Hi Peter (et al) I would like to address your question indirectly, if possible. First, however, I like your broader goal of finding an alternative approach. Texts are good for some purposes, and not for others. In many ways, it depends upon our personal approaches to teaching, whether or not a text will work well in our possession as teachers of the discipline.
In general, I tend to think of the social problems course is an alternative model of the introductory course. At most places, it serves to introduce some students to the works of sociologists, and can be taken without the SOC 100 pre-requisite. I personally believe focusing on contemporary social issues, rather than contemporary social institutions, will draw some students to the discipline that might not otherwise pursue our courses further. The introduction course is a more conservative/tradition based approach, that introduces students to the scientific model of sociology, and uses institutions as the springboard. E.g., here are some important concepts, here is how we do sociology, here are some areas where we conduct scientific studies, and here are some of our compelling findings. The social problems course introduces students to the more compassionate/liberation side of our discipline. It shows how we interpret relations, define problems, seek to understand their causes, and by inference at the very least, suggests how we might be more productive in our attempts to alleviate these broadly experienced problems. But fundamentally, social problems is an introductory course. Thus, your decision to minimize the areas of study does not have to be problematic. If you cover three issues, or ten, or fifteen, is really your choice. I would guess your fundamental goal is to make sure that at the end of the semester, your students conclude that this was a good course, and they may want to take another. In the latter sense, I assume you want to make sure they are prepared to succeed in other sociology courses. And given that many of us do not cover the requisite 15 or 18 chapters presented in each text, the choice is partially arbitrary. It is in this context that I read your email: "My question is this: [assuming I start with a specific theoretical framework for studying social problems] can list members suggest other relatively short and highly readable monographs ... that address problem complexes in a comparable way but in other [institutional or issue based] areas... I should say that I am not trying to cover every known social problem, but rather some interesting complexes. Thus I didn't put war or education on the list but they could very well be in or out...." I personally would consider focusing more on depth, as you mention, and worrying less about breadth. After all, it is the depth of their understanding of sociology that will probably serve them well. And we all tend to lose some students with breadth. Indeed, I find the more breadth, the more likely I am to estrange all students at some point. I have taught similar theory-based courses, focusing generally on race, class and gender issues, as they relate to poverty. Along with Anderson's work, my students have read Kozol's works (e.g., "Ordinary Ressurections"), Ehrenreich's "Nickeled and Dimed," Berrick's "Faces of Poverty," Hays' "Flat Broke with Children," etc. There are other good books in this area. I particularly like Kozol because he routinely dances between urban poverty, communal structures, and education. Nickeled and Dimed can get at gender, segregated work, and political economy. Hays' work is clearly about political economy. I hope this helps a bit, and I apologize if I am off the mark. Robert Robert J. Hironimus-Wendt, Ph.D. Sociology and Anthropology Western Illinois University 1 University Circle Macomb, IL 61455-1390 phone: (309) 298-1081 fax: (309) 298-1857 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] "It doesn't matter how strong your opinions are. If you don't use your power for positive change, you are indeed part of the problem, helping to keep things the way they are." -Coretta Scott King --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Teaching Sociology" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/teachsoc -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
