TEACHSOC: Re: TEACHSOC:Truman show

[Stephen Sweet]

I believe the community is modelled after Celebration Florida, which is part of the new urbanism school of community development.  Look at Kentlands Maryland (part of Gaithersburg) for another illustration of what these places are supposed to be like.  The idea is building walkable communities that foster social ties (and a variety of other things).  There was a scathing article about Celebration in Harper's about 4 years ago that would be a must read, but the new urbanism folks have some interesting ideas. Hope this helps. -steve Robert Greene wrote: Hi, I know that we have had discussions about the Truman Show in the past. I intend to show it as part of a final project to my students. Can anyone provide suggestions how it might be used conceptually besides the social construction of reality? thanks ________________________________ From: teachsoc@googlegroups.com on behalf of Mekolichick Jeanne Sent: Tue 11/22/2005 6:56 AM To: Michael Klausner Cc: teachsoc@googlegroups.com Subject: TEACHSOC: Re: Theory and Methods Hi Folks- I agree with Michael and the others with contrasting views...How about a third perspective for the debate: We teach theory and methods at both the lower and upper levels. Last year we incorporated an introduction to theory and methods course (Sociological Analysis), at the 100 level, taken after the introduction to sociology course and before the theory and methods courses--at the 300 and 400 levels. The introductory course teaches the basics of paradigms, theories, and methods--students read 3 original works and conduct mini-research projects that mimic the work they just read. We first taught the course last spring, so this fall is the first "test" of its usefulness for the upper division theory and methods. Based on anecdotal evidence, the introduction of the class has been a success. Our theorist has noticed a marked improvement in the student's understanding in the classical theory class and we anticipate the same results when the contemporary theory class is taught this spring. Similarly, as the "methods professor" I have found that my students in the first methods course have a better understanding of the connection between theory and research, conceptualization and operationalization, and have a better grasp on the idea of a "research paper" as separate from what they learned in their freshman English class. Finally, and likely most importantly, students are reporting that they have a deeper understanding of the information being learned in their "content" classes. Best, Jeanne Mekolichick __________________________________ Jeanne Mekolichick, PhD. Assistant Professor of Sociology Department of Sociology & Anthropology Radford University Radford, VA 24142 540-831-5416 [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: teachsoc@googlegroups.com [mailto:teachsoc@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Michael Klausner Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 4:51 PM Cc: teachsoc@googlegroups.com Subject: TEACHSOC: Re: Theory and Methods Greetings: Interestingly, I find my self as the "deviant" regarding the best time to teach the Theory course. I contend that it is best taught when students are juniors or seniors. Here's why. By definition theories are abstract, couched at a relatively high level of generality. Many traditional age students are in their late teens and have not reached the stage of "formal operations" to use Piaget's terminology. They have difficulty thinking at high levels of abstraction and generality. True, I and I'm sure many others use many *concrete* examples to illustrate theoretical concepts/theories but still, it is difficult for many students. Students are exposed to theory in *every* course including the Intro. But in those courses the theory is used to account for some substantive empirical phenomenon (delinquency, poverty, war, and prejudice/discrimination. Thus by their junior sophomore year they have been selectively exposed to theory and are better prepared to deal with a "pure" theory course. Good topic for discussion. Michael Klausner -----Original Message----- From: teachsoc@googlegroups.com [mailto:teachsoc@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Kelly Besecke Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 4:03 PM To: Anne Eisenberg Cc: teachsoc@googlegroups.com Subject: TEACHSOC: Re: Theory and Methods Anne, Would you share which monographs you typically use for your contemporary theory class? Thanks! Kelly Besecke Quoting Anne Eisenberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: Second, our department requires a 200-level classical theory class and a 300-level contemporary theory class. I use Kivisto's reader, a reader by Craig Calhoun of contemporary theories, and then 3-4 monographs for the contemporary theory class. Kelly Besecke ______________________________________________________________ Assistant Professor of Sociology Department of Sociology * Palme House 105 * Kenyon College * Gambier OH 43022 tel: 740-427-5854 * fax: 740-427-5815 * email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]