A Semester of Sociological Theory in Music

_Earlier this year, Nathan Palmer at the Sociology Source described his idea for playing music before each class. As Nathan described in his post, he selected a music relevant for the day's topic and started the song so that it would end at exactly the point in time he wanted to start class. He noted that the music "can pull your students into a discussion, get them to consider controversial issues from new perspectives, and set a tone for a great class." I was totally convinced by this method and employed it throughout my semester of teaching Sociological Theory. I wanted to share some of the songs I used and my experience with it. Here are some of the songs I used:

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First Day of Class - The Show Must Go On (Pink Floyd)
Marx (Alienation) - Working at the Factory  (The Kinks; lyrics)
Marx (Communist Manifesto) - Working Class Hero (John Lennon; lyrics with video)
Marx (Commodity Fetishism) - Comfort Eagle (Cake; lyrics)
Durkheim (Social Facts) - The Times They are A-Changin' (Bob Dylan; lyrics in video)
Durkheim (Suicide) - Jeremy (Pearl Jam); Lonely Day (System of a Down; lyrics in video)
Weber (Authority and Bureaucracy) - Handlebars (Flobots; lyrics in video)
Weber (Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism) - Workin' on Leavin' the Livin' (Modest Mouse)
Du Bois (The Veil, Double Consciousness) - All Black Everything (Lupe Fiasco; lyrics with video)
Omi & Winant (Racial Formation Theory) - Changes (Tupac)
Symbolic Interactionism (Looking Glass Self) - Glory Days (Bruce Springsteen)
Neo-Marxism (Culture Industry) - Mountains O' Things (Tracy Chapman)
Foucault (Disciplinary Power and Surveillance) - Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash); Big Brother (Stevie Wonder)
Globalization (Global Culture and Consciousness) - Citizen of the Planet (Alanis Morissette; see more songs here);
Globalization (Imperialism) - Bullet the Blue Sky (U2; lyrics in video)
Gender - If I Were a Boy (Beyonce; lyrics in video)
Social Movements - Masters of War (Bob Dylan/Pearl Jam Cover)
Social Change - Change is Constant (Son of Nun)
Wrapping Up the Semester: Knowledge as Power - Wake Up (Rage Against the Machine; lyrics in video); My Generation (Nas & Damien Marley)

And just a few reflections on my experience: Overall my experience doing this was EXCELLENT! It got my students in a good mood to start every class. By timing the song to end exactly at the start of class, I was able to "train" my 95-student class to quiet down on time. It is also important to note that it is important that we--as instructors--start class in a good mood and energetic. The music can help us to do that too! It also provided for an interesting start to the class when I explicitly addressed the song. For example, during one of my days on Marx, I opened with a Tupac song, then started with class "Yes, I just played Tupac to talk about Karl Marx and his ideas about capitalism." Finally, it gave them yet one more way to think about sociological theory as relevant to every day life, and to consider additional sites to practice their sociological imagination. Having done this once, there is no going back! For more ideas for this activity, refer to Nathan's post.

Paul Dean