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Thinking Critically About Society: An Introduction to Sociology Teaching Resource Guide Russell Westhaver Chapter 10 Gendered Social Relationships Learning Outcomes What Is Gender?: students should be able to distinguish sex from gender and explain what it means to say that a social relationship is gendered. Thinking Critically about Gendered Social Relationships and Social Mobility: students should be able to outline the relationship between Mills’s sociological imagination and a gendered social relationship. Students should be able to describe the role critical thinking plays in this exercise. Social Mobility, Social Inequality, and Social Stratification: Women and Labour: students should be able to outline what the gendered division of labour is and how it contributes to social mobility. Social Mobility and Social Status Position: Socialization and Master Status: students should be able to describe these ideas and use them to explain the relationship between the gendered division of labour and women’s downward social mobility. Social Mobility and Social Institution: The Gendered Division of Labour and the Feminization of Poverty: students should be able to explain why it makes sense to think of the gendered division of labour as a social institution and explain how it contributes to women’s downward social mobility. Social Mobility and Culture: The Nature vs. Nurture Debate”: students should be able to use the idea of culture to explain how some ideas and beliefs contribute to women’s downward social mobility. 1. What Is Gender This section of the text includes two central tasks. The first involves making a distinction between biological sex and gender, something introductory students often conflate due to gendered assumptions. Marciano (1986) describes an effective exercise in which students are asked to explain how they know the sex and gender of their instructor. Class discussion reveals that gendered assumptions, ideas, and meanings (rather than “truth”) influence students’ determination of the sex and the gender of their instructor. Hartley (1999) describes a similar activity, in which students are asked to guess the instructors sexual orientation. Students’ reasons for their guesses provide an opportunity for scission gendered assumptions. Berkowitz, Manohar, and Tinkler’s (2010) in-class activity and debrief (in which female students are asked to talk and walk “like men” and male students are asked to talk and walk “like women”) is useful for illustrating notions of essentialism and the socially constructed nature of gendered assumptions and practices. Baker-Sperry, Behringer, and Grauerholz (1999) offer synopses for many short films suitable for introducing students to the nature of gendered expectations (although somewhat dated). Taylor (2003), Hall and Lucal (1999), and Boyle (1995) describe active learning exercises to reveal how gendered assumptions inform student’s everyday experiences. Taylor (2003) and Hall and Lucal (1999) describe assignments and activities based on content analysis (of children’s books and comics, respectively) to help students identify and discuss latent gendered stereotypes and expectations. Boyle’s (1995) mall assignment asks students rely on observational skills for the same purpose. By collecting data at a local mall (on, for example, toy packaging, the number of male and female customers in stores, and the depiction of boys and girls in birthday cards) students are given an opportunity to see how gendered expectations inform their everyday experience. The second task involves helping students see that the differentially and hierarchically arranged nature of gendered assumptions play an important role in women’s subordination. Kleinman (2006) offers a range of broad discussion and lecture strategies for helping students see and understand how patriarchal ideas and relations contribute to women’s subordination. 2. Thinking Critically about Gendered Social Relationships and Social Mobility In this section students are invited to see how attending to gendered social relationships can further our understanding of the sociological imagination. Any of the discussion and in-class activities for encouraging students to develop their sociological imagination (all noted in chapter 1) described by Hanson (2002), Prendergast (1986), Tipton and Tiemann’s (1993), Hoffmann’s (2006), Dowell (2006), or Kaufman’s (1997) can be revisited to emphasize how gendered social relationships shape private troubles. In this section students are also invited to see how applying the sociological imagination is also an exercise in critical thinking. Kebede’s (2009) timeline assignment is well suited to this goal, given that it explicitly asks students to engage in the process of critical thinking by collecting and reflecting on relevant background information using sociological concepts. Carter (1989) teaching module on the interpretation of data is also particular appropriate for this section given its emphasis on the collection and interpretation of background data and its substantive focus (gender and occupation). 3. Social Mobility, Social Inequality, and Social Stratification: Women and Labour In this section students are encouraged to recognize the gendered division of labour and understanding how it shapes actions and thought. Giuffre, Anderson, and Bird (2008) describe two teaching activities, one focusing on the wage gap and the second focusing on workplace interactions, for helping students understand how a gendered division of labour emerges as well as the consequences of this division of labour. The strength of these activities is that they are based on active learning, ask students to engage in critical thinking by reflecting on relevant background information, and encourage students to think about the gendered division of labour in both micro and macro terms. Petrzelka (2005) describes an activity in which students are asked to review faculty salaries to understand gendered inequality. While this assignment was developed in the context of a research methods class, it can be adopted for introductory purposes with little modification. Sweet and Baker (2011) describe an assignment that develops students understanding of the gendered division of labour by reflecting on data (collected and organized by the instructor) associated with their own career aspirations. Bell and Bradburn (1996) offer a detailed active learning exercise (suitable for larger classes) that illustrates how gendered expectations contribute to women’s inequality in the context of work. In the assignment, students are asked to role-play the development a toy for sale, according to pre-defined identities established by the instructor. 4. Social Mobility and Social Status Position: Socialization and Master Status This section focuses on the relationship between gendered social status positions, socialization, and social mobility. For a discussion of gendered social status positions, Adams’ (1993) kinship diagram exercise (noted in chapter 5) can be used to help students understand the relationship between social status position, social norm, and social role. The gendered aspect of the exercise might be reintroduced if it was already used for chapter 5 or emphasized if it used specifically for a discussion of gender (p. 108). The exercise might also be modified to more fully explore gendered social status positions. The American Sociological Association’s introsocsite: Introduction to Sociology describes a “Gender Socialization Lab/Fieldtrip” that exploring how material culture (such as Barbie dolls, deodorant, men’s and women’s health magazines, or children’s books) teaches and reinforces gendered expectations (www.asanet.org/introtosociology/TeacherResources/IMforUnitIV.html). In a similar vein, Glasberg, Nangle, Maatita, and Schauer (1998) describe a discussion exercise on advertising as well as an active learning exercise in which students are invited to play board games. Both the discussion and the activity can be used to introduce students to gender socialization. Reeves (1987) explores gender socialization, gendered social norms, and gendered social roles by turning to qualitative data from children (in the form of pictures, poetry, and play activities) While Reeves (1987) provides data to the reader, students could be instructed to collect relevant background information with very little modification. Stinson (1987) describes an active learning exercise in which students are asked to administer a questionnaire about sexual attitudes to family and peers. Because students are asked to predict the responses they receive, the activity can be used to discuss perceptions of generation gaps and gendered socialization. Barbour (1989) describes a range of general teaching strategies for teaching students about social relationships and sexuality while Sollie and Kaetz (1992) review teaching strategies used in interpersonal and family relationships courses. Both can be mined for active learning exercises for exploring gendered socialization. The journal Teaching Sociology has an entire issue devoted to introducing students to the relationships between sex and gender (1985, Volume 12, Number 3). While many of the contributions in the issue speak to general pedagogical issues, Chin (1985) describes a brief exercise, suitable for large classes, in which students are separated into same-sex groups to discuss sexual aggression, harassment, or rape and then brought back together for whole-group discussion. The exercise is suitable for leading to gendered definitions of appropriate sexual behaviour, which may be linked to the topic of gendered socialization. Students can also be asked to list swears and epithets directed at men and women. By comparing these terms, students can further explore the nature and structure of gendered social norms and social roles (for example, swears directed at women emphasize their role as a sex object; swears directed at men focus on their inability to do something, emphasizing their role as a success object). While Chesler and Zuniga (1991) “pink triangle exercise”, in which students are asked report and discuss the experience of wearing a pink triangle for a day (one of the symbols associated with GLBT pride and politics) is helpful for introducing students to the nature of homophobia and heterosexism other scholars have outlined activities that encourage students to reflect more directly on the relationship between gendered socialization, homophobia and heterosexism. Edwards (2010), for example, ask students to wear nail polish in order to illustrate the relationship between gender conformity and homophobia. De Welde and Hubbard (2003) ask students to write and reflect on an unsent “coming out” letter, which provides students with information to explore the relationship between gendered social norms and homophobia. Similarly, Eichstedt’s (1996) dyad-constructivist listening exercise, suitable for larger classrooms, helps students explore their experiences with gendered socialization and homophobia. Eichstedt (1996) also describes a fieldwork exercise, in which she asks students to document public displays of affection, can be used in similar ways. 5. Social Mobility and Social Institution: The Gendered Division of Labour and the Feminization of Poverty This section introduces students to the notions of discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes in order to further understand gendered social mobility. A key aspect of discussion involves the distinction between individual level discrimination and systemic or institutionalized discrimination. Bohmer and Briggs (1991) describe a very broad discussion strategy for introducing students to individual discrimination and institutionalized (through a discussion of oppression). As part of their strategy, Bohmer and Briggs (1991) ask students to list a range of different forms of oppression and discrimination based on ascribed social status positions, link these forms of discrimination to different social institutions (i.e.: the family, education), as well as introduces the importance of advantage, disadvantage, and resistance. Their discussion is particularly appropriate for this section in that it situates individually held prejudices and stereotypes in a broader macro-sociological context of institutionalized discrimination. A strength of their discussion strategy is that it offers ways for thinking through the resistance that students from privileged backgrounds might bring to a discussion of systemic or institutionalized discrimination. Rodgers (2003) describes an active learning exercise that simulates the process of stigmatization in order to illustrate the arbitrary nature of prejudice, discrimination, and their grounding in social interactions and meaning making. In the exercise, students are asked to identify a bodily characteristic currently not stigmatized and then divided into two groups to develop campaigns for and against the stigmatized characteristic. Given it’s focus on gendered social mobility Zeller’s (1988) classroom discussion activity is particularly appropriate for this section. Students are asked to account for income differences between men and women by reviewing (instructor generated) data on income differences. The scenario Zeller (1988) relies on—faculty training, hiring, and income—provides an opportunity to emphasize systematic forms of discrimination and the disadvantage/advantage created by inequalities with a long history. While Zeller’s (1988) activity is suitable for smaller classes and will need to modified to reflect contemporary conditions, Obach’s (2000) discussion exercise will need little modification and is suitable for introducing the notion of institutionalized or systematic discrimination to larger classes. Obach (2000) asks a group of students to leave the class while new concepts are introduced to the remaining students. Later a pop quiz is given on this material, leaving the absent students disadvantaged. Classroom discussion focusing on the fairness of the quiz reveals how past inequalities are carried forward in the form of advantage and disadvantage, creating an opportunity to reflect on institutionalized discrimination. Both Zeller (1988) and Obach (2000) ask students to apply their newly emerging understanding by proposing solutions to the inequalities created by institutionalized discrimination. 6. Social Mobility and Culture: The Nature vs. Nurture Debate This section uses the notion of culture to raise questions about the degree to which biological sex shapes social mobility, relying on the complexities of the case of David Reimer and cross-cultural discussions of intersex conditions. A BBC documentary (Dr. Money And The Boy With No Penis ) on David Reimer offers one means for introducing students to the substantive content (http://documentarystorm.com/dr-money-and-the-boy-with-no-penis/). References Adams, David S. 1993. ""Who Are Your Second Cousins?" A Lecture/Discussion Technique for Introducing "Status," "Norm," and "Role" in the First Year Sociology Course." Teaching Sociology 21 (1):105-108. Baker-Sperry, Lori, Behringer, Autumn, and Grauerholz, Liz. 1999. "Bringing Gender to Life in the Classroom: Recommended Videos That Teach about Gender." Teaching Sociology 27 (2):193-207. Barbour, James R. 1989. "Teaching a Course in Human Relationships and Sexuality: A Model for Personalizing Large Group Instruction." Family Relations 38 (2):142-148. Bell, Eleanor O. and Bradburn, Ellen M. 1996. "A Small-Group Exercise for Teaching Inequality: An Application to Gender Stratification." Teaching Sociology 24 (2):212-217. Berkowitz, Dana, Manohar, Namita N., and Tinkler, Justine E. 2010. "Walk like a Man, Talk like a Woman: Teaching the Social Construction of Gender." Teaching Sociology 38 (2):132-143. Bohmer, Susanne and Briggs, Joyce L. 1991. "Teaching Privileged Students about Gender, Race, and Class Oppression." Teaching Sociology 19 (2):154-163. Boyle, Catherine E. 1995. "Seeing Gender in Everyday Life: A Field Trip to the Mall." Teaching Sociology 23 (2):150-154. Carter, Greg Lee. 1989. "The Pitfalls of Post-Factum Sociological Interpretation: A Classroom Demonstration." Teaching Sociology 17 (3):341-345. Chesler, Mark A. and Zuniga, Ximena. 1991. "Dealing with Prejudice and Conflict in the Classroom: The Pink Triangle Exercise." Teaching Sociology 19 (2):173-181. Chin, Jeffrey C. 1985. "Teaching Sex Roles: A Classroom Strategy." Teaching Sociology 12 (3):356. De Welde, Kristine and Hubbard, Eleanor A. 2003. ""I'm Glad I'm Not Gay!": Heterosexual Students' Emotional Experience in the College Classroom with a "Coming Out" Assignment." Teaching Sociology 31 (1):73-84. Dowell, William. 2006. "Throwing the Sociological Imagination into the Garbage: Using Students' Waste Disposal Habits to Illustrate C. Wright Mills's Concept." Teaching Sociology 34 (2):150-155. Edwards, Nelta M. 2010. "Using Nail Polish to Teach about Gender and Homophobia." Teaching Sociology 38 (4):362-372. Eichstedt, Jennifer L. 1996. "Heterosexism and Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Experiences: Teaching Strategies and Exercises." Teaching Sociology 24 (4):384-388. Giuffre, Patti, Anderson, Cynthia, and Bird, Sharon. 2008. "Teaching the Sociology of Gender and Work." Teaching Sociology 36 (1):66-78. Glasberg, Davita Silfen, Nangle, Barbara, Maatita, Florence, and Schauer, Tracy. 1998. "Games Children Play: An Exercise Illustrating Agents of Socialization." Teaching Sociology 26 (2):130-139. Hall, Kelley J. and Lucal, Betsy. 1999. "Tapping into Parallel Universes: Using Superhero Comic Books in Sociology Courses." Teaching Sociology 27 (1):60-66. Hanson, Chad M. 2002. "A Stop Sign at the Intersection of History and Biography: Illustrating Mills's Imagination with Depression-Era Photographs." Teaching Sociology 30 (2):235-242. Hartley, Heather. 1999. "What's My Orientation? Using the Teacher-as-Text Strategy as Feminist Pedagogical Practice." Teaching Sociology 27 (4):398-406. Hoffmann, Elizabeth A. 2006. "The Importance of Place: Using Local-Focus Videos to Spark the Sociological Imagination." Teaching Sociology 34 (2):164-172. Kaufman, Peter. 1997. "Michael Jordan Meets C. Wright Mills: Illustrating the Sociological Imagination with Objects from Everyday Life." Teaching Sociology 25 (4):309-314. Kebede, Alem. 2009. "Practicing Sociological Imagination through Writing Sociological Autobiography." Teaching Sociology 37 (4):353-368. Kleinman, Sherryl. 2006. "Making Sexism Visible: Birdcages, Martians, and Pregnant Men." Teaching Sociology 34 (2):126-142. Marciano, Teresa Donati. 1986. ""How Do You Know I'm a Woman?": Freeing Up Role Constraints in Sexual Diversity." Teaching Sociology 14 (3):191-192. Obach, Brian K. 2000. "Teaching about Institutional Discrimination and the Controversies of Affirmative Action." Teaching Sociology 28 (1):50-55. Petrzelka, Peggy. 2005. ""They Make How Much?" Investigating Faculty Salaries to Examine Gender Inequalities." Teaching Sociology 33 (4):380-388. Prendergast, Christopher. 1986. "Cinema Sociology: Cultivating the Sociological Imagination through Popular Film." Teaching Sociology 14 (4):243-248. Reeves, Joy B. 1987. "Using Qualitative Data from Children to Teach about Gender Role Socialization." Teaching Sociology 15 (4):399-402. Rodgers, Diane M. 2003. ""The Stigmatizers and the Stigmatized": Enacting the Social Construction of Difference and Discrimination." Teaching Sociology 31 (3):319-324. Sollie, Donna L. and Kaetz, Julie F. 1992. "Teaching University-Level Family Studies Courses: Techniques and Outcomes." Family Relations 41 (1):18-24. Stinson, Kandi M. 1987. "Conducting Family Interviews for a Course in Human Sexuality." Teaching Sociology 15 (3):273-278. Sweet, Stephen and Baker, Kimberly M. 2011. "Who Has the Advantages in My Intended Career?: Engaging Students in the Identification of Gender and Racial Inequalities." Teaching Sociology 39 (1):1-15. Taylor, Frank. 2003. "Content Analysis and Gender Stereotypes in Children's Books." Teaching Sociology 31 (3):300-311. Tipton, Dana Bickford and Tiemann, Kathleen A. 1993. "Using the Feature Film to Facilitate Sociological Thinking." Teaching Sociology 21 (2):187-191. Zeller, Richard A. 1988. "On Teaching about Discrimination." Teaching Sociology 16 (1):61-66. Thinking Critically About Society: An Introduction to Sociology Teaching Resource Guide Russell Westhaver Chapter 11 Ethno-racialized Social Relationships Learning Outcomes What Is Race?: students should be able to define the concept ethno-racialization and explain why it is possible to say that ethno-racialized thinking is part of what it means to be Canadian. Minority and Majority Patterns of Interaction: students should be able to define the terms minority/majority group and ethno-racialized social relationship. Students should also be able to define and describe different types of ethno-racialized social relationships. Thinking Critically about Ethno-racialized Social Relationships and Social Mobility: students should be able to explain how the idea of an ethno-racialized social relationship furthers our understanding of Mills’ notion of the sociological imagination. Students should also be able to explain how critical thinking can help us explain how ethno-racialized social relationships impact social mobility. Social Mobility, Social Inequality, and Social Stratification: The Ethno-racialized Division of Labour: students should be able to describe what it means to say that employment in Canada is ethno-racialized and how this impacts the social mobility of ethno-racialized minorities. Social Mobility and Social Status Position: Objective and Subjective Consequences of Socialization: students should be able o use ideas associated with “social status position” (social norm, social role, socialization) to explain how people’s racist and ethnocentric prejudices affect the social mobility of ethno-racialized minorities. Social Mobility and Social Institution: Overt versus Institutionalized Discrimination: students should be use their understanding of the concept social institution to explain what institutionalized discrimination is and how this form of discrimination can impact social mobility. Social Mobility and Culture: Social Distance and Ethno-racialized Communities: students should be able to use the ideas of non-material and material culture to explain the relationship between social distance and ethno-racialized social mobility. 1. What is Race? A key aspect of this section involves helping students understand that while racialized categories are important, it is not the categories per se that are important. What is at stake in this section is how social processes make racialized categories meaningful. Obach (1999) presents several short discussion activities for supporting a social constructionist understanding of race and racialization. These include speaking about the difficulty of categorizing some racialized groups, such as those with Middle Eastern or Pacific Island heritage, or asking students to confront the distinctions between Caucasians with northern European ancestry and Caucasians with southern European ancestry. In addition to these short discussion activities, Obach (1999) describes an exercise in which students are asked to categorize differently patterned shapes and then comment on the logic behind their choices. Given the nature of patterns chosen by Obach (1999), a very wide range of categorization strategies make logical sense. A debrief of the activity and the categorization logic students use opens up an opportunity to discuss the social construction of race. Khanna & Harris (2009) describe a similar set of categorization activities, in which students are asked to classify photographs by racial categories and subsequently asked to explain how they reached their decisions. Given the nature of racial ambiguity and persons with complex ancestries, class discussion can support an understanding the processes involved in racialization. Alicea & Kessel (1997) ask students to engage in the a similar categorization activity on the first day of class as an icebreaker. By comparing self-identified classifications with classifications made by classmates, students’ understanding of the social construction of race and racialization can be supported. Gnida (1995) explores the social construction of race and racialization through a discussion exercise that interrogates common assumptions about black and white athletic differences. Townsley (2007) describes an exercise in which students are asked to compare their own perceptions about the size of minority populations with census data. Students are then asked to think about the way the racialized categories used in this comparison are produced as social facts and to think about their own roles in this categorization. The strength of Townsley’s (2007) assignment is in the detail it provides an instructor, although it may not be suitable given that it unfolds over the course of an entire semester. 3. Thinking Critically about Ethno-racialized Social Relationships and Social Mobility In this section students are asked to consider how ethno-racialized social relationships can support our understanding of the sociological imagination. Previous discussion and in-class activities for helping students develop their sociological imagination—such as described by Hanson (2002), Prendergast (1986), Tipton and Tiemann’s (1993), Hoffmann’s (2006), Dowell (2006), or Kaufman’s (1997)—can be revisited or revised to emphasize how ethno-racialized social relationships shape private troubles. This section also invites students to see how the sociological imagination is also an exercise in critical thinking. Kebede’s (2009) timeline assignment is well suited to this goal, given that it explicitly asks students to engage in the process of critical thinking by collecting and reflecting on relevant background information using sociological concepts. 4. Social Mobility, Social Inequality, and Social Stratification: The Ethno-racialized Division of Labour This section invites students to think about the ethno-racialized division of labour and social mobility. Bordt (2005) offers a detailed discussion of an in-class activity, suitable for smaller classes, in which students are supported in a close reading of original research to understand racialized employment discrimination. While Bordt’s (2005) discussion focuses on US research, Li’s (2008) analysis of foreign educational credentials provides a suitable Canadian example. Support for using a close reading of primary research to support student learning can be found in Davis & Robinson (2006). Groves, Warren, & Witschger (1996) describe a simulation exercise (using strings and balls), suitable for larger classes, for introducing students to structural determinants of employment segregation. 5/6. Social Mobility and Social Status Position/Social Mobility and Social Institution Section four provides students an opportunity to think about the relationship between socialization, ethno-racialized prejudice (in the form of racism and ethnocentrism), and discrimination. While this discussion sets the stage for thinking about overt discrimination, section 6 introduces students to less-visible forms of institutionalized or systemic discrimination, which often challenge introductory students. Wooddell & Henry’s (2005) focus on the concept of advantage provides a general framework which can help support student’s understanding of institutionalized forms of discrimination. Harlow’s (2009) “Bittersweet Candy” simulation exercise, in which students are divided into short and tall groups and are rewarded with candy if they are able to sit in designated seats in the classroom, is suitable for illustrating structural forms of discrimination for large classes. Through discussion, students can be led to see how the structure of the class—where tables and chairs are—leaves some members of the class in a structurally advantaged position while others are in structurally disadvantaged positions. While Bordt’s (2004) simulation exercise relies on US experiences of the death penalty, it offers a broad discussion structure in which students can engage with covert or non-conscious forms of ethno-racialized discrimination. In the exercise, students are given two hypothetical murder cases and asked to impose either the death penalty or life in prison without chance of parole. Results are then shared with the class and students are asked to discuss the criteria used to arrive at the sentences. A subsequent debrief, in which student sentencing decisions are tabulated, taking victim and offender racialized backgrounds into consideration, becomes a basis of discussing covert forms of discrimination. 7. Social Mobility and Culture: Social Distance and Ethno-racialized Communities: This section introduces students to the concept and phenomenon of social distance in order to explore the relationship between non-material and material culture and racialized social mobility. Morrissey (1992) describes an active-learning exercise suitable for introducing students to social distance. Students are asked to survey friends using a modified Bogardus social distance scale and then to reflect on their findings through discussion and a written exercise. This activity is particularly suitable for this chapter because it can be used to introduce students to different forms of racialized social relationships (assimilation, segregation) as well as the relationship between social distance, prejudice, and discrimination. For an overview of the Bogardus social distance scale, see Wark & Galliher (2007). References Alicea, M., & Kessel, B. (1997). The Socially Awkward Question: A Simulation Exercise for Exploring Ethnic and Racial Labels. Teaching Sociology, 25(1), 65-71. Bordt, R. L. (2004). Only Some Are Dead Men Walking: Teaching about Race Discrimination and the Death Penalty. Teaching Sociology, 32(4), 358-373. Bordt, R. L. (2005). Using a Research Article to Facilitate a Deep Structure Understanding of Discrimination. Teaching Sociology, 33(4), 403-410. Carter, G. L. (1989). The Pitfalls of Post-Factum Sociological Interpretation: A Classroom Demonstration. Teaching Sociology, 17(3), 341-345. Davis, N. J., & Robinson, R. V. (2006). Using a Research Article to Foster Moral Reflection and Global Awareness in Teaching about Religion and Politics, Theory Testing, and Democracy in the Muslim World. Teaching Sociology, 34(3), 296-312. Dowell, W. (2006). Throwing the Sociological Imagination into the Garbage: Using Students' Waste Disposal Habits to Illustrate C. Wright Mills's Concept. Teaching Sociology, 34(2), 150-155. Gnida, J. J. (1995). Teaching "Nature versus Nurture": The Case of African-American Athletic Success. Teaching Sociology, 23(4), 389-395. Groves, J. M., Warren, C., & Witschger, J. (1996). Reversal of Fortune: A Simulation Game for Teaching Inequality in the Classroom. Teaching Sociology, 24(4), 364-371. Hanson, C. M. (2002). A Stop Sign at the Intersection of History and Biography: Illustrating Mills's Imagination with Depression-Era Photographs. Teaching Sociology, 30(2), 235-242. Harlow, R. (2009). Innovations in Teaching Race and Class Inequality: Bittersweet Candy and The Vanishing Dollar. Teaching Sociology, 37(2), 194-204. Hoffmann, E. A. (2006). The Importance of Place: Using Local-Focus Videos to Spark the Sociological Imagination. Teaching Sociology, 34(2), 164-172. Kaufman, P. (1997). Michael Jordan Meets C. Wright Mills: Illustrating the Sociological Imagination with Objects from Everyday Life. Teaching Sociology, 25(4), 309-314. Kebede, A. (2009). Practicing Sociological Imagination through Writing Sociological Autobiography. Teaching Sociology, 37(4), 353-368. Khanna, N., & Harris, C. A. (2009). Teaching Race as a Social Construction: Two Interactive Class Exercises. Teaching Sociology, 37(4), 369-378. Li, P. S. (2008). The Role of Foreign Credentials and Ethnic Ties in Immigrants' Economic Performance. Canadian Journal of Sociology/Cahiers canadiens de sociologie, 33(2), 291-310. Morrissey, M. (1992). Exploring Social Distance in Race and Ethnic Relations Courses. Teaching Sociology, 20(2), 121-124. Obach, B. K. (1999). Demonstrating the Social Construction of Race. Teaching Sociology, 27(3), 252-257. Prendergast, C. (1986). Cinema Sociology: Cultivating the Sociological Imagination through Popular Film. Teaching Sociology, 14(4), 243-248. Tipton, D. B., & Tiemann, K. A. (1993). Using the Feature Film to Facilitate Sociological Thinking. Teaching Sociology, 21(2), 187-191. Townsley, E. (2007). The Social Construction of Social Facts: Using the U.S. Census to Examine Race as a Scientific and Moral Category. Teaching Sociology, 35(3), 223-238. Wark, C., & Galliher, J. F. (2007). Emory Bogardus and the Origins of the Social Distance Scale. The American Sociologist, 38(4), 383-395. Wooddell, G., & Henry, J. (2005). The Advantage of a Focus on Advantage: A Note on Teaching Minority Groups. Teaching Sociology, 33(3), 301-309. Thinking Critically About Society: An Introduction to Sociology Teaching Resource Guide Russell Westhaver Chapter 12 The Sociological and Critical Promises Learning Outcomes “A Short Review” summarizes how this textbook has tried to connect the idea of the sociological imagination with the practice of critical thinking. Students should be able to describe key ideas from each of the preceding chapters and explain how they relate to the sociological imagination and critical thinking. “The Promise of the Sociological Imagination: Getting ‘Unstuck’” invites students to consider the relationship between the sociological imagination and collective action—what Mills described as the promise of the sociological imagination. Students should be able to describe the nature of this promise and how the sociological imagination helps in supporting this promise. “Barriers to Getting ‘Unstuck’ and the Promise of Critical Thinking” introduces some of the obstacles Mills believed could undermine the sociological imagination and its promise (what he called grand theorizing and abstracted empiricism). This section also suggests that the practice of critical thinking promises to address these two problems. Students should be able to describe these two problems and explain how critical thinking can address these problems. “The Sociological Imagination, Critical Thinking, and Their Promises: The Attawapiskat Housing Crisis” relies on the 2011 housing crisis in Attawapiskat to illustrate the promise of the sociological imagination and how the practice of critical thinking can support this promise. After reading this section, students should be able to use these events to describe what the sociological promise means in concrete terms and explain how critical thinking supports this promise. “Summarizing the Sociological and Critical Promises” summarizes how the sociological imagination and critical thinking contribute to our understanding of the Attawapiskat housing crisis, offering a general summary of the sociological imagination, critical thinking, and their promises. After reading this section, students should be able to describe these three related promises. A Short Review The first section of chapter twelve offers a very general review of the sociological imagination, focusing on the way key ideas from previous chapters (such as social relationships, social status positions, social institution, culture, inequality and social stratification, class, gender, and racialization) further an account of the human experience based on a broader social context. The first section also reviews how the practice of critical thinking, as outlined in chapter three, supports the sociological imagination. Given the synoptic nature of this section, students’ understanding of the material might be reviewed and consolidated by concept mapping the relationship between the sociological imagination, key ideas from the text, and elements of critical thinking (Jacobs-Lawson & Hershey, 2002; Trepagnier, 2002). Figure 12.1 might be taken as a starting point for such a mapping exercise. Trapagnier’s (2002) discussion of concept mapping, which also involves an assignment, is particularly apt given her focus on Mills’ sociological imagination. The Promise of the Socio- logical Imagination: Getting “Unstuck” Section two aims to further support students’ ability to value the sociological imagination by introducing students to Mills’ argument about the promise of the sociological imagination. In particular, Mills argued that by thinking about private troubles in terms of broader public issues, the sociological imagination could open space for acting collectively and collaboratively on public issues rather than personally or privately on private troubles. At this point in their experience with sociological content, ideally students could, ideally, be expected to be able to conduct a close reading of a primary text. Supporting their understanding of the Mills’ promise could involve a close reading of relevant passages from the Sociological Imagination--for example, pages 1 to 13 (Mills, 1959 [2000]). Disch (2004) describes a series of strategies for supporting student’s understanding of Mills’ sometimes challenging language while Roberts & Roberts (2008) offer a framework as well as a series of activities that can be used to support new students capacity for what they call deep reading of challenging text. Example of current social movements—the Arab Spring beginning in 2011 or Brazilian riots in 2013—can provide an opportunity for students explore the connection between the promise of sociology and collective action. The textbox on page 244 of chapter twelve provides students with an opportunity to make connections between the sociological imagination and collective action by reflecting on the recent Occupy Movement. On it’s release to DVD, Ogilvie’s (2013) documentary Occupy: The Movie would provide students with further discussion material on the Occupy Movement while Ferguson (2010) documentary, Inside Job, on the 2008 economic collapse may also provide useful background. Instructors who wishes to engage students more deeply with social movements to help students explore Mills’ promise may find DeFronzo’s (1982) and Dressel’s (1990) early discussion on using on film to teach social movements useful. Reger & Dugan (2001) classroom activity, which allows students to assess resource mobilization theory and new social movements theory, may also be helpful for encouraging students to see the link between the sociological imagination and collective action. 3./4. The Sociological Imagination, Critical Thinking, and Their Promises: The Attawapiskat Housing Crisis Section three introduces two key obstacles, discussed by Mills, to exercising the sociological imagination (grand theorizing and abstracted empiricism) and suggests that the practice of critical thinking is a helpful response to these obstacles. If, following the ideas of Disch (2004) and Roberts and Roberts (2008), students are asked to engage in a close reading of The Sociological Imagination to further explore these barriers, then sections 2, 3, and 4 of chapter two (Grand Theory) and three (Abstracted Empiricism) are perhaps most relevant. Section four relies on the 2011 Attawapiskat housing crisis to provide students with an example of using the sociological imagination, drawing on key ideas from previous chapters. Understanding this example will depend on students having relevant background information on history of First Nations people and their relationship with the Canadian state. A range of documentaries from The National Film Board of Canada can provide this background. Obomsawin’s (2002) documentary Is the Crown at War with Us? (focusing on the Mi’gmaq experiences with the Canadian state over fishing rights at Burnt Church in 2000) is relatively recent example. Students might also be encouraged to apply the sociological imagination to their own family’s behaviour by thinking through a timeline exercise, described by Adams (1986), Disch (2004), Kebede (2009), or Thompson (1996). Adams’ (1986) assignment is well suited as a final year-end exercise; Kebede’s (2009) is suited for building a course around a time-line assignment. The Sociological Cinema provides a shorter exercise at (www.thesociologicalcinema.com/3/post/2012/01/developing-a-sociological-imagination.html). References Adams, D. S. (1986). Writing with Sociological Imagination: A Time-Line Assignment for Introductory Sociology. Teaching Sociology, 14(3), 200-203. DeFronzo, J. (1982). A Film-Augmented Course on International Social Movements. Teaching Sociology, 9(2), 169-188. Disch, E. (2004). Helping Students Make Sense of Mills' Sociological Imagination. The Discourse of Sociological Practice, 6(2), 51-53. Dressel, P. (1990). Films That Put Social Problems in Global Context. Teaching Sociology, 18(2), 226-230. Ferguson, C. (Writer). (2010). Inside Job. Belgium: Mongrel Media. Jacobs-Lawson, J. M., & Hershey, D. A. (2002). Concept Maps as an Assessment Tool in Psychology Courses. Teaching of Psychology, 29(1), 25-29. Kebede, A. (2009). Practicing Sociological Imagination through Writing Sociological Autobiography. Teaching Sociology, 37(4), 353-368. Mills, C., Wright. (1959 [2000]). The Sociological Imagination. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Obomsawin, A. (Writer). (2002). Is the Crown at War with Us? Canada: National Film Board of Canada. Ogilvie, C. (Writer). (2013). Occupy: The Movie. Canada. Reger, J., & Dugan, K. (2001). Exploring Social Movement Theories through an Interactive Exercise. Teaching Sociology, 29(3), 332-342. Roberts, J. C., & Roberts, K. A. (2008). Deep Reading, Cost/benefit, and the Construction of Meaning: Enhancing Reading Comprehension and Deep Learning in Sociology Courses. Teaching Sociology, 36(2), 125-140. Thompson, J. (1996). "The Between" of Teaching Sociology: Ways of Knowing and Teaching. Teaching Sociology, 24(3), 321-330. Trepagnier, B. (2002). Mapping Sociological Concepts. Teaching Sociology, 30(1), 108-119. Instructor Manual for Thinking Critically About Society: An Introduction to Sociology Russell Westhaver 9781259066993
