orgtheory.net

Every prof has a course that they’ve got down solid. Mine is undergraduate social theory. Students really, really like this course. Since social theory is often seen as a thorny course to teach, I’ll share my experiences and teaching strategy. Let’s start with my assumptions:

• Most undergrad theory students will not go to graduate school.  Don’t teach them as if reading Weber foot notes will consume the rest of their lives.
• The social theory course is intimidating. We expose students to thinkers who write in a difficult style and work with huge ideas.
• Students know the material is supposed to be hard, but they chose the major. They are willing to give it a shot.
• Nearly every piece of writing can be broken down into a few ideas and transmitted to an educated person.
• The great social thinkers are part of our heritage. They are worth teaching so students will have an exposure to the achievements of our intellectual culture.

Here’s my strategy:

• The readings: Make them read the originals! No textbooks – they become crutches. Make them grapple with great ideas. That’s what college is for!
• The topics: Greatest hits. Unless you’re getting a PhD in the subject, most people will not have the patience for reading all 1,000 pages of Economy and Society. So Weber and other core figures get one or two lectures. I use the Lemert reader – lots of short, but dense, readings.
• The topics II: I teach a core module on classical theory (inc. Simmel & soc psych), a module on race, gender and sexuality and a model on assorted modern topics.
• Classroom: At first, I give a few lectures, then I move into a free form discussion led by me. Since most students seem paralyzed by reading original work (because they’ve done watered down texts for four years), lecturing usually makes it worse. I need to soften them up with neat stories, humor, and a relaxed atmosphere. Dorm room chat is a better model than master scholar transmitting brilliant ideas.
• Discussion style: I have a few strategies. I will make students read a passage and then we will puzzle over it: “alienated labor? Wonder what that means?” Another tactic is to focus on the key concepts for the day and work through popular culture. Youtube clips help a lot here. I also throw in the occasional personal anecdote, just to get them mellowed out from a weekend of reading Mead. However, the goal is to allow the students to extract the core idea from the readings. Short handouts with a selected quote or key words helps.
• Constant work: Social theory is not a topic you can really master by “dropping in” when exam time comes around. You need a sustained effort to really get a grip. Thus, I concoct an assignment for nearly every class meeting – a short summary, a quiz, whatever. I also use the daily summaries to motivate class discussion – “I’m glad you mentioned double consciousness – what does that mean?”
• Relaxed days: Since there is an incredible amount of work, I have “safety valves.” There are some days where nothing is due. You can also drop the two lowest marks for daily summaries (essentially allowing a skip or two during the semester).
• Essays: There’s a lot of writing. I avoid the generic “summarize X and critique it.” Instead, my assignments usually start by asking students about a topic. Later assignments require the students to use various ideas in social theory to analyze that topic. It’s very hard because they have to really master the idea before they can even start writing. And they can’t crimp off the Internet or wikipedia because they chose the topic and the theory (“How am I going to write a feminist analysis of Halo?”)
• The mellow Fabio: Given the huge amount of work and the fact that people may not do well at the start, I’m pretty lenient when people are late with assignments. I also provide multiple opportunities to pull up your grade.

In other words: My social theory class raises the bar for most sociology undergrads and I demand commitment and I create assignments that encourage commitment. At the same time, I try to pace the work and provide a relaxed environment. I also try to make social theory describe the world people live in. Add your own social theory tips in the comments.