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So­ci­ol­ogy is the field of study that takes up to ex­plain so­cial, po­lit­i­cal, cul­tural and eco­nomic phe­nom­ena in terms of so­cial struc­tures, so­cial forces and group re­la­tions. The course in­tro­duces stu­dents to sev­eral so­ci­o­log­i­cal top­ics, in­clud­ing so­cial­iza­tion, cul­ture, the so­cial con­struc­tion of knowl­edge, in­equal­ity, so­cial strat­i­fi­ca­tion, so­cial in­sti­tu­tions such as re­li­gion, gov­ern­ment, fam­ily, race and eth­nic re­la­tions, poverty and de­viance, among oth­ers. So­ci­ol­ogy is the art of ask­ing ques­tions; big ques­tions such as “What is race?” or “How class struc­ture and so­cial strat­i­fi­ca­tion im­pacts peo­ple’s lives?”, “How cul­ture mat­ters?”, “Why states go to war?”, or more de­tailed and fo­cused ques­tions, like: “Why work­ing class chil­dren get work­ing class jobs?”, “How fast food chains im­pact Amer­i­can fam­ily re­la­tions?”, “How the so­cial media im­pact com­mu­ni­ca­tion?”, “How col­lege ed­u­ca­tion has changed over the past decades?” Ac­quir­ing the con­cep­tual and method­olog­i­cal tools to ad­dress more broad but also nar­rower so­ci­o­log­i­cal ques­tions of that kind is one of the main ob­jec­tives of this course. While so­ci­ol­ogy as­sumes that human ac­tions are pat­terned, it also sug­gests that in­di­vid­u­als have ample of room to change their con­di­tions and di­rect so­cial change. In that sense the quest to un­der­stand so­ci­ety is im­por­tant and al­ways ur­gent, for if we can­not un­der­stand the so­cial world that we live in, we are more likely to be over­whelmed and ul­ti­mately in­ca­pac­i­tated by it. As a spe­cial­ist, the so­ci­ol­o­gist sys­tem­at­i­cally gath­ers, processes and an­a­lyzes in­for­ma­tion with the ob­jec­tive to pro­vide in­sights into what is going on in a sit­u­a­tion, pre­sent al­ter­na­tives and often as­sist pol­icy-mak­ers in mak­ing in­formed de­ci­sions and for­mu­lat­ing poli­cies. So­ci­ol­ogy how­ever, and the so­ci­o­log­i­cal imag­i­na­tion is not the pre­rog­a­tive solely of spe­cial­ists. So­ci­ol­ogy, fur­ther than being a dis­ci­pline, a field in so­cial sci­ences, it con­sti­tutes a mode of think­ing. Think­ing so­ci­o­log­i­cally is also di­rectly re­lated to act­ing so­cially. An im­por­tant ob­jec­tive of this course is to learn how to think along­side oth­ers, con­nect our con­di­tion to those of oth­ers and un­der­stand the im­por­tance of not only think­ing but also act­ing col­lec­tively. The course, in ad­di­tion to the the­o­ret­i­cal texts as­signed for read­ing and analy­sis, in­cor­po­rates jour­nal­is­tic ac­counts of so­cial is­sues, au­to­bi­ogra­phies, mem­oirs, oral his­to­ries and ma­te­ri­als like pho­tographs and film, in order to en­cour­age stu­dents to ex­per­i­ment with orig­i­nal so­ci­o­log­i­cal re­search. Learn­ing, also, to apply so­ci­o­log­i­cal lan­guage and con­cepts to events and sit­u­a­tions we en­counter daily, like ‘so­ci­o­log­i­cal lo­ca­tion’ (iden­ti­ties like race, gen­der and class) and ‘so­cial in­sti­tu­tions’ (or­ga­nized en­ti­ties that struc­ture so­ci­ety, like ed­u­ca­tion and re­li­gion) is of key im­por­tance. By the end of the course, stu­dents should be well on their way to de­vel­op­ing their own ‘so­ci­o­log­i­cal imag­i­na­tion.’

Sociology is the field of study that takes up to explain social, political, cultural and economic phenomena in terms of social structures, social forces and group relations. The course introduces students to several sociological topics, including socialization, culture, the social construction of knowledge, inequality, social stratification, social institutions such as religion, government, family, race and ethnic relations, poverty and deviance, among others. Sociology is the art of asking questions; big questions such as “What is race?” or “How class structure and social stratification impacts people’s lives?”, “How culture matters?”, “Why states go to war?”, or more detailed and focused questions, like: “Why working class children get working class jobs?”, “How fast food chains impact American family relations?”, “How the social media impact communication?”, “How college education has changed over the past decades?” Acquiring the conceptual and methodological tools to address more broad but also narrower sociological questions of that kind is one of the main objectives of this course. While sociology assumes that human actions are patterned, it also suggests that individuals have ample of room to change their conditions and direct social change. In that sense the quest to understand society is important and always urgent, for if we cannot understand the social world that we live in, we are more likely to be overwhelmed and ultimately incapacitated by it. As a specialist, the sociologist systematically gathers, processes and analyzes information with the objective to provide insights into what is going on in a situation, present alternatives and often assist policy-makers in making informed decisions and formulating policies. Sociology however, and the sociological imagination is not the prerogative solely of specialists. Sociology, further than being a discipline, a field in social sciences, it constitutes a mode of thinking. Thinking sociologically is also directly related to acting socially. An important objective of this course is to learn how to think alongside others, connect our condition to those of others and understand the importance of not only thinking but also acting collectively. The course, in addition to the theoretical texts assigned for reading and analysis, incorporates journalistic accounts of social issues, autobiographies, memoirs, oral histories and materials like photographs and film, in order to encourage students to experiment with original sociological research. Learning, also, to apply sociological language and concepts to events and situations we encounter daily, like ‘sociological location’ (identities like race, gender and class) and ‘social institutions’ (organized entities that structure society, like education and religion) is of key importance. By the end of the course, students should be well on their way to developing their own ‘sociological imagination.’

This First Year Learn­ing Com­mu­nity course com­bines ENG 1101, CST 1100 and CST 1101 to in­tro­duce stu­dents to col­lege-level writ­ing as well as cre­ate a text-based ad­ven­ture game.

This First Year Learning Community course combines ENG 1101, CST 1100 and CST 1101 to introduce students to college-level writing as well as create a text-based adventure game.

This course will focus on es­sen­tial crit­i­cal think­ing, read­ing, and writ­ing abil­i­ties that you will come to use in this class, in all of your other classes, and be­yond, in the pro­fes­sion­al­ized work­ing world. The point, and my role, is not to tell you what ex­actly to write, not even nec­es­sar­ily how to write, but to offer a struc­tured forum in which you can learn the un­der­ly­ing, prac­ti­cal pro­ce­dures used to ap­proach any writ­ing or read­ing sit­u­a­tion. We will call these dif­fer­ing tex­tual sit­u­a­tions “rhetor­i­cal sit­u­a­tions” and we will call this process of teach­ing meth­ods (rather than in­for­ma­tion) “trans­fer”. Through en­gag­ing dif­fer­ent rhetor­i­cal sit­u­a­tions, we will begin to con­sider who is speak­ing, who they are speak­ing to/for, and why they’re even speak­ing at all! Through per­sonal ex­plo­ration, rhetor­i­cal analy­sis, and re­search, we will also look at the vary­ing so­cial con­texts in which some kind of spe­cific mean­ing is ex­changed. The class will in­volve as­sign­ments en­gag­ing with a wide range of media and how these media ex­press the world we in­habit. While the goals of this course are com­mu­nal, one’s jour­ney through writ­ing is in­tensely per­sonal, and with that in mind, we will fos­ter an en­vi­ron­ment in which our unique voices, styles, and dis­po­si­tions can be heard and cri­tiqued as we en­gage im­por­tant so­cial, cul­tural, and ex­is­ten­tial re­al­i­ties. And fi­nally, we are here, my­self in­cluded, to grow as thinkers and writ­ers.

This course will focus on essential critical thinking, reading, and writing abilities that you will come to use in this class, in all of your other classes, and beyond, in the professionalized working world. The point, and my role, is not to tell you what exactly to write, not even necessarily how to write, but to offer a structured forum in which you can learn the underlying, practical procedures used to approach any writing or reading situation. We will call these differing textual situations “rhetorical situations” and we will call this process of teaching methods (rather than information) “transfer”. Through engaging different rhetorical situations, we will begin to consider who is speaking, who they are speaking to/for, and why they’re even speaking at all! Through personal exploration, rhetorical analysis, and research, we will also look at the varying social contexts in which some kind of specific meaning is exchanged. The class will involve assignments engaging with a wide range of media and how these media express the world we inhabit. While the goals of this course are communal, one’s journey through writing is intensely personal, and with that in mind, we will foster an environment in which our unique voices, styles, and dispositions can be heard and critiqued as we engage important social, cultural, and existential realities. And finally, we are here, myself included, to grow as thinkers and writers.