The Sociology Department

The Sociology Department has been plagued with troubles this year - the Sosc debate, the rumblings in 301 etc. Although these are seperate events, they are all compounded by the reluctance of the department to listen and discuss openly the very real gripes of the students, whatever they are. For example, in 301, the course continued to be taught although staff and students both were aware that it was failing. Students finally demanded that the course be immediately re-examined. The situation should never have been allowed to arise. Constant review and re-assessment of every sociology course is both desirable and crucial: in it's content and the way it is taught.

The opportunity must be there for students to express the way they react to the courses they take. This can only be achieved when students particpate in all departmental committees with equal power and are regarded as part of the sociology department. This is desirable as the students are the only ones who can really ask the crucial questions of the department who have let these slip away in an attempt to concentrate on the churning out of reasonably competant 'B.A. sociologists'.

Additionally, the department must pay more than lip service to the ethical considerations of the material they are teaching. By this I mean the sociology of sociology, the problem of knowledge etc. This should be integrated through all courses to counter the production of sociological shadow boxers. Sociologists not only study society, they also affect it - and sociology students must be made aware of the power it possesses.

These type of questions must be debated in a critical way in lectures and tutorials. Students must have channels to criticise approaches to the discipline. This can be done with staff on the departmental committees and in periods devoted to these questions, and those of assessment etc in the lectures.

Only in this way can the sociology department (staff and students) attain a high standard of critical and rigourous sociology.

— David Murray

Sosc Lecturer Comments

Christine Chan's useful report on the previous week's Sosc 301 Staff/Student meeting conveys an unfortunate picture of the aims of 301 pracs - probably because I didn't explain it fully. The methods component of the course is Richard Bowman's responsibility - and he apparently must go unreported. Sosc 301 pracs are in two sections this year, both concerned with teaching the sequence of basic skills underlying all systematic social research (i.e. surveys, systematic observation, a content analysis).

The 1st section consists of straightforward prac exercises designed to provide students with a smattering of chances to actually practise the skills together with the other 2 goals of each prac as mentioned by Chris.

The 2nd section involves options in which some skill - in most cases data analysis - is developed in more depth. I think the main pity is that the 1st developed in more depth. I think the main pity is that the 1st section wasn't out of the way earlier so that students had more time to work on the 2nd section, which Chris might be pleasantly surprised to find, is not only planned but is starting operation.