On Raising Hopes of Raising Teaching: A Glimpse of Introduction to Sociology in 2005

This is a written version of the 1993 Hans O. Mauksch Award Presentation delivered during the 1995 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. The paper contains four sections dealing with evolving forces that will influence sociology and undergraduate education across the next decade. These sections include: 1) forces on teaching and learning, 2) changes in sociology as a discipline ("where it's headed"), 3) a glimpse of introductory sociology as it transforms in the next 10 years, and 4) some suggestions to improve teaching in sociology. The authors claim no special insight; they simply speculate on the synthesis borne of interacting forces which are shaping teaching and learning, generally, and sociology, specifically.