Document Type

Course Outline / Syllabus

Publication Date

7-2-2019

Department

Social Sciences

Abstract

This course outline provides a plan for implementing Project Based Learning in a Social Theory course for sociology majors. SOC 311 (SOC 3110) is a required course for sociology majors that introduces students to sociological theory. Most students do not like this course because sociological theory is perceived to be very dry, irrelevant to their lives, and difficult to apply. The typical final project for sociological theory courses involves a paper comparing theorists and applying to a social issue. Instead, I want to incorporate a semester long project that will result in a podcast or a short documentary in which groups of students will address the issue of work under the conditions of late capitalism through different theories introduced in the course. Work is an activity we all are expected to engage in for at least 40 years of our lives and is probably the most relevant topic for college students who are thinking about the next stage of their lives, which inevitably involves work. Throughout the process, students will workshop ideas, gather information about the topic, write interview questions and conduct interviews, all focusing on an issue related to work, whether it is a specific occupation, a company, how people get jobs, examination of dead-end jobs, non-fulling jobs, or addressing whether we live to work or work to live.

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