe how the opinion of the students can be changed in light of new information. Moreover, it points out that the objective of the said exercise is not to alter the opinions of the students, but to affect the thinking process they used to form it, and teach them that sometimes in looking backward, they can move forward.

A neglected part of the history of teaching sociology is the history of teaching high school sociology. The American Sociological Association's centennial in 2005 affords sociologists an opportunity to reflect on the teaching of sociology-anywhere and everywhere that it happens. In the spirit of contributing to the history of teaching sociology in the United States, this paper outlines the roughly 95-year history of the teaching of high school sociology. I rely upon published course descriptions written by high school sociology teachers and empirical studies conducted by academic sociologists. They demonstrate that past high school sociology courses have focused primarily on examining social problems and current events, and on promoting citizenship education. This remains the case today. I offer several reasons why the courses have looked as they have over the past 95 years, and conclude with four predictions about the future of teaching high school sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simulation called Star Power provides an invaluable means to help students understand structural social inequality. This paper explains how Star Power achieves this goal and provides suggestions on how to inculcate the following points that are both central to sociology and difficult to adequately convey to students: 1) Students see how those in power maintain their position by structuring the system to theft advantage; 2) they learn how the structure of this system makes advancement for others difficult 31 privileged students begin to recognize the impact of their own family's social position that they tend to overlook in favor of theft personal effort and merit. By becoming more aware of structural inequalities, students realize that for the lower classes to join the most powerful in society, they must triumph over a system in which those in power make rules that protect theft own interests, usually at some- one else's expense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper begins with an overview of the history of student portfolios in the college curriculum, it then lists the course objectives and summarizes the written assignments. Next, the paper takes a close look at how the key components of the portfolio process enhance the assignments of the course and how each assignment fits into the portfolio schema, it also describes the evaluation process. Finally, the paper offers evidence of the effectiveness of the portfolio project. The movement toward student portfolios in the classroom is inextricably linked to assessment and accountability. Progressive educators in primary and secondary schools began to view testing via standard multiple choice tests-mandated from external review boards-as problematic. A distinguishing feature of portfolio construction-whether it occurs at the elementary, secondary, or university level-is its focus on process. Portfolio courses encourage and rely on process in two ways. First, process involves a dynamic relationship between teachers and students, and perhaps even more importantly, between students and the work they produce. In portfolio courses students take increased responsibility for learning throughout the semester.

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Derived from the intellectual traditions of critical literacy and feminist pedagogies, this paper explores the nature, dynamics, and implications of the Dialogic, Participatory, and Experiential (DPE) approach to teaching and learning. These three dimensions are separated analytically, but are interrelated in theory and practice. They are highly fluid and context-specific, pertaining to a variety of classroom characteristics and institutional settings. Our insights and observations of the teaching and learning process emerged out of the practice and experience of a graduate-level course on focus groups in cross-cultural research in which the DPE approach was used. The specific aims of the paper are to (1) explore the meaning and value of dialogic, participatory, and experiential practices in transforming students from passive knowledge-consumers into empowered knowledge-producers; (2) discuss how this shift provides spaces for the emancipation of both teachers and students; and (3) address the challenges and risks that are encountered in the classroom when experimenting with non-traditional pedagogies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some sociologists have wrestled with the problem of teaching distinct criminology and deviance courses in the same academic department (see, e.g., Bader, Becker, and Desmond 1996; Kunkel 1999). Serious issues arise in course development, including course content similarity, theoretical overlap, and reading and writing assignment redundancy. What if we must teach delinquency in addition to criminology and deviance? Sociology majors interested in crime and deviance are likely to take more than one of these sociology courses, and non-majors often take these courses as electives. In this paper, I offer ideas for developing distinct deviance, delinquency, and criminology courses, and discuss how to reduce theoretical and other content overlap, paper assignments, course readings, and departmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although sociologists frequently utilize the concept of social class, discussions about the issue can lead to perfunctory references to the role of education, occupational prestige, and income as the variables used to measure social class. This paper provides an overview of social class, poverty, and welfare issues, as well as two in-class projects designed to inject realism and creativity into the study of these subjects. The first project involves a genealogical exploration into students" own social class backgrounds, as well as their childhood perceptions of social class and racial hierarchies. The second project is a "Poverty Lunch," and involves a class-selected meal that uses the poverty line to budget for food costs (i.e., currently about 96 cents per person per meal). These projects accomplish several different goals: first, they broaden students" understanding of their own families' social class histories, which highlights the relevance of the sociological imagination, that is, understanding the intersections of biography and the particular historical moments we are born into; second, they help students understand the politics, history, realities, and challenges of the "poverty line"; and third, the projects build a sense of community and collaborative learning in the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although violence against women is an important topic for many sociology classes, teaching about it can be problematic. Students may see violence against women as an individual rather than social problem, may trivialize or blame victims, or may react defensively. In this paper, I present an approach to teaching about violence that addresses some of these difficulties. Students keep a one-day journal of their experiences of fear and use of safety strategies, and then analyze their findings both individually and in discussion with their classmates. This analysis helps students to see violence not simply as an individual experience, but as a form of social control that differently affects social groups. In this paper, I describe this exercise, illustrate its effectiveness using excerpts from students journals, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this pedagogical approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the effect of a comprehensive service-learning program on students" level of civic responsibility. A nonequivalent control group experiment was conducted with students from a large, Western university. The results of the multivariate analysis generally supported the hypothesis that students who are involved in a comprehensive service-learning program will show larger increases in civic responsibility when compared to: (1) students involved in community service but who are not formally integrating it with their academic course work, and (2) students who are not involved in any community service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a case study in which one large, private university tried to improve the moss lecture course in introductory sociology. Academic change, it was found, is impeded by deeply held prestige factors which seem to mitigate against new methods of instruction. In introductory courses, the lecture system is accepted as normal, while innovations tend to be branded nonstandard and therefore expendable. Students were of little help in developing a new course since their opinions did not correlate with grade earned or opinion change during the course. It is concluded that academic innovation will prove difficult in the future unless it is legitimized in the academic prestige system. Several other examples of academic innovation failing to survive the original instructor are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines three different models for the introductory course currently used in the natural sciences: the vocational model, the inquiry model, and the humanistic model. The models are labeled negative and positive based on their possible contributions to the design of sociology courses. The paper argues that the first course in sociology is patterned largely after a negative natural science model, the vocational model, while the two models which might be more appropriate for sociology, the inquiry and the humanistic models, have yet to make an impact on course planning in sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information about American Sociological Association's (ASA) Projects on teaching Undergraduate Sociology. ASA Projects on Teaching Undergraduate Sociology has entered its third year. Projects are supported by grants to ASA from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education and the Lilly Endowment Inc., the activities of the teaching projects have attracted the interest and participation of hundreds of sociologists. In the past two years, a number of activities and publications have come from the three working groups of the Project. Three teacher development workshops have been held, several bibliographies are available for distribution and work from the Project task groups has generated papers read at national, regional, and state sociological association meetings. The Teacher Development Group held a number of workshops during the 1976-1977 academic year. The Task Group will also present brief sessions in conjunction with state and regional sociological associations.

The university-employed sociologist faces a dilemma in which his self-perception as a social scientist leaves him poorly prepared for his role as educator or teacher. Thus, sociology usually is abstracted from the "real social world" and taught deductively beginning with concepts and principles. The backlash to this approach has been to teach sociology inductively in which relevance replaces theory. In an attempt to straddle both of these approaches, this paper presents an alternative format in classroom debates to increase both relevance and theoretical involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of new instructional technologies has produced an explosion in the proliferation of distance learning courses and programs. This paper examines one mode of distance learning known as asynchronous learning networks (ALNs). Based on my experience teaching a sociology course using ALNs, I discuss some of the pedagogical principles and practices that can guide this delivery mode. I argue that asynchronous online instruction provides the opportunity for the realization of highly desirable pedagogical practices and processes that are difficult if not impossible in a conventional classroom course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the use of expressive writing assignments to teach sociological concepts. This assignment has been designed with the intent of getting students personally involved with the material. There are numerous ways to do this, such as keeping journals or learning logs, but they tend to be more unstructured in that students simply make a personal response to material they have read. In contrast, the letter writing assignment dictates specific content that must be included, but the framework within which students come to understand the material, to make it their own, is flexible and meets the expressive goal of writing. There are no real advantages to this assignment. No students have complained about the exercise, although a few have said they could not complete the assignment in the form of letters because they could not create an imaginary correspondence. The criteria used in grading the assignment consists of three major components: addressing the questions outlined on the handout distributed in class; using personal examples and applying concepts or principles; and being creative in presenting the material. The writing assignment gave the students an opportunity to express their idea in myriad ways, resulting in the better understanding of the material due to their active involvement.

This is a written version of the 1993 Hans O. Mauksch Award Presentation delivered during the 1995 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. The paper contains four sections dealing with evolving forces that will influence sociology and undergraduate education across the next decade. These sections include: 1) forces on teaching and learning, 2) changes in sociology as a discipline ("where it's headed"), 3) a glimpse of introductory sociology as it transforms in the next 10 years, and 4) some suggestions to improve teaching in sociology. The authors claim no special insight; they simply speculate on the synthesis borne of interacting forces which are shaping teaching and learning, generally, and sociology, specifically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I argue that any serious attempt to move sociology toward a viable multiculturalism will require an interrogation of the fundamental and historical forces at work in Western epistemological traditions. I focus on two such major historical forces: the Platonic subject/object separation and Judaeo-Christian theology. I argue that postmodern criticism is of great utility in furthering this interrogation, and I criticize some of the simplistic caricatures of postmodernism promoted by its opponents. The second half of the paper is a detailed description of pedagogical strategies that are designed to make these issues available to undergraduate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]