Midsemesterevaluation2015
Lightly edited, re-ordered responses. My comments in green.
Favorite reading(s) or topic(s) so far (and maybe why)…
- I am enjoying the readings about how cooperation can arise without there being a central authority. I also like the readings about studies eg "the lads."
- I like contemporary pieces because they are easier to relate to, but I like reading the older writings because they help me understand foundational theories.
- I really liked the readings about Hierarchy, they all were very interesting and peaked my interests.
- “Meanings of Violence”Cohen and Vandello… culturally relevant to contemporary discussion of gun violence. Also just darn interesting.
- Fleck, Willis, Axelrod, Engels, Hayek, the readings with different models- gives me understanding of more technical parts of Sociology, Schilling, Durkheim, Weber…. Etc
- I think my favorite have been the ones where we are looking at an experiment but the language is fairly simple enough that it's easy to follow. I like to be able to visualize or have an example to understand the content.
- I like learning about social theory from you, but not the readings. There are a LOT and they are all pretty dry.
- "The entire unit on how Individuals create social order. I especially loved how useful the Pitch/Catch we did in teams was. It really helped me understand what claim each theorist had made as well as feel prepared for the oral exam.
- I especially loved the Cohen and Vandello reading, as it pulled the entire unit together very well."
- I like Axelrod and the evolution of cooperation. The vivid picture he paints about the soldiers in WWI really helps put his theory into perspective and allows for a tangible analysis.
Least Favorite reading(s) or topic(s) so far(and maybe why)…
- Hobbes and Marx because it was difficult to abstract the meaning and message of the reading with the old English style of writing.
- Some of the readings about markets was very math heavy/technical heavy which late at night made my brain hurt. I should have warned you that this might be daytime reading!
- They were all fun or fine. If I had to pick one I didn't want to read again… probably Engels "Origin of State"…. just not a fun read.
- Did not really understand Hayek
- I dislike the readings that are difficult because of the language. I think it would be helpful to have some guided reading questions that are optional to use so that we can look for specific things in the text to really focus on understanding. For some readings I've put these sorts of questions under the tab "Leading Questions" on the wiki - like the ones we went through in class on 10/27 on Axelrod's "Live and Let Live." I agree that more of them would be helpful.
- I do not have a least favorite reading, but I will say that the readings that are over saturated with jargon make it difficult to stay focused on the point of the reading.
- I had a really hard time reading Hobbes, mostly because the language was so dense and different. It was my least favorite mostly because of how long it took me to read.
I dislike the readings…
I like coming to class…
Things the teacher should do more of…
- I also really enjoy having more that 2 days to talk about the readings. Some of them are so complex (like Weber), that I feel more confident about the readings after we spend time discussing them in class."
- Keep doing the lectures the way you do them! Every lecture so far has been interesting and most have kept me awake in the morning (which is sometimes hard to do).
- More of the same.
- Go over definitions needed in given chapter, discuss the relationships between the different theorists' perspectives (?) I agree the vocab is important. In the interest of time I often pull out the words/terms/phrases I think are important and possibly unfamiliar and put them under the "Vocabulary" tab on the wiki page for the reading.
- I think it would be cool to possibly have more incorporation of current examples wether it's pop culture or something funny.
- "Give more examples to explain the readings! Both vocally as well as exercises—the office exercise was awesome and helped me understand how individual actions create larger patterns.
- Giving a couple minutes to go back through and jot down what we thought was important from a section of reading might help class discussion because it gives us something concrete to go off of instead of just trying to talk about a concept we only sort of remember reading. I assume this means at the start of class? I wonder if we might also use the few minutes before class for something like this?
- I think it would be more interesting if you gave us some guidance, but let us try to figure out the theories ourselves.
- I enjoy every bit of class and his teaching style. It is innovative and refreshing and makes me feel like I learn something new EVERY class period.
Things the teacher should do less of…
- for me there could be less stepping through the reading…like Hobbes… but I get the sense a lot of people got a lot out of it so it's just my preference to cover more ground.
- Some of the activities/games that we play in class are fun and further my understanding of the concept but some seem thrown together at the last minute and a few seemed a little pointless.
- Reminding us to use the wiki everyday ( I have heard that people don't find it to be the most user friendly as it, there are so many places to click and layers people are less likely to use I think) Maybe if we had some type of key or a 'how to' use the wiki Was this a do more of or a do less of?
- Sorry, but you are really energetic in class, and I can not be that energetic at 9:30am
- Storyboarding? I'm not even sure if we are doing it at this point.
- I have no critiques at the moment.
Things my classmates do that I appreciate…
- Ask clarifying questions
- like hearing from students who don't talk often, new perspective
- Listen to whoever is speaking
- I appreciate the various point of views given while engaging in class discussion and/or exercises. A few of my classmates also individually encourage me when I feel doubtful about grasping certain concepts.
- I appreciate that my classmates will ask clarifying questions or provide another example even if one was already given. That helps me to be able to really understand the topic. I also appreciate that my classmates are understanding when I say I really just didn't get the reading or wasn't able to do it before class- when we work in groups. They will still try to help me but also let me know what to look for in the readings.
- Have a good sense of humor about complex concepts
- Come to class… engage in conversion… participate in out of class study.
- ask good questions/start class discussions.
- I appreciate how friendly everyone is. It feels like almost everyone is in class because they genuinely want to be there, and that feels good.
Things my classmates do that rub me the wrong way…
- Domination of conversation
- Interrupt the professor
- bring up irrelevant side information about their own personal experiences, just so they can share and not because it adds anything new to the conversation "
- Sometimes classmates may have a tone that's not so polite and it's either to the class or to themselves and I just feel that it's disrespectful.
- I dislike when a classmate throws random stuff out and because it confuses me and sometimes is distracting.
- Some comments don't seem like they're making a point and they distract from what's being talked about.
- Eating prepared meals in class. I get if someone has to stuff a muffin or eat a bar, but eating full on eggs and bacon cereal with milk.. it's very distracting.
- When the same people talk and talk and talk…at some point, I get tired of hearing the same voices volunteer information. There are certain people who like to argue and/or disagree with you, and often it feels unnecessary for them to do so during class.
- The disruptive talking while lecture is going on along with the rustling of papers when class is almost over, is quite annoying.
- Not raising their hand and shouting put answers when people in the back are patiently raising their hand
Anything else?
- Lack of attendance is not lack of interesting. I would attend more classes but I've been sick.
- Wish there was a way to make people feel more comfortable sharing in class! I think it has to be a group effort to get to that point…
- Enjoying the course. Very engaging lectures. Good rendings. Hoping it all stays in my long term memory
- I know my opinion probably counts as less because, as I have indicated, I haven't come to much class, however, it is difficult to put this class at the forefront with the other classes I have taken.
- I love this class! Thank you for making it interactive and engaging—I've never taken a theory course like this before. I never want to miss a class out of fear of missing out on all the fun!
- I wish I had more time in my life to give this class 100% of my effort that it deserves.
On a scale of 1 to 7 compared to other classes I am taking this semester, this course gets about how much of my attention, time, energy, interest, passion, etc. ?
I've done about this much of the reading…
I attended about this many classes…
What have I learned?
- This is really the first time I've read the works of big thinkers like Durkheim, Marx, Smith, etc. so I'm learning a lot.
- Try to bring Anthro concepts to everyday life activities.
- Bonus- learning about the 'History of Sociological Thought' is not boring and about stuffy theories like I thought it would be. Very relevant and interesting stuff
- Improved discourse via pitch and catch and preparing for the oral exam. Practicing better reading habits.
- Social Order can POTENTIALLY be positive for the bettering of society (contrary to my beginning feelings) , though often it is used and manipulated by a specific population. Sometimes without our knowledge.
- One thing that stuck out when the professor discussed the oral exam is that fact that it encourages confidence in professional situations. If you know what you are talking about, then act like it.
- Many things that we as humans label as normal are only normal because we somehow collectively agree that it should happen that way. This alone makes me see my life and my purpose in a different light.
- We are all very social creatures whether we would like to admit to or not, the presence and just existence of others affects our decision making and behavior
- I've learned how to read theories and identify what parts of them are important/relevant better.
- read/study the material more than once.
- No matter how much we would like to think of ourselves as individuals, I don't think we are at all..
- One thing I have learned is about how different theories are based or are similar to other ones, but all of them lead to current theories today. I've also learned about social control and recognize it more often when I'm at work or in other classes. I also am learning how the system works in terms of markets and how their are always patterns to look for.
- Everyone, from the current president to my little sister, takes a part in forming and influencing my world view.