Sociology Research Methods Syllabus

Here's a syllabus for one of the semesters, Spring 2006, that I taught Methods of Sociological Inquiry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I used to post teaching and research materials on UW's website but didn't move those after I left. In the future, I'll re-create it, but I will post this syllabus for now in case someone is searching for some teaching ideas. Many of the links are no longer OK. (Not all of this is aligning correctly, so I'll try to fix it later.)

My version seems to be more hands-on with a variety of research activities and includes lots more historical examples, such as from The Philadelphia Negro by Du Bois because of his use of systematic observation and interviews in the study of race. Many of the readings in my sections of research methods ended up examining the topics of race and order using different methods. In addition to Du Bois on race, Duneier used mainly participant observation but also interviews, conversation analysis, a simple field experiment, and historical research. LaPiere ran a famous field experiment in the 1920s followed by a questionnaire, and there are the field experiments by Pager (black and white men, with and without criminal records, applying for jobs) and by Massey and Lundy (undergrads at Penn calling landlords about apartments).This Spring 2006 syllabus has less on order than what I assigned in previous semesters. That topic pops up in Du Bois, Duneier, as well as Zimbardo on street vandalism.

Sociology 357—Methods of Sociological Inquiry

Spring 2006, the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Lecturer: Chuck Ditzler

Office 7105 Social Science Building             Office Hours: Tuesday 11am-noon,

Office Phone:   262-7458                               Thursday 11am-noon, or by appointment

Email: cditzler@ssc.wisc.edu

Class Scheduled: TR   9:30am-10:45am        Class Location: 6232 Social Science Bldg.

Course Description

This is a hands-on course that introduces methods of sociological research. Two themes thread throughout much of this version of the course: recognizing facts inconvenient for one’s position and developing one’s imagination or ways of perception in research. 

The primary task of a useful teacher is to teach his students to recognize “inconvenient” facts—I mean facts that are inconvenient for their party opinions. And for every party opinion there are facts that are extremely inconvenient, for my own opinion no less than for others. I believe the teacher accomplishes more than a mere intellectual task if he compels his audience to accustom itself to the existence of such facts. I would be so immodest as even to apply the expression “moral achievement,” though perhaps this may sound too grandiose for something that should go without saying.  Max Weber “Science as a Vocation”

Shams and delusions are esteemed for soundest truth, while reality is fabulous. If men would steadily observe realities only, and not allow themselves to be deluded, life, to compare it with such things as we know, would be like a fairy tale and the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments.  Henry David Thoreau “Where I Lived and What I Lived For” Walden

From the Undergraduate Catalog, 2003-2005:

357 Methods of Sociological Inquiry. (Crosslisted with Rur Soc) I or II or SS; 3-4 cr (I). Scientific methods and their application in the analysis of society; procedures in testing sociological theory: problem definition, hypothesis construction, collection and evaluation of data. P: So st; not open to stdts who have taken Soc 358.

Transparent homes and the Web

Walking through this Do Ho Suh exhibit that replicates his former New York City apartment at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art reminds me of what I'm doing to myself on the Web. 

translucent colored fabric replica of apartment at 348 West 22nd Street, New York NY

During the weekend of February 11, I decided to stay in Madison to catch the opening of the exhibit before returning to Baltimore. I think he's one of the most interesting artists these days. I wish I could see in person one of these: Floor, Karma (two giant feet walking over little people), and another statue called Karma that's 98 men stacked onto each other curving up 28 feet. In an interview [1 min 16 sec] for a public television program, "Art in the Twenty-First Century" (2003), he focuses on space when talking about Floor, but my first thought about Floor and the two giant feet is more about power and impact on other's/our lives. 

Taken on Saturday, Feb. 11--later they had to rope off these areas because
someone risked damaging the toilet by posing over it for a picture.

T

The exhibit also reminds me about the role of places in my life, of how they connect to my memories, other people, and dreams. Do Ho Suh describes similar thoughts in the video "Rubbing"/"Loving" [6 min 16 sec]. Maybe I shouldn't go into detail here about the places I think of and their relevance to me.

Life-size rubbing of his apartment

In a darkened room were appliances and similar objects on their own.

Madison's Art on the Square Fair: "Art is a form of communication"

[I wrote most of this in July 2015 but didn't post it.]

Last weekend was the annual Art on the Square in Madison, with booths lining both sides of the streets that form the capitol square. If I'm in Madison during the fair, I nearly always go but nearly always leave feeling somewhat unfulfilled. The main exception and what's almost always my favorite stop is the high school ceramics booth, which is part of the Wisconsin-focused Art Fair Off the Square along Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, the street extending from the square to the Monona Terrace.

 “Art is a form of communication and when you have customers responding to your art, that’s what it’s all about,” said Phi Lyons, ceramics teacher at West, quoted in "Students' Clay Coalition Get Supportive Audience" Wisconsin State Journal July 20, 2015

Many of the students were there to talk with customers. At least a couple of them described to me the psychological benefits of pottery, that it could have a relaxing, meditative effect to help them deal with, for example, trauma or depression. One of the units in my intro sociology and contemporary American society classes includes the sociology of art because of those two reasons along with others. See the "Art in Cyberspace" website for links to various kinds of resources on the sociology of art.

Baltimore--Part I

During recent months I've been reading up on Baltimore to prepare for moving there, such as Not in My Neighborhood: How Bigotry Shaped a Great American City, The Hero's Fight: African Americans in West Baltimore and the Shadow of the State, and Coming of Age in the Other America. For too long I've neglected the city in favor of DC, but the teaching opportunities seem to fit me better in Baltimore, and, although the cost of living isn't cheap there, at least it's not as expensive as DC. For instance, a large studio apartment that I rented in 1996 near the Rosslyn Metro station in Arlington, VA, for under $450/month now costs over $1,300/month.

My parents met in DC when my mom was in nursing school and my father at a trade school. Even though my mom's side of my family in the Salisbury area has tended to focus on Baltimore--the male sailors seemed to have often laid over from the 1800s through the mid-1900s--until recently I'd spent little time there, mainly stopping over before my mom's cousin or brother drove us to the Eastern Shore. At least I did have the chance to eat at Haussner's Restaurant, famous for the art that covered its walls. Because of the tourist spots, federal government, National Mall, Metro, etc., DC seemed much more attractive to me.

Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens in Druid Hill Park, opened in 1888. The architectural style of this time period, such as the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building (opened in 1881), is among my favorites.

In some ways Baltimore reminds me of some Chinese cities of the 1990s--lots of problems, though not necessarily the same, but many nice people.

George Peabody Library, part of the Johns Hopkins University

Too common sight in West Baltimore (See "A Tale of Two Cities" Baltimore Magazine, April 2016) In the future I should post a photo that portrays a more positive side.

Hyde Park (Chicago) Used Book Sale, October 10, 2015

Every Columbus Day weekend, a usually fantastic Hyde Park Used Book Sale is held in the courtyard of the Hyde Park Shopping Center at the corner of 55th and South Lake Park Ave. It used to be run by the former Hyde Park Co-op grocery store to raise  money for non-profits in the area. After the Co-op went out of business in 2008, ending 75 years of operation, the replacement tenant, Treasury Island Foods, agreed to help facilitate the sale, which is now run by the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference. Trade paperbacks normally run for $1, hardbacks $2.

Hyde Park Shopping Center courtyard before 9 am, Saturday, October 10, 2015.

I first attended the sale in 1996 when I lived in Hyde Park, and since then I've tried to go back every year--all together more than a dozen times. I love exploring through the books and the excitement of finding something uncommon or otherwise interesting. The presence of academics connected to the university and other highly educated people living in Hyde Park of course makes the quality of donated books great for me. According to the organizer's website, nearly 60,000 books were collected for the 2015 sale, but the quality--at least in terms of what I look for--is key. Among my best finds were classic books about Chinese history, society, and thought. One was signed by the famous Chinese sociologist Fei Xiaotong. My best sociology find that comes to mind was the hardback "Green Bible" of readings, Introduction to the Science of Sociology, edited by Robert Park and Ernest Burgess. (The cover is green. A scanned copy is available through Internet Archive.) This year I picked up a US road atlas from the 1940s--interesting because of how the road network looked before the interstate highway system. Because of the tight space in the courtyard, most of the books are kept stacked in the boxes, making it hard to search.

Hyde Park Used Book Sale, October 12, 2013, a few hours after sale start
(Others create a mess of books while going through the boxes, so I try to order  
them as I search. Earlier in the day, the courtyard is much more crowded with people.)

Except for possibly one year, when I didn't attend, the weather has been pleasant during at least the first day of the sale (always a Saturday) in this century.

A few times I've driven from Madison, but I usually take the bus so as to arrive early and because driving back in the traffic can be annoying. So I end up using the hours before the 9 am start to try a breakfast restaurant in Chicago. This year, after arriving at Union Station around 5:30 am by the extremely cheap bus option, I tried the chicken and waffle breakfast at Daley's, near the corner of Cottage Grove and East 63rd Street. Afterwards, I walked north to the edge of the University of Chicago campus and then along the Midway to get to the book sale. At a later time I'll post my take on the breakfast meals I've tried in Chicago over the years.

Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linne), "Father of Taxonomy"--
Monument moved to the University of Chicago in 1976 from Lincoln Park,
where it was placed in 1893 as part of the city-wide celebration of the World's Columbian Exposition

Circus Wagons and Silent Movie: Overture Center 10th Anniversary events, Saturday, September 27, 2014

The event that especially interested me was the free showing of a Harold Lloyd movie, Hot Water, in the Capitol Theater. It has some funny moments but is definitely not as good as his more famous movies. Because it was free, I was surprised and disappointed that most seats in the balcony, where I sat, were empty. Opened in 1928, the theater is one of the few silent movie theaters left that has its original organ to accompany movies.

Capitol Theater, Overture Center; Madison, Wisconsin. September 27, 2014. Organ being played prior to show.

The theater was kept and renovated as part of the Overture Center, which has a much larger hall within the complex. I attended one of the first concerts in the Overture Hall--Dave Brubeck--but I disliked the "European seating" design in the balconies without aisles. The older Capitol Theater, on the other hand, is much more comfortable with its palace look.

Barnum and London Cage Wagon, 1883--along State Street, Madison, WI

For the anniversary of the entire center, a circus theme was chosen--I suppose because of the proximity of the Circus World Museum in Baraboo. About a dozen circus wagons from the museum were placed on streets surrounding the Overture Center. According to signs posted near each wagon, most of the wagons are over 100 years old. They included ones for caged animals, music calliopes (one of them was playing while I walked by), bands, and selling tickets. The band wagons reminded me of Dr. Seuss books.

One reason that I post this information is in case someone is considering moving to Madison, such as to teach at UW. In recent years, the sociology department has lost prominent professors through retirement, better salaries elsewhere, or family reasons. Some prospective professors and grad students maybe have the misconception of a boring Midwest, so they prefer one of the coasts. [I'd forgotten to post this after I created it this past fall.]

Circus calliope wagon

Circus steam calliope

Attending a talk on primates while worrying about the WI governor's attack on state employee unions
Friday evening I was torn between watching a Cinematheque showing of a documentary on the Nuremberg trials and attending a talk by a primate researcher. The film was a restoration of a US government documentary made in the 1940s that wasn't allowed to be shown in the US. I figured that I could see it in the future on DVD, so I chose the talk by Jill Pruetz, an anthropologist at Iowa State.[For more info see this article:http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/2008-04/chimps-with-spears/roach-text.html]

The chimpanzees she studies in the savanna-woodlands of Senegal face an environment very different from the chimps in more heavily forested central Africa, such as in the Congo. She got in the news for discovering that the Senegal chimps sometimes sharpen with their teeth the ends of branches to use as spears to kill small monkeys. The chimps poke the spears into the holes of tree trunks where monkeys hide. Before this it was thought that only humans make such a tool.

For my intro soc classes, I sometimes show a Nova documentary on the first day called "The Last Great Ape," which is on bonobos but includes an interesting comparison to chimps. The main point is that bonobos are more empathetic and much less violent than chimps. Some of the proposed causes are genetics, the male dominance in chimp culture versus female dominance of bonobos, the use of sex among bonobos as a calming mechanism, and the competition over resources that chimps face with gorillas north of the Congo River. In the past comparisons of humans with primates would mainly be with chimps, but maybe we can better understand ourselves by also learning more about bonobos.

Saving students money when assigning textbooks
For the two intro sociology classes that I'm teaching this semester, I've again assigned a reader edited by James Henslin Down to Earth Sociology: Introductory Readings. 14th Edition. The list price is $23 but online sources, such as Amazon, sell it these days for under $17. Most of the readings are abridged research articles and selections from books. It's good for students to read actual research findings rather than very short summaries of them in regular textbooks. Another advantage is that it's an easy-to-carry paperback.

One chapter that I especially like using for teaching is Devah Pager's audit study in Milwaukee on young men--two white and two black--applying for jobs. The men submitted the same information on education and job experience but rotated by week on how they answered criminal record questions. The complete article in the American Journal of Sociology, "The Mark of a Criminal Record," is at her Princeton website. For a quick summary of the findings, see the graph on page 958. [edited on September 18, 2014: Devah now teaches at Harvard, so the new site for the article is  http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/pager/files/pager_ajs.pdf ]

This semester I'm experimenting with using as a supplement a free online textbook that was posted on Flat World Knowledge near the end of last semester: Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World, Brief Edition by Steve Barkan. Typical hardback intro soc textbooks cost over $80 or even over $100, so I hope that sites like this one do well.

Breakfast at the Farmers' Market/Only 11% of Americans eat recommended amount of fruits and vegetables
This morning I ate breakfast at the Dane County Farmers' Market. Because the winter market is held indoors at the senior center, which has a kitchen by the lobby, local chefs--assisted by volunteers from local non-profits--are invited to prepare meals using ingredients mainly supplied by vendors. This week the chef, from the Mermaid Café, supervised East High School students taking part in a "Chef in the Classroom" project.

A meal usually costs $7.50--about three cereal boxes on sale--so I hesitate to eat breakfast away from home. But today's menu was an interesting change. Along with fruit juice were "pan-fried trout; country ham with grits and red-eye gravy; corn bread with plum preserves; fresh salad with mixed greens, also including micro greens, pea shoots, and spinach served with a warm bacon dressing and crumbled feta cheese." I try to avoid eating food from animals, except for milk products, fish, and eggs, but the local vendors use more humane methods to raise animals and the thin ham portion was smaller than my palm.

Eating at the winter farmers' market sometimes inspires me to eat greens in the morning. When my grandmother was living in her own home until last year, I sometimes picked greens,such as Swiss chard and beet greens, from the garden I'd planted and cook them together for breakfast.

This is my third day in a row posting on here. So, after these two topics, I'll probably wait until I post some 3-D photos that I hope turned out OK of an interesting site/sight in Madison.

Improving knowledge about First Amendment content
In this morning's state news on WPR was a story on how two candidates for the state legislature at a debate couldn't list all of the rights protected by the First Amendment. Because my intro to soc and contemporary American society classes cover political sociology, a couple of years ago I decided to force my students to learn some basic civics information for exams. One question has asked them to list three out of the five freedoms covered by the First Amendment, but this news story has led me to decide that I'll now ask my students to list all of them. For my previous comments on this topic, see the fourth paragraph of my March 8, 2006, entry at Livejournal:  http://xizhimen.livejournal.com/2006/03/08/

More on cheaper or free textbooks
At this morning's opening assembly for my school's convocation (Madison Area Technical College's version of in-house training), two students gave a presentation asking teachers here to sign-up for the rental textbook program, which they also discussed at the August convocation. They ended with an alternative that I had discussed with them in August, free open textbook programs. See, for example,  http://www.opentextbook.org/ and http://www.studentpirgs.org/open-textbooks/catalog