Sociology is Science
My approach to teaching revolves heavily around the idea that sociology is science. That is, to communicate to students that sociology (despite its covering of content which many students are impassioned about or find controversial) is not the result of opinions or subjective thought, but is a discipline that relies on research to form conclusions.
I begin my courses with topic-appropriate discussions on empiricism and the research process. For a methods course, this will take several weeks of intensive study of both qualitative and quantitative research processes and their ontologies. In topical courses, I constantly reinforce the need to identify arguments and evidence. It is important to me that students not only connect course content to their personal experience via the sharing of their opinions, but are also able to locate it within larger bodies of social scientific discourse. To these ends, I also encourage thoughtful and active learning using multi-level sociological analysis (micro, meso, and macro) that allows students to understand the impact of social forces on everyday life.
I am most passionate about teaching applied statistics and research methods. Often, students are drawn to various elective sociology courses for their provocative content. Courses on race, gender, and sexuality tend to fill quickly and feature lively discussions as students grapple with ideas that they view as readily applicable to their lives. Conversely, students tend to begrudge required sociology courses in research methods and statistics as being too abstract to have any real world use. However, I believe that incorporating critical thinking and decision-making skills into the teaching of methods and statistics provides students with concrete, transferable tools for being able to more fully analyze their social worlds and to seek employment in a labor market that requires highly skilled personnel. Students often leave my statistics classes claiming, "that wasn't as bad as I thought!".
I begin my courses with topic-appropriate discussions on empiricism and the research process. For a methods course, this will take several weeks of intensive study of both qualitative and quantitative research processes and their ontologies. In topical courses, I constantly reinforce the need to identify arguments and evidence. It is important to me that students not only connect course content to their personal experience via the sharing of their opinions, but are also able to locate it within larger bodies of social scientific discourse. To these ends, I also encourage thoughtful and active learning using multi-level sociological analysis (micro, meso, and macro) that allows students to understand the impact of social forces on everyday life.
I am most passionate about teaching applied statistics and research methods. Often, students are drawn to various elective sociology courses for their provocative content. Courses on race, gender, and sexuality tend to fill quickly and feature lively discussions as students grapple with ideas that they view as readily applicable to their lives. Conversely, students tend to begrudge required sociology courses in research methods and statistics as being too abstract to have any real world use. However, I believe that incorporating critical thinking and decision-making skills into the teaching of methods and statistics provides students with concrete, transferable tools for being able to more fully analyze their social worlds and to seek employment in a labor market that requires highly skilled personnel. Students often leave my statistics classes claiming, "that wasn't as bad as I thought!".
Previous Courses
Applied Statistics for the Social Sciences
This course, designed for students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees in the social sciences, introduces basic descriptive, inferential, and correlational statistical methods. The course emphasizes the importance of research questions and goals in statistical decision-making and focuses heavily on proper selection and interpretation of statistical processes. Graduates will pay special attention to multivariate statistical procedures as applied to ordinary least squares (OLS) and various logistic regression models. (Last offered for M.A. students, Spring 2018)
Constructionist Approaches to Social Problems
This course takes a constructionist approach to the study of social problems. We will focus not only on the objective and measurable occurrences of social problems, but also on their interpretation. How do troublesome conditions rise to the level of "social problem"? Who gets to decide what is defined as a problem and what is not? How do people respond to social problems in the form of social movements? How are interpretations of troublesome conditions integral to the direction of movements? (Last offered for undergraduates, Spring 2018)
Feminist Thought in Black History, Culture, and Politics
This advanced course examines the sociological issues that underlie the ways that African American women have negotiated their social, economic, and political lives as racial and gender minorities. The course uses African American women’s life experiences to challenge hegemonic notions of the categories “woman” and “black” during critical eras in African American history such as slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Power Movement, the Black Feminist movement, and the 21st century. (Last offered for undergraduates, Spring 2017)
Research Methods for the Social Sciences
Also designed for social science majors, this course surveys ontological and epistemological approaches to social scientific research with close attention to research ethics and research question construction. The course focuses equally on qualitative and quantitative methods and strongly encourages students to select methods that will answer their research questions; rather than avoid methods that seem difficult or gravitate to those which appear simple. (Last offered for M.A. students, Fall 2016)
Senior Research Seminar
Designed for sociology seniors who chose to carry out empirical research projects. This course will ensure that students are posing answerable research questions, have selected methods that fully answer these questions, support students through the data collection and analysis processes, assist students in preparing IRB forms, and work with students in crafting and executing a professional research presentation. (Last offered for undergraduates, Fall 2017)
Social Movements
This new course will examine social movement theory (collective behavior, resource mobilization, political process, framing, and new social movements) as well as the factors that gave rise to major social movements in U.S. history. (Last offered for undergraduates, Fall 2017)
Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
This course will examine historical and contemporary issues within the social scientific study of race in the U.S. We will also consider the diversity of racialization experiences within Asian, Black, Latino, Middle Eastern, Native American, and white cultures. (Last offered for undergraduates, Spring 2018)
This course, designed for students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees in the social sciences, introduces basic descriptive, inferential, and correlational statistical methods. The course emphasizes the importance of research questions and goals in statistical decision-making and focuses heavily on proper selection and interpretation of statistical processes. Graduates will pay special attention to multivariate statistical procedures as applied to ordinary least squares (OLS) and various logistic regression models. (Last offered for M.A. students, Spring 2018)
Constructionist Approaches to Social Problems
This course takes a constructionist approach to the study of social problems. We will focus not only on the objective and measurable occurrences of social problems, but also on their interpretation. How do troublesome conditions rise to the level of "social problem"? Who gets to decide what is defined as a problem and what is not? How do people respond to social problems in the form of social movements? How are interpretations of troublesome conditions integral to the direction of movements? (Last offered for undergraduates, Spring 2018)
Feminist Thought in Black History, Culture, and Politics
This advanced course examines the sociological issues that underlie the ways that African American women have negotiated their social, economic, and political lives as racial and gender minorities. The course uses African American women’s life experiences to challenge hegemonic notions of the categories “woman” and “black” during critical eras in African American history such as slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Power Movement, the Black Feminist movement, and the 21st century. (Last offered for undergraduates, Spring 2017)
Research Methods for the Social Sciences
Also designed for social science majors, this course surveys ontological and epistemological approaches to social scientific research with close attention to research ethics and research question construction. The course focuses equally on qualitative and quantitative methods and strongly encourages students to select methods that will answer their research questions; rather than avoid methods that seem difficult or gravitate to those which appear simple. (Last offered for M.A. students, Fall 2016)
Senior Research Seminar
Designed for sociology seniors who chose to carry out empirical research projects. This course will ensure that students are posing answerable research questions, have selected methods that fully answer these questions, support students through the data collection and analysis processes, assist students in preparing IRB forms, and work with students in crafting and executing a professional research presentation. (Last offered for undergraduates, Fall 2017)
Social Movements
This new course will examine social movement theory (collective behavior, resource mobilization, political process, framing, and new social movements) as well as the factors that gave rise to major social movements in U.S. history. (Last offered for undergraduates, Fall 2017)
Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
This course will examine historical and contemporary issues within the social scientific study of race in the U.S. We will also consider the diversity of racialization experiences within Asian, Black, Latino, Middle Eastern, Native American, and white cultures. (Last offered for undergraduates, Spring 2018)