This piece first appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat. COVID-19 has thrown higher education into an unprecedented period of uncertainty. Funding sources, school openings, grades — each facet of the system is under a microscope. As another crop of seniors make way for a new crop of freshmen in the fall, the lesson to learn and…
Category: teaching
COSSPP Faculty Impact on Scholarship: Influence at a Glance
As the spring semester comes to an end, we want to take a moment to celebrate the accomplishments and influence of faculty in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy. This series of graphs produced by Dr. Jim Elsner offers a glimpse of the amazing work taking place in the College of Social Science…
Student Spotlight: Internship with Patriots Ghana/Cheerful Hearts Foundation
I have had the amazing opportunity to intern with Patriots Ghana/ Cheerful Hearts Foundation on the Child labor and trafficking project. This Non-profit organization is located in the Central region of Ghana to raise awareness to end child labor within the 3 fishing communities in Ghana, called Senya, Fetteh, and Nyanyano. These regions are located…
Student Spotlight: Parliamentary Internship
If you had told me as a Freshman at FSU that I would live in London and work in Parliament, I would have laughed. However, today, I am so proud that I took the initiative to apply for the Internship Program at FSU because it has changed the trajectory of my life in more ways than one.
Social Science Scholar: Asociacion CREAR, ESL Assistant
My experience with Asociacion CREAR has allowed me to see the important role of offering services to others that may help people achieve upward mobility. With the skills learned from Asociacion CREAR I am confident that I can work alongside other communities in Latin America through the Foreign Service or any NGO in their communities. This opportunity would have not been possible for me without the Social Science Scholars program and I am incredibly grateful for those that facilitated this experience.
Social Science Scholar: La Asociacion CREAR, Art Program Aide Intern
Without the generous funding and informative leadership seminar that Social Science Scholars provided me with, interning with an organization abroad would have been unimaginable. I am so thankful for the summer experience of living and working in rural Costa Rica. Through this trip, I was able to directly impact the communities of Playa Samara and El Torito by engaging the children in lessons that contribute to their personal growth. Interning with La Asociacion CREAR has also provided me with an intercultural experience that has allowed me to view the world through a new perspective.
From the Classroom: Engaging Statistics Students Who (Think They) Hate Math
Frankly speaking, most students don’t want to take math classes. I’m sure most of my students can recall vowing to never take another math class again after their Algebra 2 finals in high school. Imagine their disappointment when they learned that my Social Statistics course was a requirement needed to earn their undergraduate sociology degree….
From the Classroom: Sociology of Hip Hop
Since the course began in 2012, FSU has held several symposiums on Hip Hop and Education, a two day “Hip Hop is Life” event focused on health and numerous panels and workshops on Hip Hop and Social Change. We have hosted film screenings and dozens of guest speakers including Christopher “Play” Martin (Kid n Play), recording artist Dee-1 and Dead End Hip Hop. These events are always open to the University and to the Tallahassee community.
Transgender Justice Inside and Outside of the Classroom
Imagine having to constantly defer to people who mis-identify you, just to make it through your day. Now imagine doing it day, after day, after day.
The Cultural Landscape of Thanksgiving
In the years to follow the first Thanksgiving, the holiday was only sporadically recognized. The early presidents proclaimed days of Thanksgiving, but the federal government stopped recognizing the holiday in the early nineteenth-century. It was only in amidst the national disunity of the Civil War that Lincoln re-established the holiday as a means to reaffirm a sense of national unity. In this context, the story of the original Thanksgiving garnered new meaning, representing an ideal of people sharing a land together in spite of their differences.
