Hi all: There are some really interesting issues Erin brings up, and I try to do much of the same in my classes. I hope the students will walk away wanting to be a responsible member of the community (local, national, and world), having some tools to do so, and to get away from the thinking that probably many, if not all of us, hold at some time/in some circumstances - "It's all about me...."
The examples Del notes as "boooogus" are also interesting in that I see them as supporting just what Erin is saying. The Duke rape is certainly, on the personal level, an awful event -- a personal trouble -- but it is rooted in the larger public issues of racism, sexism, misogyny, etc.; Enron rooted in class structures of priviledge and power; mental illness in the larger structure that define deviance and responses, and enforce those responses, etc. That doesn't mean the people involved in these events cannot be helped at a micro level. And some might argue that the macro view is a depressing view - larger forces are at work constraining our lives so we are hapless pawns, etc. However, perhaps being able to make these larger connections can be empowering to those involved/harmed (and others who think they should not be repeated). Perhaps it means things such as "you are not alone", and offers a perspective other than victim-blaming, and a framework within which problems can be understood/addressed/changed. Just my 2 cents for a Saturday morning before I'm off to do a recruitment day at school, Kathy Kathy Stolley Assistant Professor of Sociology Virginia Wesleyan College 1584 Wesleyan Drive Norfolk, VA 23502 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 3."personal troubles are often rooted in public issues." How booogus is > that. tell that to the woman who was raped by the Duke students > or the Enron employees ..... or those who are patients in mental > hospitals.... or better yet the family of a person who committed suicide. Del Thomas Ph. D. wrote: > Erin, > > Give me a break. Rather than explain upward mobility research ........we > 1. tell the student that only the examined life is really worth living. > Who are we to tell anyone what is worth living? > 2. Your solution "learning how to overcome them through social action" > places the burden on the student in the tradition > of the puritan ....... far more damaging that the alternatives. > This is a classic example of the teacher/preacher approach that has > weakened our educational system. An escape from sociology > that is really damaging because it looks like we are pushing our > agenda/ideology. This is not science. > 3."personal troubles are often rooted in public issues." How booogus is > that. tell that to the woman who was raped by the Duke students > or the Enron employees ..... or those who are patients in mental > hospitals.... or better yet the family of a person who committed suicide. > > Some of these folks have social problems not personal troubles. We > should provide social solutions not demean their life > or send them out to change the world. > > Del > > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > I would tell the student that only the examined life is really worth > > living. It is much more viable to strive towards social mobility while > > understanding that personal troubles are often rooted in public issues. > > Realizing that structural barriers and vested interests may stand in > > your way and learning how to overcome them through social action is > > much better than struggling and failing and then blaming yourself, your > > genes, or a wrathful god! I teach my first year students that sociology > > is the equivalent of "Defense Against the Dark Arts" from the Harry > > Potter books. Forewarned is forearmed. > > > > Erin Steuter > > Mount Allison University > > > > > > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Teaching Sociology" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/teachsoc -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
