[SSC] SSC Digest, Vol 22, Issue 11 Social Science Imagination first class

Sat Oct 6 10:39:38 UTC 2012

Dear all,
Thanks for this wonderful report on the meeting, Mike, which I unfortunately missed. I'm sure all present gained enormously from the rich exchange of ideas and feelings. I was pleased to see that newspapers were used to extract some important themes. I wondered if you looked at their content - but also at what they left out (usually far more important and interesting!). I guess I'm anticipating my session on newspapers on October 17...
Best wishes,
Richard 

________________________________

From: ssc-bounces at lists.aktivix.org on behalf of Michael Neary
Sent: Sat 2012/10/06 9:49
To: Mike Ward; ssc at lists.aktivix.org; simon at goldhill.me
Subject: Re: [SSC] SSC Digest, Vol 22, Issue 11 Social Science Imagination first class

Hi Mike, 

 I posted text below on my Learning Journal page on the SSC website. We are working out how to make these journal blogs accessible to all:

Social Science Imagination 1: Backwards into the future

We met in a room on the ground floor of the Pathways Centre, Lincoln <http://www.frameworkinlincs.org/pages/the_nomad_centre.html> .   The student-scholars present were  Laura, Vernon, David, Grace, Alan, Alice, Annie and Stephen - only Darryl couldn't make it;  the teacher-scholars were myself, Sarah and Zoraida. We talked about the relationship between biography and social structures and how social science, or thinking the way that social scientists think, might help us better understand and engage with what often appears as the confusing realities of everyday life. We agreed that the mainstream frames of reference imagined by social science, e.g., feminism, structuralism, marxism, postmodernism and existentialism are important in enabling us to de-naturalise the social world. De-naturalisation was discussed as a way  of revealing the origins or substance of what lies beneath taken for granted assumptions and concepts. Someone in the group suggested  contemporary archeology <http://www.amazon.com/Contemporary-Archaeology-Theory-Pragmatism-Coursesmart/dp/1405158530>  as a way of de-naturing the cultural world.  We agreed the rational scientific approach on which  de-naturing is based should not exclude how we feel  the social world through our emotions as a fundamental aspect of social life and, therefore, of social science.  Our conversations were framed around  C Wright Mills <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._Wright_Mills> ' book 'The Sociological Imagination' <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sociological_Imagination>  published in 1959.  This is a core text in the social sciences. The response to the book around the room by the student-scholars was  emotional as well as rational. A request was made to read the book on its own terms: to  look for the structure or reason through which Mills builds his concept of sociology. Earlier in the session we had looked at press cuttings that identified issues with which we were all concerned. A number of key themes emerged from our conversations about these newspaper stories  e.g., money, power, gender, class, value, sex, culture, rights, empathy, freedom, trepadation. We set ourselves the goal of investigating these themes in future sessions. We all agreed to write something biographical, making connections with the themes and the frames of reference we had identified. At the end of the session Stephen read a piece he had authored, it was structured in an interesting way: written backwards into the future, looking at the experience of an imaginary student at the Social Science Centre who had completed the first year. We all enjoyed it very much. Next week we are going to carry on with a close reading of Mills as well as reading aloud our own writings to each other.

As we talked other readings were suggested as substance and background. These included: Georg Simmel's <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Simmel>  The Philosophy of Money <http://www.amazon.com/The-Philosophy-Money-Georg-Simmel/dp/0415046416> , David Graeber's <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Graeber>  Debt <http://www.amazon.co.uk/Debt-The-First-000-Years/dp/1933633867> ,  Paulo Freire's  <http://www.freire.org/paulo-freire/> Pedagogy of the Oppressed <http://www.pedagogyoftheoppressed.com/>  and various works by John Rawls <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rawls> , Gordon Pask <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Pask>  and Erasmus Darwin <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus_Darwin> . We are starting to construct a body of reading together, rather, as is normal in courses in higher education, for the lecturer to provide a reading list at the beginning of the course. It is important we do not fall into the trap of limiting the canonical work of the social sciences to 'dead white males'.

I felt exhilarated  by the session. After two years in the planning, the Social Science Centre was doing social science. I feel proud to be a part of this group.

This session forms part of a programme of study: Social Science Imagination, that will run up until Christmas 2012. At the end of this programme student-scholars will write a three-thousand word paper that will be reviewed by teacher and student-scholars and recognised as writing at a level equivalent to student work at higher education institutions. The student-scholar work will be sent out to associate teacher-scholar members of the Social Science Centre for external review.

---------------------------------------------

> Date: Sat, 6 Oct 2012 09:11:27 +0100
> From: miward at lincoln.ac.uk
> To: ssc at lists.aktivix.org; ssc at lists.aktivix.org
> Subject: Re: [SSC] SSC Digest, Vol 22, Issue 11 Social Science Imagination first class
> 
> 
> Hi All
> 
> So I have been watching the list with anticipation, but nothing has come up yet! I am really interested to know how the first Social Science Centre class/session went on Thursday night?Did it run as expected? How many people turned up? Who led the session?!
> 
> Cheers
> Mike W
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ssc-bounces at lists.aktivix.org on behalf of ssc-request at lists.aktivix.org
> Sent: Fri 05/10/2012 13:00
> To: ssc at lists.aktivix.org
> Subject: SSC Digest, Vol 22, Issue 11
> 
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> Today's Topics:
> 
> 1. Change of date and venue. 13.10.12 at Pathways not 20.10.12
> Croft St. (David McAleavey)
> 2. Scholary Literacies. (David McAleavey)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2012 16:43:40 +0100
> From: David McAleavey <davidmcaleavey at virginmedia.com>
> To: ssc <ssc at lists.aktivix.org>
> Subject: [SSC] Change of date and venue. 13.10.12 at Pathways not
> 20.10.12 Croft St.
> Message-ID:
> <CADx5COr0+YGKL222kSABYqe-1m2B-G87ziWFdYWGi=YfoOr5qQ at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> Dear All,
> 
> It was decided at yesterday's meeting, following Steve's suggestion about
> managing meetings/workshops more thoughtfully (mindful of those who travel
> significant distances to join us), that we would reschedule our
> organisational meeting to 13.10 to follow Sara's workshop on decision
> making. So, we will now be working from 11am-1pm at Pathways with Sara,
> then holding our usual meeting at Pathways between 1pm - 4pm. Saturday
> 20.10 at Croft St is now cancelled. Sara, can you circulate something to
> help us prepare for the workshop?
> 
> I think that makes sense.
> 
> Respectfully yours,
> 
> David
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> Message: 2
> Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2012 12:18:23 +0100
> From: David McAleavey <davidmcaleavey at virginmedia.com>
> To: ssc <ssc at lists.aktivix.org>
> Subject: [SSC] Scholary Literacies.
> Message-ID:
> <CADx5COrsK+xPkjSsHyXWkN=Bd-nm9Z6Rx8zMkCOH2TxF+bRMVw at mail.gmail.com>
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> 
> Dear All,
> 
> I was in the process of cancelling our organisational meeting (scheduled
> for Saturday 20th October Croft St), when I noticed that we had a meeting
> scheduled there (our website calendar), tomorrow at 2pm... Ray (centre
> manager) has pencilled us in - we did not have a booking! Can the working
> group leading this course contact to confirm or cancel tomorrow's booking,
> and schedule the other meetings/classes for the rest of the term...
> 
> Ray: 01522 852 907
> 
> 
> Respectfully yours,
> 
> David
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> End of SSC Digest, Vol 22, Issue 11
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The University of Lincoln - a top performer in student satisfaction, enjoying an unrivalled ascent through the University league tables, set in a dynamic, research rich and vibrant campus in the heart of a great historic student-friendly city.

The information in this e-mail and any attachments may be confidential. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender immediately and remove it from your system. Do not disclose the contents to another person or take copies.

Email is not secure and may contain viruses. The University of Lincoln makes every effort to ensure email is sent without viruses, but cannot guarantee this and recommends recipients take appropriate precautions.

The University may monitor email traffic data and content in accordance with its policies and English law. Further information can be found at: http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/legal.