Fronts Matter: The Effectiveness of an “Edited Book” Project in Classical Theory

Abstract

The instruction of classical sociological theory at Lehman College of the City University of New York (CUNY) underwent significant transformation to make it more activity-based and better aligned with departmental learning goals. The article focuses on the effectiveness of an “edited book” project that came of this endeavor, where students become editors and curate “chapters” on a topic by identifying journal articles from specific sociological traditions to then write the “book’s introduction.” In addition to situating the project within the sociology curriculum and scholarship on sociological literacy, the article presents assessment results that revealed improvement in learning outcomes. The latter suggests that discipline-specific writing and literacy activities can be as effective as informal assignments even in anxiety-inducing courses like theory. This is encouraging given Lehman College’s role as a commuter campus, which makes the instructional strategy applicable in a wide range of programs.