Teaching with Sociological Imagination in Higher and Further Education

Christopher R. Matthews is a senior lecturer and course leader at the University of Brighton, UK. He teaches on a variety of modules which explore introductions to the social sciences, research methods, gender, physical cultures, social theory, deviancy and globalisation. His research has primarily focused on understanding the conjunction between gender, sexuality and sport. More recently he has developed his theoretical contribution within a project examining the rearticulation of men’s power in the workplace.Ursula Edgington is currently an international freelance teacher and researcher based in New Zealand. She had a fifteen-year career in various commercial-sector jobs in England before seizing an opportunity to pursue her passion for teaching. Ursula’s educational and research efforts are chiefly connected to issues of social justice. Her specialist areas are sociology of emotions, creative assessment strategies and enhancing student-centred learning. Ursula’s published academic work addresses topics ranging from aspects of emotional labour in teaching and learning, to the use of innovative research methodologies.Alex Channon is a senior lecturer in physical education and sport studies at the University of Brighton, UK.  He has taught at a number of UK-based higher education institutions, and is a specialist in the social, historical and political aspects of physical education and sport.  Alex’s previous research has centred on the sociological study of martial arts and combat sports, as well as gender and sexuality issues in sport.

“Teaching with Sociological Imagination in Higher and Further Education is a valuable collection of topics from a variety of professional angles, all focused on how educators teach reflexivity and critical thinking, while practicing those same principles as educators. In doing so, Matthews, Edgington, and Channon have provided a strong and diverse contribution to the fields of sociology and education, as well as a demonstration of the value inherent in exploring, understanding, and practicing how these fields are interlinked.” (Matt Kubacki, Reflected Teaching, wabashcenter.wabash.edu, November 28, 2018)

• Chapter 1 Class talk: Discussing social class with English Undergraduates and sixth-formers.- Chapter 2 Inclusion in education: "A piggy back will do?".- Chapter 3 Learning cultures, reflexivity and creative subversion.- Chapter 4 Breaking the silence: Critical race theory in pedagogy and practice.- Chapter 5 Sociology, inequality and teaching in higher education: A need to reorient our critical gaze closer to home?.- Chapter 6 Twitter as part of an online learning-cultures approach: Exploring a lecturer's and a student-teacher's perspectives.- Chapter 7 'I've felt the tears welling up': Private troubles and public discussions in the sociological classroom.- Chapter 8 Pedagogy of laughter: Using humor to make teaching and learning more fun and effective.- Chapter 9 Moving lessons: Teaching sociology through embodied learning in the HE classroom.- Chapter 10 The sociological imagination and feminist auto/biographical approaches.- Chapter 11 Doing public sociology in the classroom.