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Putting the Pieces Together: Using Jane Smiley's "A Thousand Acres" in Sociology of Families

2000; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 28; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/1318586

1939-862X

Kelley J. Hall,

Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice

SOCIOLOGISTS HAVE USED FICTION as a tool for teaching sociological theories and concepts in a wide array of courses (Cosbey 1997; Hegtvedt 1991; Hendershott and Wright 1993; Laz 1996). Fiction can play an important role in learning sociological perspectives and concepts related to families from diverse backgrounds and situations. For traditional-aged undergraduate students who may have limited life experience, reading novels about families may expose them to a greater variety of emotions and complexities in family relationships than they would have access to otherwise (Cosbey 1997). Yet where Cosbey (1997) proposed a paper assignment based on individual students' selection of one novel from a list of many, I propose that using a single novel can be a valuable pedagogical tool. One novel in particular, A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (1991), is an engaging novel that is especially useful as the final reading assignment for the class during the last days of the semester.