Classes began this morning. In my Social Structure class I allowed that we would be studying the main social forces that sociologists believe shape the social structure, especially race, class, and gender. In the spirit of full disclosure, I told them that I had become convinced that there are deep, complementary differences between men and women, which are likely to shape all social structures. Afterwards, a student came to see me, not sure her views would really be compatible with the premises of the course. She put the potential conflict with wonderful, and revealing, delicacy. "I'm from Minnesota, and so are my parents. We moved to the South when I was little, but my family is not really from here."
I assured her that the class would be empirical throughout, and that she was welcome to argue with the evidence and the discourse of the class to her heart's content. She is staying.
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1 comment:
Oh, I love that!
The funny part, of course, is that she is probably from Como Park or Summit Hill in the Twin Cities and thinks that's Minnesota. Had she come from a few neighborhoods over, or the Iron Range, she wouldn't have noticed the difference.
Do you have a web site for the course called "Social Structure" - I would be interested in seeing how you put that course together.
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