Editor's Note

To the dismay of many of us, a new year and a new semester begin under the cloud of a new COVID variant. These are certainly unprecedented times in which we all continue to work at maximizing the education of our students. There will undoubtedly be many challenges ahead, and I’m sure many of us are still recovering our energy from the challenges of 2021. The dedication and resilience shown by our colleagues in Sociology and beyond continue to amaze me. I want to sincerely thank everyone for their efforts and the inspiration they provide.

The teaching and learning section officers, council, volunteers, and membership continue to work diligently to serve our Sociological teaching community. This edition of the newsletter reflects these efforts and features a tremendous group of articles. It begins with the first Chair’s Corner article from our terrific new section chair, Julie Pelton. Julie shares strategies to teach writing which reflect a central message that seems integral to surviving these busy and challenging times: to tackle projects without a complete roadmap and to work towards getting things done versus making them perfect. It is a credit to the talent in our section membership and discipline in general that our chair’s corners continue to be a highlight of each edition of this newsletter.

The next three articles comprise a new series meant to highlight our section award winners. This series features Alanna Gillis and Laura Krull, winners of the 2021 Scholarly Contributions to Teaching and Learning Award, as well as Stephanie Teixeira-Poit, winner of the Hans O. Mauksch Award for Distinguished Contributions to Undergraduate Sociology. Each honoree provided answers in writing to a series of questions: (1) the best piece of advice they’ve been given about teaching, (2) what advice they would give someone about to teach their first course, (3) details of an assignment or activity that they are particularly proud of, and (4) what they know now that they wish they knew earlier in their careers. The insight provided in their answers reflects the high level of work all three of these tremendous scholars do. The editing team thanks them for their participation, and we hope you find their words to be as inspiring as we did. Remember also, nominations for this year’s section awards are due January 15th, and more information, including how to nominate, can be found on our section website.

The final five articles include insight from scholars at different stages of their careers: from graduate students to Professors Emeritus. Hence, the edition theme: Advice from Above and Below. The first article by Hadi Khoshneviss uses the recent political opposition to Critical Race Theory to discuss whether a prescriptive education that avoids the horrors of history is truly more preferable to one where we work with students to understand the past and forge new ways forward. Similarly timely, the next two articles by Jessica Leveto and Stephen Steele discuss ways we can help students see the applicability of Sociology to the job market and beyond. This is an essential topic as many of our departments deal with the challenge of stagnating or declining enrollment in Sociology.

Last but certainly not least, are two articles that tackle vital issues we must consider in our classrooms. The first by Sherri Marquez, discusses the importance of teaching about age and ageism in our intro courses. Ageism is often the forgotten form of inequality in Intro classes and yet it represents a growing issue and a growing area of job opportunity for Sociology graduates. The second, by Lulu Qonita and Phi Hong Su, discusses the importance of considering “elsewhere” and building a globally conscious community within our courses. As the world continues to globalize at increasing rates and with global issues like a new variant in one area of the world spreading throughout, this article provides helpful tips on how to incorporate a global approach to teaching.

I have thoroughly enjoyed editing this edition of the newsletter and reading all of the wise words contained within. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did. Happy New Year and best of luck to everyone as we start the spring semester.