Title

'It Opened My Eyes’: Using Student Journal Writing to Make Visible Race, Class, and Gender in Everyday Life

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2013

Publication Source

Teaching Sociology

Abstract

Journal writing is pedagogically appropriate for increasing reflexivity and conscious awareness of one’s environment. The journal assignment discussed in this article promotes recognition of the impact of race, gender, and social class on students’ everyday lives. In pre- and posttest surveys of students engaged in this assignment, students report statistically significant increases in awareness after journaling. These increases in awareness are found for students enrolled in introductory courses at two very different universities (one a private Catholic midsized university in the Midwest and the other a large state university in the Southeast). Students’ qualitative responses further substantiate the effectiveness of this assignment in meeting course objectives. To facilitate use of this assignment by others, we identify a set of best practices to help ensure high-quality journals and discuss challenges and benefits of this assignment, including getting to know one’s students.

Inclusive pages

82-93

ISBN/ISSN

0092-055X

Comments

The document to be made available for download in compliance with publisher policies on self-archiving is the authors' accepted manuscript. Some differences may exist between this version and the version of record, which is available online at http://www.asanet.org/.

Permission documentation is on file.

Publisher

Sage Publishing

Volume

41

Issue

1

Peer Reviewed

yes

Link to Full Text

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