by
Hollie Nyseth Brehm,
Apr 5, 2012, at 08:57 am
With Earth Day fast approaching, we’re seeing more stories about climate change (for example, see this sighting) and other environmental issues. While there are many ways to study our environment sociologically, courses about environmental justice are becoming more popular. Here we share a syllabus graciously provided by David Pellow at the University of Minnesota. The description for his course, Race, Class, and the Politics of Nature, is provided below. You can download the syllabus here: Race, Class, and the Politics of Nature.
The phenomenon known as environmental racism has made headlines during the last three decades, in large part because the movement for environmental justice has placed this issue on the public agenda. This course introduces students to the theoretical and historical foundations of environmental racism and environmental inequality. We will examine and interrogate both the social scientific evidence concerning these phenomena and the efforts by governments, residents, workers, and community activists to combat it. We will consider the social forces that create environmental inequalities so that we may understand their causes and consequences. We will also consider ideas and practices that may lead to (1) a more equitable social distribution of the costs and benefits of markets and (2) more ecologically sustainable forms of production and social organization. Students will be expected to master several social scientific theories and concepts related to the subject matter. In particular, we pay close attention to the ways in which the concept of race intersects with gender, class, citizenship, indigeneity, and nation in order to better understand how systems of power and inequality are constructed, reinforced, and challenged.
by
Hollie Nyseth Brehm,
Feb 2, 2012, at 03:52 pm
The first of many roundtables on TSP explores how social scientists study social movements. It would be a great complement to a discussion on social movements or a discussion of research methodology. And, to give you more ideas on teaching social movements, Professor Ron Aminzade was kind enough to provide us with a syllabus he has used in the past. The syllabus is from 2004, so adding this roundtable and some other new literature would be a good step. Download it here!
by Hollie Nyseth Brehm and Kia Heise,
Jan 16, 2012, at 09:50 am
In need of some last minute ideas for your sociology 101 course? Nathan Palmer has compiled a great set of lecture slides, activities, syllabi, and assignments that you can download for free! Here is the link.
by
amelia,
Apr 3, 2009, at 08:48 am
In the interest of maintaining a diversity of topics for instructors of sociology, I spent some time this week searching through syllabi for courses in the sociology of law. I came across one in particular that I thought offered a number of interesting readings and dealt with administrative issues and overall course structure quite well. The syllabus is designed for a course called ‘Sociology of Law and Legal Institutions‘ by Daniel John Steward of Oberlin College. The syllabus is available online. [Click here]
The course uses the following books, as well as additional online materials and journal articles outlined in the syllabus itself.
Balkin, Jack M. ed. 2002. What Brown v. Board of Education Should Have Said: The Nation’s Top Legal Experts Rewrite America’s Landmark Civil Rights Decision. New York, NY: New York University Press. ISBN 0-8147-9890-X.
Friedman, Lawrence M. 2004. Law in America: A Short History. New York, NY: The Modern Library. ISBN 0-8129-7285-6.
Sutton, John R. 2001. Law/Society: Origins, Interactions, and Change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. ISBN 0-7619-8705-3.
Stewart articulates the following objectives for the course:
Law will be examined as an institutionalized field of contests over the rules of social life. We will open the semester with readings on the historical development of core institutions such as courts, codes, constitutions, criminals, and counsellors. With this common ground, we will then turn our attention to some of the questions and concerns that sociologists (and other law & society scholars) raise with respect to these institutions. For example: To what extent can we use changes in legal form to understand changes in social relations? How do some legal rules acquire legitimacy for members of a society—and why are other rules ignored or despised? Do legal rules (and their enforcers) inevitably serve powerful political or economic interests—or does law have some autonomy? How do legal institutions enable and constrain movements for social justice? We will consider this last question through a study of the history of racial segregation in schools and the legal and cultural significance of Brown v. Board of Education. Over the course of the semester, students will be expected to:
- Appreciate the challenge and complexity of living in accord with a rule of law.
- Cultivate their legal literacy by approaching legal rules and institutions from several perspectives, including those of legal professionals, active citizens, and social critics.
- Enhance their research and writing skills through the completion of a course notebook.
by
amelia,
Mar 6, 2009, at 11:35 am
For many instructors, putting together a syllabus is the first (and often daunting) step toward a new teaching experience. A few years ago, at the American Sociological Association’s annual meetings, a panel on ‘Teaching Sociology for Beginners’ dealt with syllabus construction, among a number of other topics aimed to provide more resources for first-time instructors of introductory-level courses. The sociology department at the University of Buffalo has made some of these materials available electronically.
Check out the links below.
by
amelia,
Jan 23, 2009, at 02:40 pm
Contexts Magazine graduate editorial board member Shannon Golden has offered a syllabus and in-class exercise to our readers for a course addressing ‘Sociological Perspectives on Race, Class, and Gender.’ The materials were developed as part of a course in the Sociology of Higher Education offered by Professor Ron Aminzade in the Department of Sociology at the University of Minnesota.
The syllabus:
- For a semester-length course meeting twice weekly
- Assignments include weekly media reaction papers as well as two longer papers, designed to be ‘writing-intensive’
- The section devoted to ‘Course Dialogue’ provides a great example of how to encourage students to engage in respectful debate about controversial issues. - A must-read for all first-time instructors.
In-class exercise:
- Title: ‘A White African-American?’
- Written scenario about whether a student typically identified as ‘White’ can be considered for an academic award aimed at recognizing accomplishments of African-American students
- Provides discussion questions to get students talking about the scenario
- Engages students in small group discussion
- Based on an actual event, with some details modified
by
amelia,
Jan 7, 2009, at 04:00 pm
Check out this great resource from Contexts Magazine Graduate Editorial Board Member Kristin Haltinner. This proposed syllabus was prepared as a part of the ‘Sociology of Higher Education’ graduate seminar taught by Professor Ron Aminzade in the department of Sociology at the University of Minnesota.
Assets of this syllabus:
- Outlines a community service learning (CSL) opportunity for students
- Provides a number of well selected video clips for course topics
- A great template for the section on ‘Course Expectations’
- See the section on ‘Classroom Etiquette’ – especially helpful
