Fall 2003 Newsletter

In This Issue

(click below)
Dept. Award 
Spring Preregistration 
Caputo Book 
CCCS Literacy Fair
Goertzel Book & Course
Gullah Study Tour
Double MA Program 
New Building 
Poster Session 
Web-Enhanced 
Curriculum

Department Wins University’s Programmatic Excellence Award in May; Chair Invited to Present Department’s Web-Enhanced Curriculum to ASA and to Board of Trustees

Spring 2004 Preregistration News and Advice
Read this before you register!

Preregistration for the Spring Semester runs November 3-21, 2003.. All students are strongly encouraged to see a departmental advisor in planning their spring schedule. Here are a few Spring 2004 preregistration tips (click here for the combined departmental spring schedule):
 The Online Syllabi webpage at the departmental website contains links to more than forty course websites in the department, and offers a great way to explore course offerings for the Spring Semester. 
 All Sociology and CJ majors should take Methods and Techniques of Social Research (920:301) in the Spring semester if they have not already taken it. This course is a prerequisite for a number of upper-level courses, and knowledge of MicroCase and the basics of data analysis are increasingly expected in all upper-level courses. Note: the methods course also fulfills the second math requirement in the CCAS curriculum.
 It is generally a good idea to focus on required courses first, leaving electives until later. Sociology majors should take Introduction to Cultural Anthropology as early along as possible.
 Social Stratification is offered only in the spring semester each year. Sociological Theory is offered only in the fall. 
 Over spring break, two study tours will be led by departmental faculty. Dr. Meyer will again lead a criminal justice study tour to South Africa; a description of last year’s trip is available in the Spring 2003 newsletter. Dr. Hazzard-Donald will lead a six-day study tour to the South Carolina islands to study Gullah culture (see details below)
 Co-sponsored with the Psychology Department, Sociology’s Service Learningcourse on “Bridging the Digital Divide in Camden” will continue to combine a Wednesday late afternoon seminar with 5-6 hours of fieldwork at Camden community centers and schools. 
 The Winterim schedule of courses is available online for Anthropology, Criminal Justice, and Sociology. Several are being offered for the first time: Visual Sociology(McCarty), Brazilian Society (Goertzel), Women and Work (Stevens) 
 Students graduating in May must file their “Notice of Degree Candidacy” by the beginning of February with the Office of Student Affairs. They should meet with their major advisor prior to that and have their completed major worksheets approved and signed. 
 The tentative Summer Schedule for courses in Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice is available online.

Dr. Gail Caputo 

Children’s Center Sponsors Literacy Fair, Lecture Series

Directed by Distinguished Professor of Anthropology Myra Bluebond-Langner, theCenter for Children and Childhood Studies continues to expand its programs in education, service, and research. On Saturday, September 13th, the campus center was filled with children and their parents for a “Summer Celebration Fair” organized by the Center’s Camden Campaign for Children’s Literacy, headed up by Rutgers-Camden graduate Angela Connor Morris (Sociology 1997). Click here for a short video of this highly-successful event (RealPlayer required) . During the fall the Center also sponsored a “Remembering Childhood” lecture series with prize-winning authors Faith Ringgold, Tanya Maria Barrientos, and Michael Chabon.

Dr. Goertzel Updates Classic Cradles of Eminence
Also Offers New Winterim Course on Brazil

Originally published by his parents, Victor and Mildred Goertzel, Cradles of Eminenceis being updated and reissued in November by Dr. Goertzel and Ariel Hanson. The book will be rolled out at the National Association for Gifted Children’s 50th annual convention in November in Indianapolis. As noted in our last newsletter, the Portuguese translation of Dr. Goertzel’s previous book, Fernando Henrique Cardoso: Reinventing Democracy in Brazil, was honored at a reception in Brazilia hosted by President and Sociologist Cardoso himself. Dr. Goertzel will offer a new course onBrazilian Society in this year’s Winterim session. Click here to learn why you should learn about Brazil (Word document).

Dr. Hazzard-Donald to Lead Study Tour on Gullah Culture
in South Carolina Islands

An exciting new opportunity for students during the spring will be a study tour to the South Carolina coastal islands, led by Professor Katrina Hazzard-Donald. On these islands in the 18th and 19th century there emerged a distinctive slave culture known as Gullah, with its own language and traditions. Gullah culture has been at the center of historical and sociological studies of how the legacy of African culture became part of African American culture and indeed of American culture generally. Students will stay at the historic Penn Center, now a national historic landmark which was one of the first schools for emancipated slaves and later an important retreat for Martin Luther King and other leaders of the 1960s civil rights movement. Each day will be a mix of lectures, workshops, and visits to historic sites, cultural institutions, and local events.Prerequisite: Students must be taking or have taken Dr. Hazzard-Donald’s African American Culture course (920:430) or be registered as an African American Studies major or minor. Students may register for one credit of independent study credit for participating in the tour and in subsequent outreach. The study tour is being partially subsidized by money from the Department’s Programmatic Excellence Award and by other sources. Some scholarship money will also be available. Interested students should contact Dr. Hazzard-Donald.

Dept. to Move to Cooper Street Next Summer

The long-awaited move of the Department to new quarters on Cooper Street is finally expected to take place over the summer of 2004. Major reconstruction and rennovation is taking place in the adjacent buildings of 405 and 407 Cooper Street; the two buildings are being combined into a single one that will house the Department as well as the Center for Children and Childhood Studies. In addition to more spacious offices, the building will contain a departmental student computer lab and a lounge. We expect our new building to provide better space for our students to work and study, as well as to connect with departmental faculty members and fellow students.

Plan to Participate in the Annual Undergraduate Research Poster Session in April!

Plan to present your research this year at the annual Undergraduate Research Poster Session, co-sponsored with the Psychology Department, in April. It looks good on your resume and it’s fun as well. So save your work and think about how to present it visually in poster format. Last year’s Poster Session attracted so many students that we ran out of food–we’ll try to be better prepared this time!

Pictures of previous sessions may be accessed from the online Photo Album. A useful set of Guidelines for Visual Presentations is available at Skidmore College’s Sociology Department’s website. All sociology, anthropology and criminal justice students are invited to attend, and lunch is provided. Watch for the date in the spring!