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…

Affirmative action, a controversial topic about which students have many misconceptions, lends itself especially well to a sociological analysis. This paper describes an approach to teaching that: (1) informs students of different affirmative action programs; (2) gives them the opportunity to apply and integrate a variety of concepts and research…

The maximization of productivity and labor efficiency has been a hallmark of the American agriculture and food system. The result of these twin processes is an industrial, concentrated, and consolidated provisioning system that produces cheap and plentiful food. Many view this model as a panacea for providing food to a modern industrial workforce,…

Although many of us would like to get beyond lecturing, we often lack concrete strategies for doing so, particularly in our larger classes. This paper suggests one such strategy for creating a discussion-based course. The success of such a course is predicated on students reading and thinking about the course material (receiving "first exposure")…

Criminology and Deviance Classes are often among the most popular in the sociology undergraduate curriculum. These courses provide a unique opportunity for teachers since many students come to class with an intense interest in the subject matter combined with strong opinions about crime, criminals, and deviants. Because these opinions are often…

This paper examines the articulation of goals and means of sociological instruction in course syllabi. Three questions guide this inquiry. First, do sociology instructors articulate common learning goals? Second, what pedagogical means do instructors commonly employ to meet these goals? Third, to what extent have sociology instructors incorporated…

The purpose of this paper is to describe and evaluate an active-learning exercise designed to allow college students the opportunity to experience the consequences of stratification by social class. In particular, this activity challenges the belief that success is primarily an outcome of hard work (i.e., the belief in a meritocracy). Data…

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…

Over the past several years, scholars of teaching and learning have demonstrated the potential of collaborative learning strategies for improving student learning. This paper examines the use of computer-mediated communication to promote collaborative student learning in large introductory sociology courses. Specifically, we summarize a project we…

An integrated sociological learning effort in which students take all their work in one semester from a team of sociology professors is described. The course includes simulation games, a two week intensive human relations lab, extensive field trips, and individualized projects. (Author/DE)

The academic weaknesses in the CLASP program (described in SO 504 356) are examined by sociology professors at the same university. (DE)

Students who participate in simplified research projects, as compared with students who take tests, display more awareness of sociology's methods of inquiry and purposes of research. (Author/DE)

An innovative course structure which combines a traditional sociology course with a special topic minicourse is described. Possible options for using the structure are discussed. (Author/DE)

Six student projects which focus attention on the activities and processes through which conditions come to be defined as social problems are described. They demonstrate the relevance of the student's own values and life experiences in understanding social problems. (Author/DE)

The Teaching Information Processing System (TIPS) uses computer monitoring of student progress to individualized instruction in large lecture classes. (DE)