June 2024 SSSP TEACHING SOCIAL PROBLEMS DIVISION NEWSLETTER LATE SPRING 2024 top news At pages 2-8, you will find information about the SSSP 2024 Annual Meeting (e.g., registration, venue, accommodation, etc.), and the list of the Teaching Social Problems Division’s sessions. At page 9 you will find information about the winner of the Division’s Student Paper Competition Page 1 WELCOME by the Division Chair, Morena Tartari INTRODUCTION In this Newsletter of the SSSP Teaching Social Problems Division you will find news and updates about the winner of the 2024 TSP Division Student Paper Competition, the Division Business Meeting, our sessions at the 2024 Annual Meeting, and the organization of the proposal for our workshop for the 2025 Annual Meeting. Moreover, you will find members’ new publications, and some announcements. WE CAN WORK TOGETHER We can work together to develop an amazing workshop for the 2025 Annual Meeting and other new initiatives for the TSP Division. Please get in touch with me by email or in person at the Annual Meeting in Montreal if you have any proposal or idea or just for a chat. Morena Tartari, Chair (2023-2025) Babeș-Bolyai University, morena.tartari@ubbcluj.ro DIVISION'S REFERENCES UPDATE Please get in touch with the Chair if you have new references to suggest that can be included on the Division’s webpage. Page 2 2024 ANNUAL MEETING. Toward a sociology of violence Annual meeting information Here you can find the preliminary programme: https://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/m/988/2024_Preliminary_Program/ Here is the 2024 Annual Meeting general information: https://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/m/944/2024_Annual_Meeting/ Here are the FAQs: . https://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/m/970/Annual_Meeting_FAQ/ ACCOMMODATION IN MONTREAL Please book your hotel room by Monday, July 8, 2024 to guarantee SSSP negotiated group rate. Why should I stay at the conference hotel? Here some answers: ttps://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/pageid/2544 LETTERS OF INVITATION If you need a letter of invitation for the 2024 SSSP Annual Meeting, you can submit your request here: https://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/m/971/Request_a_Letter_of_Invitation/ Page 3 TSP DIVISION SESSIONS AT SSSP 2024 Session #25: Teaching about Violence: How to Navigate Trust and Disclosure with Students Session type: THEMATIC Sponsored by Teaching Social Problems Division Organizers: Kathleen J. Fitzgerald, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Alessandra Seggi, Villanova Universit Presider: Kandice L. Grossman, University of Missouri Description: This session will cover a variety of topics and issues revolving around teaching about violence. Papers: “Teaching about American Society in Broken English,” Jinsun Yang, University of Oregon, Winner of the Teaching Social Problems Division’s Student Paper Competition “Unveiling Gender Stereotypes in the Classroom: A Study on Teacher Awareness,” Rowena Enguito Bagongon, Northern Bukidnon State College “When Only Some Violence Counts: Curricular Violence, Community Silence, and How Education Must Shift in Order to Heal,” Cami L. Touloukian, Teachers College, Columbia University and Uzma Chowdhury, Teachers College at Columbia University “Using Trauma Informed Pedagogy to Teach about Sexual Assault on Campus,” Kathleen J. Fitzgerald, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “Talking about Suicide through Film,” Alessandra Seggi, Villanova University Page 4 TSP DIVISION SESSIONS AT SSSP 2024 Session #34: Teaching Social Problems with a Transnational Perspective Session type: REGULAR Sponsors: Teaching Social Problems Division and Transnational Initiatives Committee Organizers and Presiders: Jinsun Yang, University of Oregon and Morena Tartari, Babes-Bolyai University Description: In the contemporary global landscape, most social issues extend beyond national borders, prompting us to adopt a transnational perspective that reexamines them through historical and geopolitical approaches. This session offers a platform for scholars, instructors, and activists to collaboratively explore the potential and challenges of integrating a transnational perspective into classroom discussions on social issues. Papers: “Embracing Open Educational Resources (OER) in Sociology: A Case Study of SUNY Oneonta’s Department of Sociology,” Gregory M. Fulkerson, Alexander R. Thomas, Elizabeth K. Seale, Kirsten Kemmerer, Brian M. Lowe, Lisa Curch, Ho Hon Leung and EdBeck, SUNY Oneonta “Exploring the Impact of Marginalized Identities on Teaching Inequality in Sociology: A Multifaceted Analysis of Political Discourse in the U.S.,” Angela Vergara, University of Central Florida “Intertwining the Significance of Critical Race Theory and the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity,” Christine M. Capili, University of Oregon “Teaching Health and the Media: A Transnational Perspective,” A. Susana Ramirez, University of California, Merced “Who Are You? Using Personal Storytelling to Teach Sociological Concepts,” MonnicaGavin, Clark State College Page 5 TSP DIVISION SESSIONS AT SSSP 2024 Session #52: Experiential Learning as a Way to Teach about Social Problems Session type: PAPERS IN THE ROUND: Sponsors: Sociology and Social Welfare Division, Teaching Social Problems Division Organizers: William D. Cabin, New York University Silver School of Social Work and Laurie J. Linhart, Des Moines Area Community College Presider: William D. Cabin, New York University Silver School of Social Work Description: The session will focus on innovative ways to use experiential learning to teach about social problems. Papers: “Bringing Mutuality and Reciprocity into Focus: A Case Study on Sustaining University-community Partnerships,” Jessica Lucero, Utah State University and Lucas Martin, Bear River Association of Governments “Discovering Hidden Paradigms in Our Syllabi,” Andy Plotkin, Behavioral-Scientists “Experiential Learning Using Grant Proposals: A Reflection on Two Pilot Studies,” Janelle M. Pham, Oglethorpe University “Geographic Interviews as an Experiential Method for Engaging Students in Place-based Assessment and Learning,” Danielle Maude Littman and Denae Cook, University of Utah “Towards More Part Time Doctorate Degrees in Sociology,” Barbara Katz Rothman, The Graduate Center, CUNY Page 6 TSP DIVISION SESSIONS AT SSSP 2024 Session #74: Teaching about Environmental Social Problems Session type: PAPERS IN THE ROUND Sponsored by Environment and Technology Division, Teaching Social Problems Division Organizers and Presiders: Angus A. Nurse, Anglia Ruskin University and Nottingham Trent University Morena Tartari, Babes-Bolyai University Discussant: Angus A. Nurse, Anglia Ruskin University and Nottingham Trent University Description: This session, organized as a session for “papers in the round,” explores the challenges and opportunities that relate to the teaching of environmental problems. The session takes a broad view on environmental problems and includes papers on teaching climate justice and on methods and strategies for teaching environmental justice. It also includes papers that discuss the teaching of environmental social problems through the use of research results and a discussion on how to develop Ecopedagogy, considering the specific pedagogical challenges and considerations inherent to teaching environmental social problems. The organizers envision robust conversations pertaining to the many facets of teaching about environmental issues. Papers: “Ecopedagogy: A Framework for Countering ‘Post-truth,’ ‘Antiwoke,’ and Individualistic Politics in the Classroom,” Lauren Eastwood, SUNY, Plattsburgh “Teaching Climate Justice: A Research Agenda,” Angus A.Nurse, Anglia Ruskin University and Nottingham Trent University “Teaching Environmental Justice: Methods and Strategies for Social Work Education,” Sara E. Strayer, Alliant International University and Stephen W. Stoeffler, Kutztown University “Teaching about Environmental Social Problems through Firsthand Research Results: Strategies to Prepare Tools and Presentations for Students and Professionals,” Morena Tartari, Babes-Bolyai University and Hamide ElifÜzümcü, University of Padua Page 7 TSP DIVISION SESSIONS AT SSSP 2024 Session #95: Identity Matters: How an Instructor's Subjectivity Influences the Way They Teach about Race Session type: CRITICAL DIALOGUE Sponsors: Critical Race and Ethnic Study Division, Teaching Social Problems Division Organizer, Presider/Discussant:: Florence Emily Castillo, The University of Texas at Dallas Description: This session explores how the subjectivity of instructors impacts our theoretical interpretations of race and shapes the pedagogical choices we make when we teach race in the classroom. Intersectional and critical race scholars continue to call our attention to how lived experiences also influence the ways we process and disseminate information both in and outside the classroom. With this in mind, we seek to further explore how our intersectional identities create the embodied pedagogies and experiences we bring into the classroom.We hope to share classroom experiences that lead to more critical and transformative self-reflection and strategies forteaching race, especially in the current political climate where teaching about race is under attack Papers: “Oral History as Embodied Classroom Pedagogy,” Jacqueline Daugherty and RodneyD. Coates, Miami University “Feeling Teaching Race,” Adriana Leela Bohm, Delaware County Community College, Michelle Byng, Donna-Marie Peters and Mary Stricker, Temple University “‘A White Woman from the South’: Social Location and the Pedagogy of Race,” KarynMcKinney Marvasti, Penn State Altoona “Parallel Cultures: Creating Alternative Spaces of Truth-telling through Activist-based Curriculum Development and Community Outreach in the Rural Black South,” Masonya J. Bennett, Kennesaw State University “Operationalizing Anti-oppression in Doctoral Health Care Education,” Katerina Melino, University of Alberta and Samantha P. Louie-Poon, Dalhousie University “White Professors of Race: Ethics, Strategies, and Impacts,” Devon R.Goss, Oxford College of Emory University Page 8 TSP DIVISION SESSIONS AT SSSP 2024 Session #100: Teaching Social Problems in Time of Polarization Session type: REGULAR Sponsors: Teaching Social Problems Division Organizers: Perri S. Leviss, Rhode Island College Katie Founds, Independent Scholar Jennifer Roebuck Bulanda, Miami University Morena Tartari, Babes-Bolyai University Presider: / Description: This session presents examples of different pedagogies and models that teachers are using to provide deep learning for both K-12 and college students in today's polarized and contentious educational environment. From the passage of legislation banning books to limiting the topics that are allowed to be discussed in the classroom, teachers today face significant challenges both in how and what they can teach. This session provides important learnings that attendees can apply to their own classroom environments. Papers: “Using the Social Order-social Justice Framework to Enhance Constructive Dialogue,” MonnicaGavin, Clark State College “Empowering Critical Engagement: Teaching Sociology through Critical Pedagogy in a Polarized Era,” CarlaDevonn Brailey, Texas Southern University “Racism Evasiveness and Racism Consciousness in the Curriculum: How We Talk and Teach about Racism and Why It Matters,” Wade P. Smith, Eastern Illinois University “Crip Pedagogies as Anti-violent, Anti-carceral Practices in the College Classroom,” Siobhan Marie Pokorney, The Graduate Center, CUNY “‘Controversial’ Content in K-12 Schools: The Intersection of Federal and State Policy and Its Bearing on Local Implementation,” Jane Rochmes and Linda M.Waldron, Christopher Newport University, Kate Bowman, University of Delaware, Carlie Carter, College of William and Mary and Jessica Spencer, Christopher Newport University Page 9 STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION WINNER! We are delighted to announce that winner of the Teaching Social Problems Division’s Student Paper Competition is Jinsun Yang, Department of Sociology, University of Oregon, with the paper titled: Teaching about American Society in Broken English SSSP will provide the Student Paper Competition (SPC) winner with complimentary dues ($33), annual meeting registration ($83), and a plaque. Our Division will provide the winner with a $150 award. Jinsun has been invited to attend the Awards Ceremony (Saturday, August 10 from 5:45pm-7:00pm) where all SPC winners will be recognized. Thanks to the Student Paper Competition Committee’s members - Laurie J. Linhart, Kathy Stolley, Allison S. Reed - for their time. Below is the abstract of the paper: This autoethnographic paper analyzes my teaching experience in sociology classes at a US college as an East Asian international graduate student and instructor speaking broken English. The sociology classroom serves as a space where instructors and students can explore invisible and illegible lives as social issues, critically discussing structural problems and potential changes. In this sense, it can provide a secure and communal space for marginalized instructors who do not or cannot conform to the traditional image of a college instructor. However, as legal scholar Patricia J. Williams points out, mainstream sociology talks about civil rights not human rights. Keywords in sociology such as inequality and justice are largely discussed for US citizens, excluding people like me who are temporary residents, immigrants without citizenship, as well as people of color, nonbinary individuals, and East Asians. Through sociological reflection, I discovered that my anxiety as an instructor in the classroom stemmed not from my broken English, but from the challenge of teaching U.S. social problems while not belonging to U.S. society. Finally, I examine how instructors who introduce "discomfort" into the classroom facilitate "Education as the practice of liberation" in the sociology classroom. Page 10 MEMBERS' NEW PUBLICATIONS Kathleen J. Fitzgerald (2023) Recognizing Race and Ethnicity: Power, Privilege, and Inequality, 4th edition, Routledge 2023 https://www.routledge.com/Recognizing-Race-and-Ethnicity-Power-Privilege-and-Inequality/Fitzgerald-Fitzgerald/p/book/9781032304755 Hadjisolomou, Anastasios, Kyla Walters, Dennis Nickson, and Tom Baum (2023) "‘Boys will be Boys?’: Submissive Masculinity and Sexual Harassment in the Gay Tourism Industry." Hospitality & Society, 13:173-200. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1386/hosp_00068_1 Page 11 Members’ achievements Jerome Krase (Brooklyn College, NY) is currently serving as President of the European Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. (https://euasu.org) and has contributed to organize the conference "Local and Global Impacts of the War in Ukraine" with the Institute of Sociological Studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, in Prague on 6-7 June, 2024. Morena Tartari, our 2023-2025 Chair, has been recently appointed Associate Professor of Criminology and Policing at Northumbria University, Newcastle Campus, UK Jackie Zalewski acted as ASA Webinar Panelist, “Fostering Student Engagement in the Classroom,” October 26, 2023. Page 12 Division business meeting July 10, 2024, 2pm (est) The Teaching Social Problems Division Business Meeting will take place virtually on July 10th at 2pm (EST time zone). The TSP Division Chair will send the Zoom link for the meeting to each member. This is our Four-Part Business Meeting Agenda: 1. Sessions for the 2025 SSSP meeting, which will be in Chicago. 2. Material you would like to see in and/or contribute to an upcoming division newsletter. 3. 2025 Student paper award 4. Special division activities for the next year. Please reach out to the Division Chair ASAP if you have ideas and suggestions for items to include in the Agenda Page 13 2025 TSP Division workshop Work in progress! The Teaching Social Problems Division is currently preparing a proposal for a TSP Workshop on Teaching Social Problems for the 2025 Annual Meeting. With the participation of some members, we had our first meeting on April 15, 2024, and discussed the following aspects: 1. Topic(s) of interest for the TSP Division 2025 Workshop 2. Speaker(s) who can be invited (preferably among SSSP members) 3. The Organization Committee (TSP Division members who are willing to serve) 4. Other Divisions/groups/organizations that can be involved 5. Registration costs 6. Writing tasks After the meeting, the Division Chair completed the first draft of our proposal that is now is under review. The proposal will be submitted by the Division Chair by July 1, 2024, to the SSSP Board of Directors. Please reach out to the Division Chair ASAP if you have additional ideas and suggestions or would like to volunteer for the organization of this Workshop. Page 14 WE are “hiring”! The Teaching Social Problems Division is currently seeking for two members who are willing to serve in the following positions: Division Newsletter Editor We offer a $150 stipend to the newsletter editor to acknowledge and account for the time expended in getting materials together and in preparing an excellent newsletter. Social Media Coordinator We offer a $50 stipend to a social media coordinator to acknowledge and account for the time expended in managing our social media presence. Please reach out to the Division Chair ASAP if you want to apply for one of these positions or both of them. Page 15 FINAL ANNOUNCEMENTS RENEW YOUR SSSP MEMBERSHIP It is time to renew your SSSP membership! Please invite colleagues and friends to join the Teaching Social Problems Division! SSSP offers amazing opportunities for professional development and support graduate students and scholars in all stages of their academic career. Click here to renew your membership! https://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/m/255/fuseaction/ssspmember.portal GIVE THE GIFT OF A MEMBERSHIP Purchase a membership for a year to a student or a nonacademic activist. This gift would allow them to participate in the Society and their divisions of choice. It's a simple way to share the work of our society! Click here to purchase a gift membership! https://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/m/880/fuseaction/ssspmember.giftMembershipSelect