Social Theory · Sociology
This recitation was super helpful in clarifying any questions that I had on the reading or from the lecture.
Heavy. Reading that can range from 15-80 pages depending on the day, but all of it is super necessary. Assignments that range from 1,000-1,200 words. Tedious, but annoying. Midterm and final exam. Occasional group work.
I learned a lot about the foundations of sociology and where the field developed. Some of this material was exciting and applicable to my view of the world.
All of the reviews of Becher are spot-on. She's funny, casually brilliant, and able to take really dense material and make it understandable. I was dreading taking social theory because it's tons of dense reading, but Becher made it manageable and was clearly enthusiastic about teaching the material. She's the kind of professor who wants you do to well, and with whom you will want to do well. She's also one of the few professors who was able to take a class of more than 30 students and have q-and-a sessions that were productive. Some of the small group work we had to do was tedious and annoying, but you get through it. Every assignment she gives, even if there are a lot of them, has a reason behind it. She has a very clear idea behind how to teach social theory and she conveys that really clearly.
I learned about the broad sociological canon. I really enjoyed being grounded in some of the major contributors to sociology and practice applying their theories.
Learned about theory and principle authors who created and developed the sociological canon
I learned so much! I was unfamiliar with most of the course material at the beginning of the semester
I feel like i gained so much knowledge and understanding of the theory we read, and this was a great course to introduce me to the world of sociology.
I learned basic classical social theory, how to apply this theory to the real world, how to question theory, and the history of sociology as a discipline.
I learned a lot about different theorists' approaches to sociology and society, as well as ways these theories could be relevant in today or whether they were a misunderstanding of society based on biases. It was also a great class to really think about why a major in sociology may be useful in understanding the world as a whole.