TRAILS, a peer-reviewed digital teaching resources library developed by the American Sociological Association (ASA), is an innovative educational tool that provides sociology teachers with access to thousands of teaching resources. Launched on May 25, 2010, the website offers many useful features, such as a searchable database of peer-reviewed teaching resources and the ability to customize presented content based on the interests of the subscriber. The types of resources that can be found on TRAILS include syllabi, assignments, class activities, lectures, PowerPoint slides, and assessments. Resources published in TRAILS have been through a strong, two-stage process of peer review based in empirically proven best practices in pedagogy. Access is free for ASA members and available at a discounted price for nonmembers in Department Affiliate departments. Submission instructions for TRAILS can be found at https://trails.asanet.org/about/submissions. Questions regarding TRAILS can be directed to the editor, Dr. Stephanie Medley-Rath, at trails@asanet.org.
Assignments
“Embracing Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom: Sociology, AI, and the Future of Writing.” Tamika Odum. AREA: Introduction to Sociology/Social Problems, Socialization. Writing assistance using artificial intelligence (AI) made its way into the mainstream in the early 1980s. Since then, technology has become more sophisticated. Today, instructors must grapple with the notion of embracing (or not) the world of AI in our classrooms. There are many challenges associated with the use of AI in the classroom; however, this activity helps students learn how to effectively use AI as a tool for writing and a source of learning. In addition, this activity also helps students learn the pitfalls of relying on AI-generated text for learning, writing, and completing assignments.
“Was Marx Right? The Value of Thoughtful Ambivalence When Studying and Using Social Theory.” Michel Estefan. AREA: Economic Sociology, Marxist Sociology, Political Sociology, Teaching and Learning in Sociology, Theory. This assignment is designed to cultivate in students an approach to studying and applying social theory based on thoughtful ambivalence. Thoughtful ambivalence is a skill, a habit of mind, and a value. As a skill, thoughtful ambivalence is the ability to identify what is useful and what is unhelpful about a social theory for understanding the social world. As a habit of mind, it is an intellectual disposition that centers nuance in its understanding of social theory, an orientation that views theories as potentially helpful but always incomplete maps of the social world. As a value, it is a moral commitment to the importance of ambiguity, limitations, tensions, and contradictions in social theories as safeguards against dogmatism and simplistic understandings of the social world. In practice, the assignment I propose asks students to consider Marx’s ideas while reading brief statements about the economic life of 10 Americans living today. Then, they are asked to decide and justify what they believe Marx got right and what he got wrong in light of these stories. To conclude, students write a short reflection explaining how this assignment has influenced their view about the value and limitations of social theory.
Class Activities
“A Content Analysis of Bereavement Cards.” Deeb Kitchen. AREA: Children and Youth, Language/Social Linguistics, Other, Qualitative Methodology. The language we use to discuss death reveals much about our social norms and cultural practices regarding bereavement. This classroom activity engages students in a content and discourse analysis of bereavement cards, with a focus on the sociolinguistic choices that reflect societal attitudes toward death and grieving. Students will scrutinize the language and imagery employed in these cards, discerning direct versus indirect references to death, the prevalence of euphemisms, and the sociocultural implications of such discourse. Following the sociological theories of Goffman (1963) on stigma and Foucault (1980) on discursive construction, students will explore how the language used in bereavement cards both reflects and shapes our experiences and expressions of grief. This analysis is extended by contrasting the findings from adult targeted cards with those intended for children, revealing potential differences in societal expectations of how grief is processed and expressed at different ages. Through this activity, students will gain insights into the discursive construction of death and bereavement in American culture and practice content analysis. This activity draws on Charmaz’s (1980) work on the social reality of death and the concept of “awareness of dying” and Walter’s (1996) discussion on the “revival of death,” which emphasizes how modern societies have transformed the visibility of death. This activity also considers DeSpelder and Strickland’s (2019) perspectives on the changing death system in America and how this is reflected in death-related communication. By analyzing bereavement cards—a medium through which norms are both reflected and perpetuated—students will engage with the sociological implications of these theories, applying them to understand how everyday artifacts contribute to the social construction of death.
“Understanding Crime Data through a Cooperative Learning Activity.” Cody Warner. AREA: Criminal Justice, Criminology/Delinquency. The amount of crime in our society, if that amount is going up or down, and what that all means has become a contested and contentious issue. In this small-group activity, students in criminology or criminal justice courses use the jigsaw method to learn about crime data and crime trends by collaborating to create descriptive handouts about crime. Students also consider shortcomings of our data collection efforts and stakeholders in crime and victimization data. It is designed to promote curiosity and connection and create social value (the 3 Cs of the entrepreneurial mindset). It is meant to be completed in a single class and uses the jigsaw approach, in which students are members of multiple groups during the activity and everyone participates.
“From Theory to Practice: Can Our Theories Combat Crime?” Cody Warner. AREA: Criminology/Delinquency. A range of theoretical perspectives in criminology seek to account for why some individuals engage in criminal behaviors and others do not. In this small-group activity, students in criminology or criminal justice courses use a modified DENT framework to translate theories of crime causation into proposed interventions. It is designed to promote curiosity and connection and create social value (the 3 Cs of the entrepreneurial mindset). In the DENT approach, students define a problem, explore solutions, narrow to a specific solution, and test that solution (or here, propose a test). Each group produces a handout overviewing how theories of crime causation can be used to explain the occurrence of frequently occurring crimes in the United States. The activity is meant to be completed in a single class.
“Medicalizing Birth: Using the DENT Framework to Consider Conflicting Options.” Kaylin Greene. AREA: Medical Sociology, Social Welfare/Social Work. In this activity, students work together in teams to apply their critical thinking skills and their understanding of the medicalization of birth to a hypothetical scenario. The activity uses a modified DENT framework in which students are given an ill-defined problem and asked to (1) describe the problem(s), (2) explore ideas and solutions, (3) narrow the solutions, and (4) test the solution. The goal is for students to think critically about a problem scenario, consider diverging viewpoints related to the medicalization of birth, and create institutional and individual solutions. The activity is designed to fit within a class period and is best suited for upper division undergraduate courses such as the Sociology of Health or Medical Sociology. In addition, the activity was created to develop the 3 Cs (curiosity, connection, and creating value) of an entrepreneurial mindset.
“Gender Wage Gap Activity.” Anjel Stough-Hunter and Kathleen Gorman-Ezell. AREA: High School Sociology, Introduction to Sociology/Social Problems, Occupations/Professions, Sex and Gender, Stratification/Mobility. This active learning group activity asks students to explore data and articles on factors that contribute to the gender wage gap. After a time of exploration, they share their results with their peers and engage in a guided discussion about the information they learned. In doing so, students critically evaluate the gender wage gap and propose strategies for addressing this gap. Students leave class aware of the nuances in discussions of the gender wage gap and prepared to engage in conversations with others about this gap.
“Understanding Labeling and Collateral Consequences through a Cooperative Learning Activity.” Cody Warner. AREA: Criminal Justice, Criminology/Delinquency. A criminal record or period of incarceration can result in social exclusion and diminished citizenship. In this small-group activity, students in criminology or criminal justice courses use the jigsaw method learn about labeling theory and the consequences of a criminal record by collaborating to produce handouts on the formal and informal collateral consequences of a criminal label. It is designed to promote curiosity and connection and create social value (the 3 Cs of the entrepreneurial mindset). It is meant to be completed in a single class and uses the jigsaw approach, in which students are members of multiple groups during the activity and everyone participates. Each group produces a handout overviewing collateral consequences, the school-to-prison pipeline, and the “ban-the-box” movement.
Syllabi
“Social Theory Syllabus.” Daniel Morrison. AREA: Theory. Syllabus for course in Social Theory, which includes authors solidly within the sociological canon and beyond. Students are required to either complete a semester paper explaining why a social problem exists using social theory or create an independent, “free range” project, such as an imagined dialogue between two or more theorists, a mixtape, or other creative work.
“Sociology of Organizations Syllabus.” Jacqueline Zalewski. AREA: Organizations, Formal and Complex, Small Groups, Social Networks, Social Organization. This course focuses on the structure and essential features of social groups, the value of social networks for accessing organizations and social mobility, gender dynamics, power hierarchies, the “vanishing” hierarchical organization and its implications for ongoing jobs, and the growth of “all edge adhocracies” and their flexible social organization.
“Sexualities & Society Syllabus.” Jamie O’Quinn. AREA: Sex and Gender, Sexualities. This course provides students with an introduction to the sociology of sexualities, exploring how sex and sexuality are socially constructed, experienced, regulated, and contested in society. The course is organized into three units: (1) sociological theories of sexuality; (2) sexual bodies, identities, practices, and relationship structures; and (3) the regulation, criminalization, and contestation of sexualities in society. Students are assessed through quizzes, in-class activities, written assignments, and a final creative project. This syllabus was originally designed for a 45-student upper division course cross-listed in Sociology and Gender and Sexuality Studies. However, it could be adapted for any size and level.
