Sociology: Dr. Ken Spring
We often hear stories about the impact of one's cultural environment on the personal beliefs. Ideas such as the northern liberals, conservative right from the Bible Belt, or the middle class values of the heartland all influence how we see the world around us. In thinking about one's culture, we needn't explore foreign lands, as the United States offers its own exploratory opportunities. This course will be an exploration of the effects of space and place on one's cultural identity.
This course has been carefully constructed to integrate cultural epicenters, icons, points of special interest and points of industry. Each place provides a snapshot into our history, and together, they provide a glimpse into our future. By understanding our own land, our own ideas, and how they come about, we better understand what it means when someone proudly proclaims themselves an American.
Space, place and identity have long been understood as an integral field within sociology. This course will combine that theme with the larger institutional themes in sociology: politics, economy, religion, education, family, and media. Students will also look at the roles of gender and race in our much storied history. Each day, the class will come together to discuss the uniqueness of each place, sharing stories of their experiences, sights they've seen and their conversations with the locals.
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Third Year Writing: Dr. Bonnie Smith
This section of third year writing will be especially unique because it will consider the idea of America while we travel together on the road. We will especially be considering connections between reading and writing and America's rich traditions of travel and tourism.
Formal and informal travel narratives will be key texts for this class, since we will write and read along the way. In particular, all students will write on the road, and special efforts will be made to publish student writing on blogs and in newspapers local to the places we visit on the trip. Upon our return, students will also complete an extensive research paper/project on a particular place we visit.
Dr. Andi Stepnick, Ph.D.
Dr. Stepnick earned her Ph.D. from Florida State University. She teaches the Sociology of Gender; Family Sociology; the Sociology of Health, Illness & the Body; Restorative Justice; Social Problems; Visual Sociology; and Men, Masculinity & Media.
She researches gender and social movements, popular culture, and pedagogy. In fall 2007, she initiated two new community service programs at Belmont to help Nashville's homeless population and to work towards prison reform. In 2005-06, she earned one of Belmont's most prestigious teaching awards, the Presidential Faculty Achievement Award, for her contributions to students' intellectual, personal and professional needs.
