Yesterday, I was speaking with two members of my cohort, and we came up with a new section for the ASA. You've got it, the Sociology of Women Who Have Cats.
This was pretty funny to us for awhile, I have to admit. There are so many random sections of the ASA now that this did not seem any more random (although I do admit that it is stranger than Astro-sociology and the Animals and Society sections). Here, we're bridging the study of gender with the study of animals in society. Woo-hoo!
What's interesting to me a lot of times is how compartmentalized we like to be in sociology. I think this is actually to our detriment. So, for example, instead of having the Sociology of Organizations, of which Education, Religion, Work, the Space Program, etc. are subcategories, we have five different sections. I believe that every one of them is important, and deserves credit, but if we're really trying to create general theory about organizations, wouldn't we want to test our theory on the wide variety of organizations there are in order to find out generalizable patterns about organizations as a whole?
You may think I've veered off topic here, but the point is that creating artificial distinctions between subdisciplines in sociology is not helping to foster cross-subdiscipline discussions of general patterns. The super-macro people may disagree with me here, but doesn't all sociology ultimately boil down to three things: organizations, networks, and social psychological processes? And, if I'm correct, wouldn't we all want to be working towards better understanding those areas by testing our general theories on more spheres, which just means expanding our scope conditions?
I don't think we're ever going to be treated as a "real" science until we can come up with universal theories about social behavior that are as robust as the theory of evolution and the theory of gravity. We won't do that by stomping our feet and camping out in our own corners of "Sociology Land."
So, to get back to the Sociology of Women Who Have Cats...at breakfast, I was speaking with my husband about where we might study such women and their cats. We came up with the following places, and research questions we might want to answer: the work environment (What happens when women bring their cats to work?); in the home (Are cats part of the family network? What role-identity would cats have?); at the park (What happens when women with cats bring their cats to the park and there are lots of dogs?); and my personal favorite, in space (How do women with cats interact with men with dogs on a spaceship?).*
*This last one, actually, reminds me somewhat of the old Muppets sketch, "Pigs in Space," only here we would have "Women Who Have Cats in Space."**
**Just pretend a woman is there - the picture was too funny not to use it.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Practicing Idealism
I find that I often take time to report about my bad students on this blog, and neglect to point out the awesome students that I do have. I think we all have a tendency to do this from time to time, and unfortunately, the general trend in education is not necessarily towards "bad" students, but definitely tends towards lazy, unmotivated students who aren't used to taking responsibility for their education.*
However, this past week and a half, I have had students making excellent points and asking thought-provoking questions (I also had almost an entire room full of 55 students who didn't do the reading the day their paper was due, but that's a different story). The two comments that stick out the most follow. I long to teach roomfulls of such students someday.
This comment came the class after my students were asking me where stratification comes from (which is cool in and of itself):
"Don't you think that stratification is so ingrained into humans that it's probably just a result of our evolution?"
"Yes, yes, yes!!!" said Practicing Idealist, jumping up and down (I didn't actually jump up and down, but I was inside).
This comment came during review for an exam:
"So, I understand how Marx thought the structure of society (i.e., capitalism) was the cause of all other social consequences, but how does culture fit into his theory? Or did he discuss culture at all?"
These comments both clearly showed that some of my students are thinking about the material in my course, and I'm trying to remind myself to remember the proportion of students who are motivated to learn on the days when I despair. The are out there.
After teaching for awhile I've come to the conclusion that being a good teacher is one of the hardest jobs in our society (it's easy to be a bad teacher - we can all come up with multiple examples of them). This means, however, that bad students can lower the morale of good teachers faster than anything else. So, my new plan is to teach to the students who meet me halfway and are motivated to learn. In class discussion, therefore, beyond cursory review of the day's article, I start asking the students to talk about what interested them in the readings. This means that the students who haven't done the readings are probably left in the dust quite quickly, but it's not my job to hold their hands. I would much rather teach to the students who are thinking about the material, and have thoughtful, intelligent conversations with them.
Perhaps this makes me insensitive to the needs of the whole class, but I can only be as effective as my students are prepared.
*I blame two major things for this trend: 1) policies like No Child Left Behind, which encourage teachers to teach to the test if they want to keep their jobs, and thus promote a culture of non-creativity and non-curiosity in the classroom from a young age; 2) the "self-esteem movement" that started roughly 20 years ago, and promotes feeling good about yourself as the end-all/be-all, rather than encouraging students to achieve in order to reap the rewards of high self-esteem. We know that it's easier to change behaviors than it is to change beliefs, so it should come as no surprise that teaching students that they are incredibly awesome, without the substance to back it up, is going to lead to some disastrous consequences when they are actually asked to perform in order to get an "A."
However, this past week and a half, I have had students making excellent points and asking thought-provoking questions (I also had almost an entire room full of 55 students who didn't do the reading the day their paper was due, but that's a different story). The two comments that stick out the most follow. I long to teach roomfulls of such students someday.
This comment came the class after my students were asking me where stratification comes from (which is cool in and of itself):
"Don't you think that stratification is so ingrained into humans that it's probably just a result of our evolution?"
"Yes, yes, yes!!!" said Practicing Idealist, jumping up and down (I didn't actually jump up and down, but I was inside).
This comment came during review for an exam:
"So, I understand how Marx thought the structure of society (i.e., capitalism) was the cause of all other social consequences, but how does culture fit into his theory? Or did he discuss culture at all?"
These comments both clearly showed that some of my students are thinking about the material in my course, and I'm trying to remind myself to remember the proportion of students who are motivated to learn on the days when I despair. The are out there.
After teaching for awhile I've come to the conclusion that being a good teacher is one of the hardest jobs in our society (it's easy to be a bad teacher - we can all come up with multiple examples of them). This means, however, that bad students can lower the morale of good teachers faster than anything else. So, my new plan is to teach to the students who meet me halfway and are motivated to learn. In class discussion, therefore, beyond cursory review of the day's article, I start asking the students to talk about what interested them in the readings. This means that the students who haven't done the readings are probably left in the dust quite quickly, but it's not my job to hold their hands. I would much rather teach to the students who are thinking about the material, and have thoughtful, intelligent conversations with them.
Perhaps this makes me insensitive to the needs of the whole class, but I can only be as effective as my students are prepared.
*I blame two major things for this trend: 1) policies like No Child Left Behind, which encourage teachers to teach to the test if they want to keep their jobs, and thus promote a culture of non-creativity and non-curiosity in the classroom from a young age; 2) the "self-esteem movement" that started roughly 20 years ago, and promotes feeling good about yourself as the end-all/be-all, rather than encouraging students to achieve in order to reap the rewards of high self-esteem. We know that it's easier to change behaviors than it is to change beliefs, so it should come as no surprise that teaching students that they are incredibly awesome, without the substance to back it up, is going to lead to some disastrous consequences when they are actually asked to perform in order to get an "A."
Sunday, October 28, 2007
My New Identity
I recently got married. Things are going very well so far, and I wanted to make sure to introduce everyone on the blog to my new husband. To that end, I have posted wedding photos of us below, courtesy of Build Your Wild Self, via Wicked Anomie.
Any guesses on what our children will look like?
Any guesses on what our children will look like?
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Hooray!
Through Kristina B, I have discovered the blog "Rate Your Students." What a great idea! Professors can email in comments about their students, or just generally express concerns to other professors out there in cyberspace, and get feedback from others who share our pain. It's nice to know we're not alone.
So, while grading my students' exams yesterday, I ran across a choice sentence that could easily fit on "Rate Your Students." I asked my students to tell me what falsifiability means, and why it is so crucial to the scientific enterprise.* In response to the second half of the question, I got this response:
I think this quote speaks for itself. I really had nothing to comment but a resounding "No."
*Keep in mind, that the day my students learned about falsifiability and the "four pillars of science," was the day my fiance came to give a guest lecture. Let's just say, he's really into science (as some of you are all too aware), and so did an excellent job explaining falsifiability to the class. Therefore, I have little patience for answers like the one above. The lecture was so good, that one of my students went up to him and shook his hand at the end of the lecture!
So, while grading my students' exams yesterday, I ran across a choice sentence that could easily fit on "Rate Your Students." I asked my students to tell me what falsifiability means, and why it is so crucial to the scientific enterprise.* In response to the second half of the question, I got this response:
Sociology is always changing. The more things change, the more we learn, and even make educical guess on the next round of evolution.
I think this quote speaks for itself. I really had nothing to comment but a resounding "No."
*Keep in mind, that the day my students learned about falsifiability and the "four pillars of science," was the day my fiance came to give a guest lecture. Let's just say, he's really into science (as some of you are all too aware), and so did an excellent job explaining falsifiability to the class. Therefore, I have little patience for answers like the one above. The lecture was so good, that one of my students went up to him and shook his hand at the end of the lecture!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
UPDATE
On the up side, I just won the UK National Lottery!!! Here's what the email said:
Dear Winner, Your ticket number:56475600545 188 with Serial number 5368/05, drawlucky number: 29 Congratulations, you have just won yourself £500,000 in the satellite software email lottery conducted by UK NATIONALLOTTERY inwhich e-mail addresses are picked randomly by software powered bythe Internet.Your email address was amongst those chosen this quarterand you are to contact our Financial Controller for Clearance. Here arethe contact info: CLAIMS AGENTMr.Gray SpencerEmail:agentgrayspencer334@gmail.comyou are to forward the following details to enable us clear your file for immediate payment: Full Names: __Address: __Age: __Sex: __Marital Status: __Occupation: __Phone numbers: __Fax number: __Country: __Yours faithfully, UK NATIONAL LOTTERYUNITED KINGDOM.
It is certainly my lucky day. And yes, I am feeling bitter.
Dear Winner, Your ticket number:56475600545 188 with Serial number 5368/05, drawlucky number: 29 Congratulations, you have just won yourself £500,000 in the satellite software email lottery conducted by UK NATIONALLOTTERY inwhich e-mail addresses are picked randomly by software powered bythe Internet.Your email address was amongst those chosen this quarterand you are to contact our Financial Controller for Clearance. Here arethe contact info: CLAIMS AGENTMr.Gray SpencerEmail:agentgrayspencer334@gmail.comyou are to forward the following details to enable us clear your file for immediate payment: Full Names: __Address: __Age: __Sex: __Marital Status: __Occupation: __Phone numbers: __Fax number: __Country: __Yours faithfully, UK NATIONAL LOTTERYUNITED KINGDOM.
It is certainly my lucky day. And yes, I am feeling bitter.
Dissertation Hell
So, the name of this blog is appropriate today. I am in the midst of unraveling; the song "Running to Stand Still" comes to mind.
Today the problem is with the Institutional Review Board, wielders of considerable power and condescension. Namely, they said I could do something last spring that they are now recanting, which will cause a 10 fold increase in the time it will take me to collect data.
I should have never decided to do research on a protected population of human subjects. Canned data sets are looking very appealing right about now.
Today the problem is with the Institutional Review Board, wielders of considerable power and condescension. Namely, they said I could do something last spring that they are now recanting, which will cause a 10 fold increase in the time it will take me to collect data.
I should have never decided to do research on a protected population of human subjects. Canned data sets are looking very appealing right about now.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Today I Smell Like Soup, or...Wickedly Bad Cliche Day
Today is Monday, October 1st. I am currently 28 years old, and will be for the next 4 days. I am also currently unmarried, and will be for the next 19 days. Much is changing in addition to the rather un-momentous birthday and the wedding, but it's better not to summon the demons by speaking of them. Let's just say that if someone were to give me one of those questionnaires that asks about all the current stressors in your life, I'd have a score off the charts. This is probably why my mom's advice to "Take a deep breath" yesterday just didn't seem like it was going to cut it.
But I do think laughter can. So I guess it was fate that caught my foot in the cord of my laptop today, while I was trying to talk to my officemate and eat a bowl of Trader Joe's ramen. The ramen cascaded out of the bowl onto my office chair, the floor, and my pants. The computer, luckily, was not splattered with the hot soup, and I was not burned. It was all rather comical in retrospect, and it gave me a catchy title for this blog post.
More importantly, although taking a deep breath seems a little shallow (pun intended), the soup experience helped me to remember, quite zen-like I might add, that there are very few things in life that we can control, and nor should we try to control everything (I mean seriously - have you ever tried to control when you're going to spill something?). Additionally, although I currently smell like soup, and although this is a horrible cliche, this too shall pass.
But I do think laughter can. So I guess it was fate that caught my foot in the cord of my laptop today, while I was trying to talk to my officemate and eat a bowl of Trader Joe's ramen. The ramen cascaded out of the bowl onto my office chair, the floor, and my pants. The computer, luckily, was not splattered with the hot soup, and I was not burned. It was all rather comical in retrospect, and it gave me a catchy title for this blog post.
More importantly, although taking a deep breath seems a little shallow (pun intended), the soup experience helped me to remember, quite zen-like I might add, that there are very few things in life that we can control, and nor should we try to control everything (I mean seriously - have you ever tried to control when you're going to spill something?). Additionally, although I currently smell like soup, and although this is a horrible cliche, this too shall pass.
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