Contemporary Discord and Concept Exploration

• In Event: 20461 - Teaching and Learning Symposium Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 9: Engaged Pedagogy

Abstract

Incorporating controversial events, debates, and people into courses is an effective teaching practice. Recently, discussing certain issues and political figures may elicit especially unseemly and politically motivated difficulties in the classroom and even challenges to the instructor, course, and program. At the same time, shying away from such content is antithetical to sociology. In this presentation, I offer a teaching strategy that addresses this. The strategy contains activities using these politically charged issues and people early and often in a course. Common sense suggests otherwise, initiating conversations about potentially explosive topics after other content has been explored and rapport established. The initial uses of these issues though are innocuous, individually developed, and only about concept description and application. This work means these hot button words, debates, and names have been verbalized in class by a variety of students for multiple purposes and without noticeable discomfort, drama, or political peril. The classroom is at least introduced as a safe space for discussions about these politically charged matters and a place accepting and interested in everyone’s contributions, regardless of political leanings. These activities are intended to ease entry into more productive, higher-order and substantive conversations about divisive topics later in the semester. The presentation is composed of examples making the technique clear and easily replicated across politically charged issues, sociological concepts, and course type.

Author

• Mel Moore, University of Northern Colorado