College of the Pacific
George Lewis
Teaching Approach
There is an old suspicion in Maine, where I am originally from, that--with education--a person can "know a lot, but realize nothing." I take this idea of "realizing" very seriously. It is close to what I think sociologists mean by "the sociological imagination." In my courses, I try--above all--to get you to realize things--social and cultural things that are true about the world. Yes, we wind up learning (knowing) a lot, but our larger challenge is that of understanding sociology well enough to use it in our own lives, of realizing what it can tell us about our social worlds.
So in my courses I expect you to read, to listen, but most of all to think about the material that is presented. How is a deviant act, such as hacking, an important part of the computer industry, for example. Or what can we tell about a culture by examination of its most popular games?
To that end, expect a lot of writing in my courses--my exams are almost always in essay format, and I like to assign research projects in which you can learn by doing sociology. Also be prepared to present the results of these projects--both to me in written form and to the class as a whole in oral form. Good practice for us all in moving from learning social facts to realizing what these facts are all about.
Please visit these pages for additional information:
George Lewis, Professor of Sociology
Wendell Phillips Hall 208
(209) 946-2925
glewis@pacific.edu
