Sociology 211: Community-Based Sociology

Community-Based Sociology is designed for any student interested in combining an ongoing or new local paid or unpaid community placement with sociological investigation into the topics central to the placement, to the placement’s interactional and group-level organizational dynamics, and to the overarching connection between social inquiry and its application in local organizations and/or projects. Professor-approved placements can be located in non-profit, for-profit, educational, governmental, human service, or other similar community settings in the Walla Walla Valley. Topics for placements can connect to fields in social sciences, humanities, arts, and/or sciences, and placements may be arranged using existing College resources or by the student and professor. Readings, lectures, and discussions cover epistemological, political, and conceptual overlaps and differences between traditional, public, applied, and other forms of community-based sociology, as well as issues surrounding reciprocity and ethics in the relationship between academic inquiry and on-the-ground work in the community. Students who take the class must have an arranged placement by the second week of classes, and must spend at least one hour per week in the placement. Placements must be concurrent with the semester the course is taken. Student work includes readings, reflective writing about the experience, class meetings (which includes discussion and presentation), responses to readings, and a project that integrates sociological investigation with the placement experience.