Quiz Results: Social Research Going Deep and Wide

This is another of the series of posts meant to clear up some confusion that seemed to characterize the last quiz.

Out of all the multiple choice questions, those that were most frequently selected incorrectly, had to do with ethnography.  Ethnography is the most in-depth of the social research methods. It involves immersion within a group of people.  For ethnography, it's essential to "be there," to "walk in the shoes" of other people.  This helps untangle how other people see the world, their cultural lens, and to encounter aspects of human social life you didn't even know your were looking for.  Subsequently, ethnography gets you the most detail, but at a cost.  That detail means you're getting a narrow slice of the total human experience.

On the other hand, surveys can potentially uncover social data from vast numbers of people.  For example, the US Census can really be considered a massive sociological research project.  It's collecting data on hundreds of millions of US citizens. That's a lot of important information, however, that data is shallow in an ethnographic sense.

Surveys go wide and ethnography goes deep.  Both are critical for a comprehensive understanding of human social behavior.


Compare this brief description by Ashley Mears of her ethnographic research....



...to Joel Best and his work into the reality of assumed deviant behavior.

 

Quiz Results: What is Race?

I just finished grading the first quiz and wanted to note one of the questions that was incorrectly marked fairly often. 

What important fact about racial identity is key to understanding the social context of race?

A) Racial identity is genetically determined and a fundamental natural component of human social identity
B) Racial identity is set in infants as early as three months.
C) Racial identity can change according to the kinds of institutions with which we are connected.
D) Racial identity has no significance in modern America.

The correct response is C, though several of you selected A.  We'll dedicate an entire chapter to this later in the semester, but this is central to sociology, represents one of the disciplines major contributions to our understanding of the world and, from the quiz results, seems to be frequently misunderstood.

I'm going to try and be as concise as possible as many have written volumes on the subject.

Patterns of human genetic variation (i.e. differences) don't show clear boundaries between different human groups, or "races." Each human carries about 30,000 individual genes in their bodies.  Where could anyone draw the line as to which specific gene or genes define race?  Why is one more important than another? What proportion of "Caucasian" genes is enough? Put simply, genetic variation provides little basis for the racial categories we understand.

Also, definitions of race vary widely in time and space. In early US history, many European peoples weren't considered white by American elites. In 1751, Benjamin Franklin wrote:

All Africa is black or tawny. Asia chiefly tawny. America (exclusive of the new Comers) wholly so. And in Europe, the Spaniards, Italians, French, Russians and Swedes, are generally of what we call a swarthy Complexion; as are the Germans also, the Saxons only excepted, who with the English, make the principal Body of White People on the Face of the Earth.

As you can see,  he considered many, who contemporary Americans would have no trouble classifying as white, as non-white.

Further, different parts of the world use very difference racial classification systems.  In recent American history, we have practiced a pattern of racial classification known as hypodescent.  This means that a person's identity is determined by any demonstrable heritage to a stigmatized racial group.  An easy example, President Obama is black, despite his mother being a very white woman from Kansas.  That wasn't important for how most saw him.  What was important was that his father was black, so he was black.  In many Latin American countries, particularly Brazil, such a system seems silly as their classifications, while still shaped by stratification and hierarchy, are more nuanced and accommodate a more diverse spectrum of racial identities.

I know this brief post doesn't do the idea justice, but I had to make some comment that there is very little genetic science that supports the existence of genetically defined races and sociology, anthropology and history clearly demonstrate that race is primarily the product of human belief and behavior.

First Blog Instructions

This chapter introduces the fundamental idea that specific social contexts shape the experiences and identities of individuals.  This is the core of what is called the sociological imagination, which as C. Wright Mills noted is the intersection of biography and history.

 

Because this assignment is your introduction to “Introduction to Sociology,” I am asking you to write a blog post that examines your own life with the sociological imagination in mind--how does your biography inersect with history?  

• In a clear and structured blog post, first describe the importance of the sociological imagination in understanding the experience of individuals. You’ll obviously be using the text as a reference, but put this description in your own words to demonstrate your understanding of the concept.

• Next, examine your own life in terms of the specific social contexts (families, communities, organizations, institutions, economic, political contexts) outlined in section 2 (Why Do Social Contexts Matter?, the bulleted list on pg. 13 serves as a guide) of Chapter 1. To further shape or stimulate your thinking, you should also reflect on the questions (in the bulleted list) under the section “Sociological Questions: An Example.”  
• In your summary/conclusion, discuss how this consideration of social contexts has expanded your view of human life.

 

This post needs not be an exhaustive social-autobiography...throughout the semester, we will continue to fill in details.

 

Reference Cited

Manza, Jeff, Lynne Haney and Richard Arum

 2013 The Sociological Imagination. In The Sociology Project, edited by the NYU Sociology Department, pp 2-25. Pearson.

Screen Tour of Blogger Settings

Here's a quick screen tour of the settings page on Blogger.  I hope this clears up some of the confusion.

Let me know if you have more questions.

Welcome to Sociology 101 Online

Just a quick welcome video...also embedded in Angel

Structure of Course Assignments and Grading

This post is from the most important part of the syllabus for Soc 101 DL and will also be available on the Angel site once it's open.  For those interested, however, I wanted to let you get a sense of what's to come a little bit early.

For this class, you will need to use a number of online tools, including and in addition to the main Angel shell.  Below, I will describe three online platforms that will be used during the course of the semester.  Over the course of the semester, you should access each of these platforms at least three times a week.  

It’s imperative that you get familiar with and activate all of these sites as soon as possible. After the first week, we will be moving very quickly through the semester.  Don’t let yourself fall behind.

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Angel

The Angel shell is the primary “home” of the course.  If you have access to the Angel shell, you are registered in the course.  Throughout the semester, you will need to visit the Angel shell to view course documents (e.g. syllabus), your official gradebook (only visible to you and the instructor) and weekly quizzes (LINK to description of quizzes).

Quizzes--For each folder, you will complete a quiz based on the chapter’s content.  Quizzes are primarily multiple choice in format, though three to four short answer questions are also included. You will have 60 minutes to complete the quiz.

After quizzes are submitted, I will review to determine if some particular material was difficult for the class to fully learn.  I then may add an additional discussion board to expand on that material.

Discussion Board Participation--For each chapter, you will also participate in at least one discussion board.  I will post instructions for each board regarding requirements for adequate participation (e.g. number of posts and comments a student will be responsible for), so be sure to note those requirements.  Posts may relate to text reading or video lectures/clips posted in the folder.

You will not be able to read other students' posts until you have made your own.

I will also use discussion boards to expand upon material that student quiz results suggest more instruction is needed.  Be sure to keep up with these discussions as quiz questions may be added to subsequent quizzes to re-assess learning of concepts and material that had proved difficult.

• Assignment Checklist for Angel: Weekly chapter quizzes and discussion board participation.  During fall and spring semesters, quizzes are due each Wednesday at 2pm.  Discussion board due dates will be posted in the instructions for each post--this requires you check the site at least once a day.

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Outside of Angel, we will use a number of social media sites--this is sociology after all.  As soon as you activate your Blogger, and Google+ accounts notify me.  All class members will be linked to everyone else on these sites.

It may seem annoying to have to keep track of and navigate so many sites, but for me, this is a small price to pay to take full advantage of the learning resources we can easily access.  
I also bet that many of you already use and shift between several different online accounts.

During the first week of the class, you should activate your accounts on these platforms and alert me.
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Blogger

Blogger is a free service that allows the creation of individual blogs.  You can activate a Blogger account with your sunyorange.edu email account.

On nearly a weekly basis, you will be responsible for writing, editing and publishing short posts (about 500 words, give or take) that address some specific question or discussion point provided by the instructor.  These posts will often also require you to find some outside sources to incorporate into your writings. Each folder will include specific instructions for that chapter's post.



In addition to writing your own posts on your own blog, you will also “follow” your classmates blogs and comment on their posts. 

To successfully complete this assignment you will usually need to complete outside research, such as finding a recent news story (from the current year, 2011) from a reputable news source (New York Times, BBC, Washington Post, etc.) that supports your analysis. 

Occasionally, you will need to do research into academic literature or analyze video clips found on the internet.  In each assignment, you must cite specific terms and concepts from the textbook as well as all outside information that you gather.

 

• Assignment checklist for Blogger: Weekly blog posts and comments on other students’ posts.  During fall and spring semesters, posts are due by Sunday evening at 7pm.  During the summer, check calendar dates and Angel and Google+ announcements.
  

I will comment on student blog posts as well, though grading feedback will be communicated privately between myself and the student.

In the following video, I lead you through the process of setting up your Blogger account.  It's quick, however, so you'll likely have additional questions.  Please ask questions as soon as you run into problems so that you do not fall behind.  For instance, I suggest all students set their blog to "private" and add the instructor and other students as "readers."  This way, we'll be sure to keep our work private, unless you wish to make it open.



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Google+

Because sunyorange.edu email accounts are administered by Google, we also have the ability to activate Google+ profiles (link to instructions).  If you haven’t done so already, look at the upper left corner of your inbox screen for “you+”  

I will establish a circle for the class.  This means that when I post and you respond to my posts, only other members of the class will be able to view.  Same goes for the hangouts (see next paragraph).
 


Google+ hangouts (web cam meetings) will also be scheduled once a week.  Participation in these meetings isn’t required, but can provide the opportunity for face to face interaction.

• Assignment checklist for Google+: Nothing specifically.  This platform will simply serve as another venue for interaction among class members.  While these chats won't be graded, I strongly encourage you to check the posts at least once every two days (definitely once a chapter) to be sure you're on the same page with me and the rest of the class.
  

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Important Note about Sources: In most assignments, you will be asked to use information from the textbook, outside published works and website sources.  Whenever you do so, be sure to cite that source in the body of your text and include a hyperlink if possible.  Also, in Blog posts, include a Works Cited section at the end of your post where you list bibliographic information of all sources.  In discussion boards, provide some description of your source within the text of your response...such as if you found statistics from the Census Bureau.

Also, when using information from other sources, do not use direct quotes.  I want all concepts and ideas from other sources paraphrased into your own words.  This practice assists in getting a greater sense of the material you're studying.

Grade Weighting

Blog Posts	40%
Quizzes	35%
Discussion Boards	25%
Total	100%

Basic Info about the Course

This is the email I sent out last week...just wanted to post it for newly registered students to reference.

Because the summer schedule is compressed into six weeks, it's important to hit the ground running.  Please get the assigned text, The Sociology Project: Introducing the Sociological Imagination before the course begins...here's a link:
http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/product/Sociology-Project-The-Introducing-the-Sociological-Imagination/9780205093823.page 

I've been teaching this class for several years, but am revamping it significantly for this session, so I'm excited and have a renewed enthusiasm for the course.  In addition to the new textbook, we're going to experiment with two new online platforms as part of the course.  Both of these platforms are available via your sunyorange.edu gmail account (you're reading this email, so I'm assuming you're looking at a similar screen).

• First, Google+.  If you're not already familiar, look to the upper left corner of your screen.  You should see a link that says "you+"  Click on that link and activate your Google+ account.  I will establish a circle for the class and post some announcements there over the course of the semester (as such, you'll likely soon get some alert from me that you've been added to a circle).  Also, I plan on holder regular "hangouts," which are webcam chats that can allow for a bit more face-to-face interaction.

• Second, we will also be using Blogger for posting our written assignments.  If you look at the top of this screen and see the link labeled "More," you can highlight it and a drop down menu will appear.  Blogger is one of the choices.  Select it and activate your own personal blog.  I encourage you to set the access to "private."  Once you set up your account, look for mine http://harrissociologyonline.blogspot.com/ and "follow" it.  Once you do, I will follow your account.  This will all make more sense once you explore the site more and the class gets going.

• Of course, though, Angel will be the primary platform for course activities and that shell will be open the weekend of May 18.

We've still got a few weeks before the class begins, but the quicker you familiarize yourself with the site and the platforms we'll be using, the better.  

Feel free to contact me with any questions you have.

Figuring Things Out

I've just added all the summer session I students as "readers" to this blog, so you should be able to access it...(of course you can, you're reading it aren't you...what a dumb thing for a professor to write).

This platform is an experiment this semester, so your help and feedback is greatly appreciated.