Sound and Vision: Using Progressive Rock to Teach Social Theory

Abstract

theory to students' experiences. Another is the use of popular music in the sociology classroom. The literature on using music to teach sociology suggests that the medium is well .suited for use in a range of courses, and that it is an effective way of stimulating student interest and enhancing active learning. Among sociology instructors, the most common uses of music involve playing selected songs in class and discussing how the lyrics illustrate sociological concepts, ideas, and theories (Elterman 1983). Such a technique has been successfully applied in courses on deviance (Martinez 1995), race, class, and gender (Martinez 1994), theory (Burns and Martinez 1993), and introduction to sociology (Walczak and Reuter 1994). In fact, the materials collected in Reuter and Walczak's (1993) collection indicate that music can be used in almost any sociology course. Most recently, Ahlkvist (1999) has offered an alternative to the illustrative uses of music in sociology classes by making popular music the object of students' cultural analysis. Ahlkvist (1999) demonstrates how students in introductory sociology courses can learn about theories, concepts, and ideas by using them in their analysis of heavy metal music and subculture. By all accounts, illustrative and analytical uses of music in sociology classes are liked by students, and effective tools for making sociology relevant to them. *The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their help in revising this paper. Please address all correspondence to the author at the Department of Sociology, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO 809337150; e-mail: jarlandmarti@juno.com Editor's note: The reviewers were, in alphabetical order, Lilli Downes, Walter R. Jacobs, and Anthony M. Orum. Teaching Sociology, Vol. 29, 2001 (October:471-482) 471 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.170 on Tue, 26 Jul 2016 06:12:47 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 472 TEACHING SOCIOLOGY More generally, the value of multimedia learning is well established theoretically and empirically in the fields of psychology and education (Mayer 1997). Teaching techniques that engage multiple senses are well supported by theories of learning that emphasize the importance of drawing on organizing frameworks or schema that are meaningful to the learner (e.g., Neisser 1976; Paivio 1986; Torney-Purta 1991) and research on multimedia learning (e.g., Moreno and Mayer 1999; Park and Hannafin 1993; Penney 1989). According to Moreno and Mayer (2000), learning is enhanced when instructors present complementary stimuli that are relevant to the content of the lesson (p. 124), allowing students to use both auditory and visual processing channels. The technique described in this article employs popular music to address the challenges of teaching theory to introductory sociology students without glossing over its pivotal place in the course and the discipline. My approach to teaching theory to introductory students differs from most uses of music in the sociology classroom in that albums from a single music genre, rather than individual songs or lyrics, are used to highlight the distinctions between theoretical perspectives. I use progressive rock music to help students grasp theories holistically, rather than to illustrate isolated concepts and ideas. By demonstrating how the ideas of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber are expressed in the music of the classical progressive rock bands Pink Floyd, Yes, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer (ELP) respectively, students are able to grasp the distinctive focus of each of these classical theories.' In describing this teaching technique, I begin by offering a rationale for using progressive rock music. Secondly, I explain how I use this music in the classroom, and present evidence of the technique's effectiveness. In conclusion I discuss some limitations and alternative applications of the technique.