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Using a Decolonial Humanistic Sociological Lens to Teach Global Migration: The Global Migrations Exhibit Assignment Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2024-03-12 Óscar F. Gil-García, Büşra Sati, Justin M. Martin, Luz F. Velazquez
Conversations surrounding decolonial humanistic sociology have been guided by a moral imperative—to advance a radical critique of society for the purpose of reducing inequality. Storytelling has been used by marginalized groups to advance decolonization. Exactly how can instructors use the power of storytelling and maps to facilitate the study of migration among students? We argue that narratives,
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One World, Many Stories: Finding Human Connection through Global Sociology Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2024-03-12 Susan C. Pearce, Jennifer O’Neill
This Teaching Note examines the implementation of a full-semester course model for digital exchanges between students across countries. The model, Global Understanding, created and administered by East Carolina University, is a platform for humanistic pedagogy that dovetails seamlessly with sociological content, methods, and principles. Through an examination of student writing products, this account
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Introduction: Teaching and Learning a Humanistic Sociology Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2024-03-12 Amy E. Traver, Hwaji Shin, Malgorzata Bakalarz-Duverger
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Podcast Review: The Civilizations Series by The Anti-Empire Project with Justin Podur Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2024-03-04 Alec Cali
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When Filling the Research Gap Is Personal: Autoethnography and New Majority Students Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2024-03-04 Esa Syeed, Blanca Valenzuela
Given pandemic restrictions on learning and research, autoethnography has recently garnered renewed attention as a potential alternative. Drawing on our experiences as instructor and student, we make the case that autoethnography is not only relevant to pandemic-era teaching but could also offer an effective pedagogical tool to critically engage the lived experiences of an increasingly diverse student
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“Pieces of My Soul”: A Humanistic Approach to Teaching Race and Anti-Blackness to Black-Identified Students Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2024-03-04 Stephanie D. Sears
This teaching note reviews a four-part discussion post assignment that asks Black-identified students enrolled in a class connected to a Black living-learning community to make sociological and personal connections to concepts related to race, anti-Blackness, and institutional racism in Yaa Gyasi’s novel Homegoing. Reflecting on their posts, I share how using literary fiction in the classroom can support
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Toward a Du Boisian Pedagogy for the Teaching of Sociology Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2024-02-21 Julio Ángel Alicea
This article contributes to the reclamation of W.E.B. Du Bois’s many contributions to social science practice. In particular, it offers an original quadripartite pedagogical framework grounded in the practices and ideas of Du Bois and more contemporary Du Boisian scholars. In doing so, it utilizes a combination of archival materials, Du Bois’s publications, and secondary literature. This article then
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Sociological Animal Studies Courses Are More Effective Than Human-Centered Sociology Courses in Enhancing Empathy Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2024-01-31 Cameron T. Whitley, Erin N. Kidder, Kelley J. Ortiz, Liz Grauerholz
Sociology plays a key role in empathy development, which is central to addressing complex social problems. However, little is known about what types of courses work best to enhance empathy. In parallel, sociological animal studies (SAS) has evolved as a relatively new subfield focused on assessing human and animal relationships. SAS research suggests that our interactions with animals enhance empathy
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Of the Meaning of Pedagogy: W. E. B. Du Bois, Racial Progress, and Positive Propaganda Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2024-01-31 Freeden Blume Oeur
A silence in the resurgence of scholarship on W. E. B. Du Bois has been his work as an instructor. This article uses Du Bois’s early teaching experiences and reflections on the “ugly” progress of schooling to ask: What should guide the pedagogy of sociology instructors when racial progress is so ugly? I sketch here a pedagogy inspired by Du Bois—who was the teacher denied—which is motivated by a positive
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Priming Students for Foundational Learning by Investigating Foundational Assumptions: A Critical Thinking Framework Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2024-01-13 Samantha Applin
Students hold foundational assumptions that interact with information they are introduced to in college. By learning to identify, assess, and restructure these foundational ideas, students’ ability to acquire topical knowledge improves. This article presents a format for teaching students how to evaluate their beliefs through four levels of critical thinking: (1) identifying assumptions, (2) assessing
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Program Review with the Curriculum Mapping Toolkit for Sociology: Assessment of a Publicly Available Resource for Sociology Departments Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2024-01-13 Stephen Sweet, Susan J. Ferguson
The American Sociological Association identified 12 major recommendations for the undergraduate major, which include 11 learning goals articulated in the sociological literacy framework. In total, these recommendations identified upward of 70 different curricular elements that optimal sociology programs should consider satisfying. This article shows how curriculum mapping combined with an organized
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Deepening Learning and Addressing Inequalities: A Psychosocial Approach to Improving Statistical Literacy Throughout Sociology Curricula Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2024-01-13 Samantha Nousak, Leanne Barry, Susan R. Fisk
Statistical literacy is critical for all sociology students because it facilitates academic and professional success, high-paying jobs, and informed citizenship. Most students, however, lack adequate statistical literacy to engage with sociological research. Within that general deficit, there are gender, racial, and social-class differences, with students from historically marginalized groups starting
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Campus Collaboration as a Gateway to Public Sociology: A Guide For “Unmuzzling” Graduate Student Instructors Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2023-05-16 Stacey Livingstone
Graduate students face obstacles when attempting to pursue public sociology in general, but specifically when they desire to utilize public sociology as both a research and teaching orientation tha...
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Doing Sociology, Learning Objectives, and Developing Rubrics for Undergraduate Research Methods Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2023-05-05 Bhoomi K. Thakore
The research project assignment can create meaningful opportunities for students to apply sociological concepts. For grading these projects, assessment rubrics are useful pedagogical tools to evalu...
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Preparing for Medical School: How Sociology Helps Premedical Students Prepare for the MCAT and beyond Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2023-05-05 Elizabeth Culatta, Melissa Powell-Williams, Kim Davies
Educators have recently highlighted the importance of social science courses for students entering the medical field. This has led to the inclusion of sociological theories and concepts on the Medi...
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Recurring Vagueness: A Longitudinal Study of What Students Think about Sociology before, Right after, and Years after Taking the Introductory Course Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2023-05-05 Péter Miskolczi
The introductory course to sociology serves the multiple roles of providing students with the foundations of the field while also being its “public face” and possibly improving its image. The outco...
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Teaching the Abstract: An Evaluation of “Social Structure” in Introductory Textbooks Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2023-04-13 Andrea Krieg
There is general agreement among sociologists that teaching social structure is a core component of a sociological curriculum. Despite this agreement, there are few guides for instructors on how to...
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In Defense of Doom and Gloom: Science, Sensitivity, and Mobilization in Teaching about Climate Change Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2023-03-31 Brian K. Obach
Given the profound social implications of climate change, this subject is increasingly important for a broad range of sociology classes. Sociology instructors who address the subject of climate cha...
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Teaching with TikTok in Online Sociology of Sex and Gender Courses Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2023-03-08 Nik M. Lampe
Maintaining class participation and engagement poses a unique challenge in teaching online courses at postsecondary institutions. With the distinctive rise of online instruction during the COVID-19...
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Capturing Dis/Comfort and Navigating Transformation in the Gender Studies Classroom Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2023-01-16 Thamar Melanie Heijstra, Gyða Margrét Pétursdóttir
Creating a positive classroom experience for students can be a challenge, especially when teaching a contested topic such as gender studies. Teaching and learning gender is teaching and learning ag...
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You Will Never Walk Alone: Ethnographic Training as Collective Endeavor Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2023-01-12 Águeda Ortega, Katherine Jensen, Javier Auyero
Despite being intensely sociable, ethnographic research is also deeply isolating. Although fieldworkers may feel lonely, we contend that they are not (or should not be) alone. At the 10th anniversa...
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A Sociological Lens on Linguistic Diversity: Implications for Writing Inclusive Multiple-Choice Assessments Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-11-08 Katherine Lyon, Nathan Roberson, Mark Lam, Daniel Riccardi, Jennifer Lightfoot, Simon Lolliot
Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are widely used in large introductory courses. Recent research focuses on MCQ reliability and validity and overlooks questions of accessibility. Yet, access to the ...
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The Opportunity of Now: Adopting Open Educational Resources in the Sociology Classroom and Beyond Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-11-03 Robert D. Francis, Carleigh E. Hill, Jenise Overmier
There is no better time than now for sociologists to adopt open educational resources (OER), and sociology as a discipline is well positioned to lead. Adopting OER takes seriously the well-document...
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Counting Tents: Pedagogical Reflections on Faculty–Student Collaboration in a Real-World Project on Homelessness Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-11-02 Karen A. Snedker, Andria Fredriks, Emily Nye
This teaching note describes the design and implementation of an undergraduate research team project to conduct a tent census. Previous studies highlight the importance of real-world research as a ...
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“You Make Your Own Luck”: Building Cultural and Social Capital in a Major-Based Career Course Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-10-12 Mary E. Virnoche
This teaching note presents a required proseminar for sociology and criminology and justice studies majors. The American Sociological Association reported that about half of U.S. sociology program ...
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Going to Zion! Experiencing Environmental Sociology in an Iconic National Park Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-09-29 David Burley
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 pro...
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The Undergraduate RA: Benefits and Challenges for Sociology Faculty and Research Assistants Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-09-24 Molly M. King, Megan K. Imai
The undergraduate research assistantship is key in the professionalization of future sociologists. Our study is the first in the social sciences to document benefits and challenges from both facult...
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Teaching Civic Engagement through an Op-Ed Writing Assignment Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-09-12 Raj A. Ghoshal
This teaching note presents an assignment in which students write an op-ed on a course-related issue and submit it to a newspaper. I argue that an op-ed assignment dovetails with pedagogical goals ...
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Streaming Verstehen: Whither Feature Film in the Classroom? Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-09-12 Jordan Fox Besek, Anupriya Pandey
Scholars have long praised the ways in which film can provide students with an opportunity for deep intellectual and emotional connections to classroom material. With contemporary technology, howev...
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Introduction to the Special Issue: Teaching Apocalypse, Now Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-09-09 Graham Cassano, Barbara Gurr, Melissa F. Lavin, Christine Zozula
The past few years have been particularly turbulent ones socially, economically, and politically in the United States and around the world. Helping our students critically analyze the causes and effects of racial injustice, misogyny (including transphobia, homophobia, and restrictions on reproductive health care), and wealth gaps has long been part of the purview of a sociological education, and recently
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The Sociological Role of Empathy in the Classroom Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-09-09 Colleen E. Wynn, Elizabeth Ziff, Allison H. Snyder, Kamryn T. Schmidt, Lauryn L. Hill
Teaching during a global pandemic has prompted many discussions about how faculty can best support students and create classrooms where deep learning and engagement occur. In this conversation, we ...
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Monsters, Michael Myers, and the Macabre as Tools to Explain Ideological Framing Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-09-08 Justin Huft
Framing as a metacommunicative device establishes the narrative of a given story and mobilizes emotional support. Within the framework of monster theory, horror movies are seen as a way of framing ...
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The Handmaid Still in the Classroom? Using The Handmaid’s Tale in Sociology of Gender Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-09-06 Barbara F. Prince
Sociologists are uniquely positioned to use science fiction literature in the classroom. Despite students reading less, the science fiction novel The Handmaid’s Tale is more popular than ever. I ob...
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Sociological Theory through Dystopian and Fictional World-Building: Assigning a Short Story Parable Inspired by Derrick Bell’s “The Space Traders” Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-09-04 Juan L. Salinas
This article is a reflective analysis of an assignment in which undergraduate students developed dystopian, postapocalyptic, fantasy, and fictional short story parables to illustrate their understa...
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Black Dreams, Electric Mirror: Cross-Cultural Teaching of State Terrorism and Legitimized Violence Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-09-04 S. M. Rodriguez
Sci-fi has the power to open dialogue because its alternate world-building enables students to feel far enough from reality to discuss social problems unreservedly. In this essay, I review an assig...
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What’s Blood Got to Do with It? A Culture of Cinema Horrors at the Precipice of an Abyss Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-09-04 Erin Siodmak, R. Joshua Scannell
At a cultural moment in which the horrifying is central, what are the pedagogical options available by which to teach and think with our students? Horror movies, like all media, are mythmakers; med...
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Immersion in Alien Worlds: Teaching Ethnographic Sensibilities through Dystopian and Science Fiction Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-09-02 Katherine E. Fox
The Alien Worlds project teaches ethnographic skills using the societies of dystopian, postapocalyptic, and science fiction texts as imagined field sites and targets for analysis. These exercises and assignments, which illustrate principles of qualitative fieldwork, were developed when COVID-19 precautions made it impossible to assign tasks that involved in-person social interaction. Preliminary findings
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“Everyone Is Supersmart Now”: Learning Higher-Level and Critical Sociological Thinking from the Dystopian Satire of M.T. Anderson’s Feed Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-09-02 Benjamin Gallati
Sociology instructors have long used nontraditional texts such as literary fiction to demonstrate core course concepts, increase student engagement, and develop students’ critical thinking in the classroom. In this article, I explore how written assignments structured around identifying core course concepts in a dystopian novel that connects to student interests can help develop higher-level and critical
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Is COVID-19 Like a Zombie Apocalypse? Using Horror Films to Examine the Pandemic and Social Inequalities Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-09-02 Danielle Denardo
The COVID-19 pandemic has both exposed and exacerbated many enduring social inequalities in countries throughout the world. Sociology instructors are thus likely to incorporate content related to this relationship between the pandemic and inequalities in their courses. This article explores the potential of horror films, specifically the subgenre of zombie apocalypse, as a teaching tool for critically
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Aliens and Strangers: Exploring the “Other” in a Team-Taught Science Fiction Course Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-09-02 Katrina Rebecca Bloch, Stephen E. Neaderhiser
While prior research has illustrated the strengths of collaborative teaching between sociology and English, less has examined the potential of cross-listed courses, instead largely focusing on how ...
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Monsters among Us: Using Lovecraft Country to Teach about Du Bois and Fanon Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-09-02 Randall Wyatt
This article provides tips on how popular media, specifically that of science fiction and horror, can be utilized in the classroom to elucidate complex concepts concerning race and ethnic relations...
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Leaving the Lectures Behind: Using Community-Engaged Learning in Research Methods Classes to Teach about Sustainability Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-07-30 Mehmet Soyer, Gina McCrackin, Sebahattin Ziyanak, Jennifer Givens, Vonda Jump, Jessica Schad
This article explores the outcomes of using community-engaged learning in a sustainability-focused social sciences research course titled Methods of Social Research. The integrated components of the course were designed to teach students about the research process while addressing sustainability issues at Utah State University. Throughout the course, students learned how to collect, analyze, and interpret
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Encouraging Productive Behavior in Student Teams with Interventions Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-07-11 Jacqueline M. Zalewski, Susan Brudvig
Teamwork pedagogies are used for teaching and learning in sociology, addressing general education goals, and developing students’ professional skills. Nevertheless, problems arise in group work that negatively affect learning, engagement, treatment of others, and team satisfaction. An intervention was added to an Introduction to Sociology course with an established teamwork pedagogy to improve these
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Learning to See Like a Medical Sociologist: Comparing One- Versus Two-Semester Fieldwork-Based Courses Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-06-17 Nicole Lehpamer, Daniel Menchik
Using observations from a medical sociology course offered in two formats, we compare how undergraduate premedical students learned to see sociologically after (1) completing a one-semester course in which theory in medical sociology and fieldwork were taught concurrently or (2) completing a two-semester course in which theory in medical sociology and fieldwork were taught in successive semesters.
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Impacts of Teaching Critical Race Theory and Applying Contact Theory Methods to Student’s Cross-Cultural Competency in Diversity Courses Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-06-15 Julie Putnam Hart, Austin C. Kocher
We examine the outcomes of three different teaching methods in courses where cultural competency is a course objective: (1) multiculturalism lecture only, (2) student research and reporting on other cultural groups plus multiculturalism lecture, and (3) cross-cultural conversation partners applying contact theory plus multiculturalism lecture. Lectures in courses 1 and 3 also include antiracist and
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The Sociological Imagination within Teaching Sociology: 1973–2020 Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-05-20 Nathan Palmer
The sociological imagination is widely considered essential to sociology and sociological scholarship-of-teaching-and-learning research. Still, sociologists have struggled to agree on precisely what it is and how to measure its development effectively. A content analysis of every article published in Teaching Sociology was conducted examining where the sociological imagination appeared in the journal
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Burying the Lead: Systematic Reluctance in the Coverage of Stratification Systems in Introductory Sociology Textbooks Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-05-13 John D. Foster
This article examines the presentation of caste systems of stratification in U.S. introductory sociology textbooks. First, the “caste versus class” debate from the 1930s and 1940s is summarized and its competing perspectives are evaluated. Second, after an in-depth analysis of introductory sociology textbooks presenting material on the subject, evidence is presented that (1) the majority of texts present
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Engaging Students Using an Arts-Based Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning Sociological Theory through Film, Art, and Music Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-05-13 Linda Hunter, Eleanor Frawley
In this study we explore how incorporating an arts-based pedagogical approach, specifically, the use of film, art, and music, into a second-year sociological theory course enhances students’ overall learning experiences. We report on data collected from a survey given to students enrolled in this course in 2020. Findings reveal that employing this arts-based pedagogy helps students to sustain an interest
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So You’ve Provincialized the Canon. Now What? Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-05-13 Caleb Scoville, Heather Mooney
Sociologists are engaging in a long-overdue reckoning about the place of the traditional canon in social theory courses and pedagogy. Instructors are revising their syllabi to include a more diverse set of authors while “provincializing” classics that have long been taught as universal. We confront the question of how to teach contested canonical works after an instructor has committed to this work
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Abolition as Praxis and Virtual Community-Based Learning Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-05-13 Theresa Rocha Beardall
The distressing events of 2020 challenged the United States to reimagine how our social institutions can and should respond to demands for racial justice. These demands impacted higher education and debates arose about whether the classroom is an appropriate place for teaching abolition. I address this debate by introducing a senior-level elective course, Policing in the American City, to explore how
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Promoting Empathy and Reducing Hopelessness Using Contemplative Practices Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-04-22 Courtney B. Ross, Theresa Rocha Beardall
Contemplative practices are becoming more common in educational environments for attending to whole-student learning, fostering empathy, and promoting social justice and socially just pedagogues. This conversation explores how holistic approaches facilitate and expand the parameters of sociological pedagogy to integrate humanist pedagogies and initiate emancipatory citizenship. By building a pedagogical
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Responding Sociologically: Using Attributional Processes to Promote Student Confidence and Sense of Mastery in Sociology Courses Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-04-02 Sarah J. Hatteberg
Student motivation, confidence, and perceived control are of key interest to sociology instructors seeking to develop pedagogical techniques that increase student engagement. However, attribution research suggests that strengthening these aspects of student learning can be challenging if students attribute academic outcomes to factors over which they have little control, as this can weaken students’
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Teaching Social Theory as Cartography: Toward a Pedagogy of Radical Accessibility Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-03-30 Michel Estefan, Josh Seim
There has been a growing number of calls to improve theory instruction in sociology. These conversations have focused on what instructors should teach (with a renewed emphasis on racism and sexism) and whom to teach (with calls to diversify the reading list), but comparatively little attention has been placed on how social theory should be taught. Building on recent findings from the literature on
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Book Review: Amplified Advantage: Going to a “Good” College in an Era of Inequality Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-03-15 Mikayla E. Mitchell
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Book Review: Reproductive Rights as Human Rights: Women of Color and the Fight for Reproductive Justice Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-03-15 Stephanie Hanus
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Podcast Review: The Faculty of Horror Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-03-09 Jaime N. Hartless
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Book Review: Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land Teaching Sociology (IF 1.86) Pub Date : 2022-03-09 Svetla Dimitrova