Sociologists are engaging in a long-overdue reckoning about the place of the traditional canon in social theory courses and pedagogy. Instructors are revising their syllabi to include a more diverse set of authors while "provincializing" classics that have long been taught as universal. We confront the question of how to teach contested…

Although students rely on social solidarity in their everyday lives, they generally fail to acknowledge its existence. An active learning class exercise, conducted within approximately 35 minutes, introduces sociology students to Emile Durkheim's concept of solidarity and the distinction between its mechanical and organic forms. Some groups of…

Across courses in the social sciences, instructors confront the challenge of how to teach (theories of) culture, yet no consensus exists as to what helps students best comprehend and digest its full complexity. This article offers a metaphorical and heuristic approach to culture that is accessible, multifaceted, and reflective of a wide range of…

This article is a reflective analysis of an assignment in which undergraduate students developed dystopian, postapocalyptic, fantasy, and fictional short story parables to illustrate their understanding of sociological theory. In a social theory course, students were assigned a final paper in which they designed a short story that integrated…

There has been a growing number of calls to improve theory instruction in sociology. These conversations have focused on what instructors should teach (with a renewed emphasis on racism and sexism) and whom to teach (with calls to diversify the reading list), but comparatively little attention has been placed on how social theory should be taught.…

In this article, we report on the implementation of using the game Werewolf as a student-centered applied-learning activity to teach symbolic interaction theory and concepts. Engaging with symbolic interaction theory can be a powerful experience for students due to its potential to challenge taken-for-granted assumptions and analyze students'…

Sociology instructors have long used nontraditional texts such as literary fiction to demonstrate core course concepts, increase student engagement, and develop students' critical thinking in the classroom. In this article, I explore how written assignments structured around identifying core course concepts in a dystopian novel that connects to…

This note discusses a class activity that was developed for first-year bachelor students in sociology to understand homogamy theory. Taught in a "classical" deductive way, this theory proved to be difficult to remember and describe on the examination. Starting from inductive learning, and more specifically, (structured) inquiry-guided…

The instruction of classical sociological theory at Lehman College of the City University of New York (CUNY) underwent significant transformation to make it more activity-based and better aligned with departmental learning goals. The article focuses on the effectiveness of an "edited book" project that came of this endeavor, where…

How can sociology instructors provide high-quality education in the sociology of sexualities that captures both the increasing need for digital pedagogical tools and sociology's continued drive for theoretically rich course content? We present digital storytelling as a highly adaptable instructional tool that is appropriate for a range of…

We discuss findings from a survey of sociology students in Germany and consequences for teaching. We focus on the de facto formation of a sociological canon, the relation between theories and methods, and effects of social and political characteristics on student's scientific preferences. Our findings suggest that irrespective of an agreement of…

This article describes a class that draws on postcolonial insights to create a global sociological imagination. Postcolonial approaches can make visible how global connections have shaped our local environments even if these relations are not always immediately visible. Specifically, students in this class highlight how global relations, such as…

Common concerns in required theory courses are student disengagement when encountering difficult texts and hesitation to engage in theorizing. To address these challenges, we have developed an interactive exercise, which we call the theory forum. Students work in groups to develop questions from the perspective(s) of one or more theorists, and…

Effectively teaching sociological theories to undergraduate students is challenging. Students often enroll in theory courses due to major requirements, not personal interest. Consequently, many students approach the study of theory with anxiety. This study examined the effectiveness of an experiential learning activity designed to teach Karl…

Instructing students in sociological theory is a foundational part of the discipline, but it can also be a challenge. Readers of "Teaching Sociology" can find a number of activities designed to improve students' understanding of sociological theory in their general theory courses, but there are fewer activities designed to improve…