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DISCUSSIONS ON THE TEXT BO0KThe Sociology of Communitiesmoderated by Phil Bartle, PhDWeb DiscussionsContributions will be added to the top of this collection as I receive themDate: Wed, 19 Jan
Today Ottawa called and gave me the assigned ISBN number of our text book, The Sociology of Communities; An Introduction.
Date: Wed, 14 Jul
This is just a preliminary critique of your draft introductory soc book. I would need to read the book further and more thoroughly to offer constructive advice.
I find the draft book interesting and full of useful examples that help put the terms in a language I can understand. But I find that the book does not offer enough of actual defintions and in depth explanations of the necessary terms need for introductory sociology.
When it came to answering the exam questions, I found that I referred to the Henslin text for advice and not to the draft book. As of yet I have not found the draft book useful for learning the course material but only as a reference for interesting stories. Sorry. Like I said the idea may change as I get to read the book further.
July 1 Canada Day
I think the section, Family, Community, Society; Two Spectra, currently in Chapter Four, Family, should move to Chapter Two, Community Characteristics. The boundaries between Community and Family are becoming more blurred, especially as families are becoming more loosely defined, as we recognise the wide variation in family structures. Chapter Four concentrates more on the Socialisation process, and so that spectra section would do better as part of the discussions on community characteristics. Chapter Four might eventually be split in two, one on families and one on socialization. If it is to concentrate mainly on the reproduction of culture, then the secion on The Dark Side might be moved to the chapter on deviance and crime.
Now that it is confirmed I am to teach Soc 100 in the Summer term, my efforts have to move away from the text book and towards preparing the course outline and new lecture notes. This is why instructors find it difficult to write text books. I, at least, find it difficult to walk and chew gum at the same time ──► I find I cannot concentrate on more than one major mental task in a day.
June 30
Should the chapter on inequality be expanded to include global inequality? No, this book is about communites. What about communities of nations? Hmm..
June 29
I would like to write more on the six dimensions. I do not want to split the chapter into six chapters, however. Should the Worldview Dimension be expanded into a chapter on the Sociology of Religion? Should the Interactional Dimension be expanded into a chapter on Social Interaction? Should I write more on the presentation of self?
June 28 Election day
I spent much of yesterday and today putting the
Web References Page, an accessory to the book, onto the site. There are a lot of Internet references in sociology, and it is possible, with cautious exploration, to cover every topic in the Henslin textbook by using the internet for free. Save 70 dollars. Take risks. ~~~ Phil
June 27
The second quotation at the head of Chapter Six, by Raglan, should be moved to the head of Chapter Three.
June 26
Two friends, English teachers from U.Vic, came over for an African lunch made by Liz. Both were impressed with the book, and felt that it was so much easier to use to get into the subject than the ones they had when they took introductory sociology, which had; "Too many definitions." ~~~ Phil
June 25
Camosun Imaging has just now printed the first draft of the book. I took it to our departmental lunch, and got very favourable comments from my colleagues when I showed them my review copy. Reading it carefully later, however, I found that there are many typos (typographical errors) that need to be cleaned up. I know the students will find it useful, but also hope that they will also help me to polish it for eventual publication. Started this blog as a forum for discussion. ~~~ Phil |
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