Analyzes the sociological and psychological functions of the different forms of traditional Haitian dance. Describes uses of dances for recreation and play, social solidarity, externalization of emotions or sexuality, worship, and artistic expression. (KH)

The naturalistic perspective is concerned with the "micro" world of the school and classroom interaction and neglects the material determination of the phenomenological world. Advances in understanding the social world are more likely to occur if social research adopts the methodological apparatus of scientific Marxism. (JN)

Focuses on some associations between movement and social relations using as an example the dance-play (nkwa) of the Ubakala Igbo of the former Eastern Region of Nigeria. Discusses how the dance is used to promote self-identity, prescribe and assert social values and roles, and mediate between persons and their situations. (JMF)

Analyzes relationships between the social and cognitive institutionalization of library and information science research in Scandinavian countries from 1965-89. The goal of the study was to compare the development of the subject area, the research approach, the research methods, and the degree of internationalization. (Author/LRW)

States that individualistic orientation of most U.S. college students presents a persistent problem for teaching sociology. Provides an empirical evaluation using an active-learning exercise. Focuses on whether mate selection increases student understanding of social structure's impact on marital choice. Indicates that the exercise participants…

Suggests that the heterogeneity of human personality characteristics increases with age. Examines reasons for this phenomenon in terms of individual differentiation, social structure/allocation, and behavioral genetics. Develops a model synthesizing various study designs that prevent variation and covariation errors from occurring in life course…

At the dawning of the 21st century, the term "social justice" is appearing in numerous public texts and discourses throughout the field of education. However, and as Gewirtz argued in 1998, the conceptual underpinnings of this catchphrase frequently remain tacit or underexplored. This article elaborates Gewirtz's earlier…

When literacy specialist Jennifer Allen agreed to meet weekly with five boys who wanted to share their out-of-school writing with her, the weekly all-boys lunch-time writing group was born at Albert S. Hall elementary school in Waterville, Maine. She had intended to run the group as a writers' workshop and teach mini-lessons. But from the…

The authors describe what happened when feminist teaching came head to breast with mothering. The authors' attempt to impact student responses to feminist theorizing in a third-year social psychology class met with transgressions when a colleague, who had been invited as a guest-lecturer to speak about social structure and violence against women,…

The interaction between personality and social structure is one of the grand themes of both classical and contemporary social science. While different disciplines have addressed this issue from a variety of perspectives, within both sociology and psychology there are long standing research traditions that focus on the relationship between…

This guide is designed to be a catalyst for social change, and to transform attitudes, policies, and services concerned with suicide prevention to reflect current knowledge. It involves a comprehensive and integrated approach to reducing the loss and suffering from suicide and suicidal behaviors in the United States. Representing the combined work…

Explores the utility of focus group methodology as a tool for community service and student community-based learning through a service learning college course. Concludes with a discussion of how the group's focus aids student comprehension of sociology. (Author/KDR)

Describes the "sociological imagination," which suggests an ability to create possible reconstructions of larger social forces which affect peoples' lives, through a story about Muhammad Ali. Discusses the importance of stories and their role in society. Utilizes three more stories to address various issues in relation to literacy…

Outlines some future research directions in anthropology and education as they relate to gender issues. Studying how gender and education can be linked to more general values embedded in social organization seems an important area to explore. An example would be exploring how the teacher-student relationship reflects gendered relations of…

Describes the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) project in a mountain region in Switzerland, which is trying to halt depopulation and preserve the environment. Fourteen research units analyze relationships within and among the ecosystem, the economy, and the socio-cultural system. (KC)