Social Change and the Climate Crisis: Toward a Sustainable Future
Mary Lou Finley, Antioch University
Students gain hands-on research experience and increase their understanding of the applicability of theories of social change and further information about climate change.

Wants Versus Needs
Madeline Lovell, Seattle University
"Wants Versus Needs" is a two-part assignment given to students to encourage reflection on the materialism/consumption inherent in today's American society. This activity is designed to bring home to students the personal impact of materialism and advertising in America today.

Using Metaphors to Advance and Assess Learning
Carmen Werder
Use metaphor frames throughout a course to help students both learn various concepts and to assess how they are understanding them.

Race and Space
Lindsay Custer, Cascadia Community College
This assignment exposes students to racial inequalities in their own communities and helps them to identify the impact of racial segregation on quality of life. The big ideas in this assignment are racial inequality, residential segregation, and environmental justice.

Indigenous Food Relationships: Sociological Impacts on the Coast Salish People
Ane Berrett, Nothwest Indian College
In this unit, students will analyze the macro level of societal influences which have interrupted micro level ecological relationship between plant and man. Sociological concepts such as sub culture, dominant culture, stages of historical change (Hunter Gatherer societies to Technological societies), stratification and poverty will be addressed through the sociological perspective. Students will experience solutions of sustainability which are interdependent with local place and people. Learning activities involve using the "citizen's argument," oral presentations, portfolio creation, written reflections and experiential service learning projects.

Doing Sociology: Media Portrayals of [Over]Consumption
Kayleen U. Oka, Seattle Central Community College
This assignment aims to illuminate connections among consumption/capitalism, media/ideology and the degradation of the environment. It also serves to introduce students to the data collection method of content analysis.

Sustainable Solutions for an Aging Population
Kathryn Keith, Pierce College
This activity will help students develop an understanding of the social and cultural dimensions of the lifespan, and in particular of the aging process; and, to further develop their ability to think long-term and multi-dimensionally as they apply anthropological concepts and approaches to a current issue in American society.

Exploring Personal Footprints
Bev Farb, Everett Community College
Students apply the main research methods in sociology to explore their personal footprints (i.e., the global consequences of their individual actions).

Plant People
Rob Efird, Seattle University
This integrated outdoor-learning, research and reflection exercise gives students a first-hand familiarity with local native plants and their significance in local native societies.

Visualizing Social Justice in South Seattle: Data Analysis, Race, and The Duwamish River Basin
Eunice Blavascunas, University of Washington
We examine the factors of race and environmental contamination, starting from the premise (and data proving) that race is not a biological, scientifically valid category, but a social, historical construction with real world consequences for equal access to health, resources, and power.