Overview of course syllabi and materials
Graduate students in the Department of Sociology are not traditionally able to be instructor of record for their own fall-spring courses. This is for a multitude of reasons, mainly to ensure students remain focused on their programmatic requirements. However, as graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), they are responsible for, at minimum, grading course assessments and student communication for professors' courses, and at maximum, leading weekly recitations, methods labs, and online asynchronous summer courses as instructors of record.
This page is put together in an effort to help graduate students as they prepare syllabi, course outlines, and lectures for their course assignments. You may use any of these resources for free, though I would appreciate a cite that follows your disciplinary traditions. Even a message of thank-you works!
Syllabus and class resources LMS folder
In each course LMS, I have a folder with copies of the course syllabus, assignments, and subfolders with other resources that students can reference. I have found this helpful to refer students to when they have questions about ASA citation style, studying for exams, and other academic success skills.
If this is your first sociology course, welcome! Sociology is the scientific study of society, social patterns, and structures.
Introductory sociology resources
Note-taking and studying resources
Effective note-taking and studying will take you far when it comes to being academically successful in college. Like anything, it takes some trial, error, and plenty of practice!​
Reading, writing, and citation resources
Reading and writing are skills and an active (not passive!) practice. These resources may assist you as you develop this ability. In addition, the proper sourcing and generation of citations is critical to the writing process. The discipline of sociology uses ASA style citations as defined by the American Sociological Association (ASA), which includes both in-text citations and an end-text reference page.
Databases for peer-reviewed research
Peer-reviewed research is a foundation of sociological inquiry. Editors and fellow scholars assess the scientific merit and quality of research through an extensive blinding and review process. With your university email, you have full access to thousands of studies that explore a variety of topics. Many studies are organized into journals with similar topics (Sociology of Education, Journal of Sport and Social Issues, etc), and you can search through them all using large databases (JSTOR, SAGE Journals, etc).
US22 & US23 SOC 316: Youth and Society
Youth and Society, an online asynchronous 6-week summer course where I served as instructor of record twice, provides an overview of the sociological understanding of youth and adolescence. Students first understand the historical and contemporary definitions of youth, plus intersectionality in context of youth. Next, the course explores youth socialization, culture, and subcultures. Then, moving from childhood to emerging adulthood, the course covers how how youth interact with social institutions. In the final week of the course, the course looks toward the future and young people’s role in social change. This course includes contemporary social research and media(s) to strengthen students' knowledge of the sociology of youth.
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In my role as instructor of record, it is my responsibility to organize, plan, and facilitate the course in its entirety, including creating the course syllabus, assignments, rubrics, quizzes, and video lectures. I also manage student communication through email and hold Zoom office hours.
FS23 SOC 281: Social Research Methods
Social Research Methods, an in-person synchronous course where I served as teaching assistant, held three 90-minute weekly lectures and one 110-minute weekly lab. This course introduces students to the basic elements (for example project design, measurement, sampling) and terms (such as generalizability, bias, frequency distribution) of social science data collection. Students accomplish this through a hands-on approach wherein they try several well-established social science research methods (interview, survey). By the end of the semester, students have developed a foundational knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses associated with these research approaches. In other words, students begin to grasp how to collect data on “social facts” in a manner that minimizes bias.
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In my role as teaching assistant, I attended all three weekly lectures and led the weekly lab. Dr. Jussaume, the professor of the course, created the syllabus and provided outlines for the lab activities. In lab, students conducted a group research project: including problem identification, in-person interviews, online survey design, data analysis, and presentation of findings.
SS24 SOC 100: Introduction to Sociology
Introduction to Sociology, an in-person synchronous course where I served as teaching assistant, held two 100-minute weekly lectures and one 50-minute weekly recitation. This course introduces introduces students to the field of sociology and sociological inquiry. The course examines structural and cultural aspects of society and their impacts on individuals and communities.
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In my role as teaching assistant, I attended both weekly lectures and led two weekly recitations. Dr. Prior, the professor of the course, created the syllabus and overall course schedule. In recitation, students engaged in collaborative hands-on activities that applied concepts and theories from the lecture and textbook. Another way students interacted with sociology was through monograph journals. Students were responsible for choosing a contemporary qualitative sociology monograph, reading it throughout the semester, and journaling in a reflective, sociological manner.
US24 SOC 315: Family and Society
Family and Society, an online asynchronous 7-week summer course where I served as instructor of record, provides an overview of the sociological understanding of family in a U.S. context. Students first understand the historical and contemporary definitions of family, plus social identities and intersectionality in context of families. Next, students explore both internal and external family relationships, structures, and dynamics. Throughout this course students conduct a hands-on family interview project to practice how researchers investigate families, informed by real researchers’ inquiries and other media(s) to strengthen their knowledge of the sociology of families.
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In my role as instructor of record, it is my responsibility to organize, plan, and facilitate the course in its entirety, including creating the course syllabus, assignments, rubrics, quizzes, and video lectures. I also manage student communication through email and hold Zoom office hours.