Peter Kaufman

Playing and Protesting: Sport as a Vehicle for Social Change

Despite the fact that athletic activism is nonnormative behavior, there is still a long, albeit small, tradition of individuals who use the playing field to advocate for political and social justice. This article examines such individuals who, while in their role as athletes, engage in social or political activism to foster progressive social change. Using data from 21 in-depth interviews conducted with athletes who have been involved in activism on a range of issues, we identify four embedded dimensions of sport that have strong implications for a progressive and activist political orientation. These dimensions are social consciousness, meritocracy, responsible citizenship, and interdependency. In conclusion, we make the case that sports can and should be a vehicle for progressive social change.

Learning to not labor: How working-class individuals construct middle-class identities

This article examines the micro-analytical strategies of identity formation among individuals attempting to transform their ascribed social-class position into an achieved social-class position. The interpersonal strategies discussed include associational embracement, associational distancing, and presentations of self. Data come from forty in-depth, semi-structured interviews with college seniors (twenty men and twenty women) from a large northeastern public university. The students were sampled systematically using a randomized list provided by the Office of Institutional Research. Results suggest that social transformation is difficult, in part, because of the interpersonal strategies in which individuals must engage. Self-avowals are not enough to achieve a desired social identity; rather, individuals must engage in the requisite identity-work activities in order to be successful in social transformation. These results suggest a convergence between social identity theory and identity theory to the extent that individuals must be successful in their role enactments if they hope to gain membership in a particular social group.

Critical Pedagogy in the Sociology Classroom Challenges and Concerns

Although critical pedagogy has been discussed in the Teaching Sociology literature for nearly twenty years, dialogues about the difficulties in practicing and implementing critical pedagogical strategies in everyday classroom life are less common. In this note, we discuss a predominant theme of our workshop: challenges and concerns that may arise when one attempts to do critical pedagogy. We focus on both challenges and potential solutions for learners, instructors, and institutions of higher education. Understanding what some of these obstacles are and how they manifest in institutions of higher learning goes a long way in devising strategies to assuage their deleterious effects.

SOCIOLOGY AS PEDAGOGY: HOW IDEAS FROM THE DISCIPLINE CAN INFORM TEACHING AND LEARNING*

As a discipline, sociology has produced a rich understanding of social processes, and yet the pedagogical implications of this scholarship remain largely untapped. In this paper, we employ a framework of sociology as pedagogy to show how sociology can enhance and inform teaching and learning. We select examples from a range of classical and contemporary social thought to highlight the connection between sociological theory and the practices of teaching and learning. We use these theories to demonstrate a broad application of our notion of sociology as pedagogy; however, we believe that all sociological knowledge can be mined for its pedagogical significance. Furthermore, recognizing how sociological phenomena shape the classroom experience is conducive to a more reflexive pedagogy in line with the tenets of the sociological imagination.

Scribo Ergo Cogito Reflexivity through Writing

This article builds on the concept of “writing as thinking” by describing an in-class, cumulative, peer-writing exercise that helps foster reflexivity. Reflexivity is understood as a process of seeing and a process of being. To be reflexive means that we are fully conscious of the lenses through which we view the world. It suggests that we understand both our situationality and our positionality. In this sense, reflexivity is an essential component of the sociological imagination. Three themes of reflexivity commonly arise from this exercise: developing reflexivity, reinforcing reflexivity, and resisting reflexivity. These themes are discussed and illustrated with full-length excerpts of students’ work.

Boos, Bans, and other Backlash: The Consequences of Being an Activist Athlete:

Athletes today are often criticized for their aberrant and deviant behavior; however, when activist athletes act with integrity and sincerity by promoting social and political justice, they often face a hate-filled backlash of scorn and contempt. In this paper I explore the negative consequences of being an activist athlete. Using in-depth interview data and secondary accounts, I examine reactions to athletes who engaged in social or political protest. I focus specifically on athletes who have protested against war, sweatshop labor, and racism. The study of activist athletes is important to sociologists for a number of reasons: It highlights the significance of analyzing sport sociologically, it makes explicit the connection between sport and politics, it identifies some of the personal consequences to activists as a result of their protests, and it has the potential to reshape our understanding of sport as a vehicle for progressive social change.

All the News Not Fit To Print: Using Censored Stories as an Exercise in Critical Pedagogy.

SINCE 1976, Project Censored has provided an annual list of their top censored news stories. The work of sociologist Carl Jensen and his Project Censored staff at Sonoma State University has been instrumental in identifying news stories that fail to find their way into major media outlets. The intent of Project Censored is to provide an alternative perspective to a mainstream press that some have denounced as biased. Accusations

Last But Not Least The Pedagogical Insights of “Intellectual Craftsmanship”

Although much has been written in the past 50 years about the pedagogical value of The Sociological Imagination, one section of Millss book has been underutilized for far too long. Namely, the essay in the appendix, “On Intellectual Craftsmanship,” has been rarely invoked by sociologists discussing the significance of The Sociological Imagination for teaching and learning. Given that the appendix is explicitly about doing research and engaging in the scholarly process, this oversight may be understandable; however, we argue that there is much to be found in the appendix that serves the needs of teachers and learners alike. The purpose of this paper is to highlight some of the pedagogical insights that are implicit in Millss recommendations for being intellectual craftspersons.

THE CONTRASTING ORIENTATIONS TOWARD WORK AND FAMILY BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE COLLEGE STUDENTS

Abstract This paper presents the contrasting orientations toward work and family between female and male college students. The data come from interviews with 30 female and 30 male seniors. The majority of women sampled reject the traditional female role of caretaker and articulate a desire to be professional and autonomous individuals who do not have to rely on a man for support — whether it be financial, domestic or emotional. This contrasts sharply with the majority of the men in the sample who overwhelmingly embrace the traditional male role that situates them as the main breadwinners of the family and, implicitly or explicitly, places women as the main domestic caretakers. These contrasting orientations are analyzed from the perspective of gender. Particular attention is given to the dual nature of gender acting both subjectively as a disposition for individual action and objectively as a social reality with which individuals must contend.