TEACHSOC: Sociological insights

[John Glass]

hi, Michael (and Brian)   what i do to make this point at a deep level...i am participating in the National Genographic project; i submitted a DNA swab and they tracked my DNA back to Africa. They also update the "route" my DNA took from Africa. i ask students what "race" they think I am ("white") and then i tell them that my ancestors were from Africa, then I show them the route of my DNA, and then I tell them that we are all Africans as that is where the most recent data indicates where the human race spread from. i then say, "this brings a whole new twist to the saying, 'i wish that they would all go back to Africa' as we would need a pretty damn big boat to fit all of us."   this seems to get the point across pretty easily.   i then point out to them how despite the fact that these data are quite conclusive, most of us a) have never heard this, b) are socialized and reinforced for acting out of notions of "race," c) how much insanity there is over these perceived racial differences.   i typically let them draw their own conclusions. don't forget, i live in a state where a colleague's daughter heard a week or so ago at her university that "if there had never been a civil war, everything would be fine and we would all be wealthy plantation owners right now." i can tell by the expressions on some faces that this information (we are all from Africa and descended from, "blacks") is distasteful to them; not my problem. my job is to present data on what is happening and how we collectively go about making sense of it all.   RE: gender...i show them the video XXXY about intersexuals and then ask them why we can't have a third option in terms of gender — we are locked into this idea that our biology determines our gender. they are more intrigued by the fact that there are people born with ambiguous genitalia (have had some students talk about how "disgusting" that is) than with the gender option, but i think it at least gets them thinking about it.   i don't believe in telling students what to think; i do my best to present the data and then ask questions about what the data mean to us. i think that students are capable of figuring some stuff out pretty easily if it is presented in the right manner.   john --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Teaching Sociology" group. To post to this group, send email to teachsoc@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/teachsoc -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---