Contexts Magazine as a Teaching Tool

by James M. Jasper, Editor, Contexts magazine

The mission of ASA’s Contexts magazine is to bring sociology and social science to non-specialist audiences. When Jeff Goodwin and I agreed to become the magazine’s editors in early 2004, we thought this would especially include journalists, policymakers, and the public purchasing the magazine at newsstands. Instead, by far the largest non-sociologist audience has been undergraduates who read Contexts articles assigned in their courses.

The popularity of Contexts in the undergraduate classroom should be no surprise. Claude Fischer, Contexts’ founding editor, took great pains to make sure every feature could be understood by someone with no special training. We have diligently tried to continue this tradition, thoroughly editing several drafts of most articles and reviews (often to the surprise of authors who have rarely been edited so meticulously before).

The extent of the magazine’s course use has impressed the Contexts editorial staff. At this point, the magazine’s biggest contribution to the profession, beyond publishing research, apparently lies in providing readings for instructors. Recognizing this trend, we want to embrace, encourage, and extend the use of Contexts in the classroom.

Suggestions for Instructors

Feature articles are not the only appropriate venue for undergrads to learn from. Every issue includes a onepage “trends” piece, currently written by Deborah Carr, on various attitudes or outcomes over time. Many issues also include a one- or two-page “just the numbers” on topics of interest—sometimes new findings, sometimes summaries of what we know. Instructors might make useful exercises out of asking students to update some of these pieces (which are our equivalent of the “research note”). A number of our “conversations”— interviews and forums— are also appropriate for classroom use, and a photo essay could liven up any course material. Finally, our “keywords” essays on central concepts in social science are designed especially for undergraduates.

There are several ways to use Contexts in the classroom. The most popular technique so far is to select a few articles to include on the syllabus. This can be done legally or illegally and there are plenty of examples of both. Naturally, we prefer the legal methods, because some revenue goes to the magazine. (Contexts still operates in the red at this point, so every additional bit of revenue helps ensure its survival, just as every subscription does.) The most reprinted articles so far are “After the Sexual Revolution: Gender Politics in Teen Dating,” by Barbara Risman and Pepper Schwartz (Spring 2002); “Caring for Our Young: Child Care in Europe and the United States,” by Dan Clawson and Naomi Gerstel (Winter 2002); and “Life Without Father: What Happens to the Children?” by Sara S. McLanahan and Dona Schwartz (Spring 2002).

Not Just for College

We hope that Contexts will introduce not only college students but also high school students to sociology. Sociologists Barbara Schneider and Caroline Persell have held a number of workshops with high school teachers of sociology, who were impressed with the magazine and thought it would be useful for them. High school teachers who are affiliate members of the ASA automatically receive Contexts as part of their membership.

Another way to use Contexts in your teaching is to order a single issue through your bookstore for use alongside other assigned books. Our special issues on race (Fall 2005) and on families (Fall 2006), for example, are handy ways to provide a great deal of information and analysis on these important topics. (Our Summer 2007 special issue will focus on social change, in conjunction with the ASA Annual Meeting theme.)

We are in the process of working out other venues to give students access to Contexts. Sociologist Kathryn Edin worked with several instructors last spring to explore ways to use subscriptions in introductory courses. She reports that students particularly liked the articles for being brief, well written, and topical. “They felt that Contexts struck a middle ground between a textbook, which regurgitates interesting subject matter in often boring ways (pablum!), and original texts (too long and daunting many times).”

Students Weigh In

As one of Barbara Schneider’s undergrads at Michigan State University said, “These are issues you care about, can relate to…. You connect more to them than to readings that are 50 pages long and 800 years old.” And although it made us cringe, another pointed out that Contexts articles have an advantage even for students who don’t like them: “Contexts articles are short. If you’re not interested, you’re done. If you are interested, you can keep reading, get more information. These articles give synopses and references. That’s good.”

Finally, in the fall of 2007, using Contexts in your classroom will become even easier when W. W. Norton publishes a volume of our most popular readings over the years, specially designed for introductory sociology courses. The Contexts Reader will contain more than 60 selected articles and keyword essays from the magazine, along with study questions and related projects for classroom discussion. All the main fields of sociology are represented. To request an exam copy of the Contexts Reader when it is ready, contact your local Norton representative at (800) 233-4830 or visit their website at www.wwnorton.com/college/contact.htm.