Overcoming "Doom and Gloom"

Johnson, B. (2005) Overcoming "Doom and Gloom": Empowering Students in Courses on Social Problems,
Injustice, and Inequality. Teaching Sociology, Vol. 33, No. 1. pp. 44-58

While I initially wanted to stick to strictly “Classroom activity” article, this article grabbed my attention. The author addresses the problematic tendency of sociologists to exaggerate the unchangeable state of social problems. As a sociologist, Johnson recognizes the need to discuss social problems as symptoms of deeper societal phenomena. However, he writes that too many sociology teachers come to only cover the deep roots of societal problems without discussing any solutions, or the successes of past campaigns against unjust societal institutions and practices. Even less sociology teachers are willing to spend class time discussing the individual actions that can be taken by the students to support or create needed structural changes. He outlines four kinds of common student responses to social problems courses;

Disengaged: "To tell you the truth, current events, politics, and the like just don't interest me. It's confusing, and if you try to worry too much about that stuff you just get depressed."

Do-gooder: "I don't know why we can't just work together and cooperate. We need to fo- cus on helping each other instead of fighting all the time."

Cynic: "There's no point in trying to fix the problem, because our society is so rotten to the core that you might as well say 'fuck it' and at least try to have some fun while you can."

Social Change Agent: "Each of us has the responsibility to inform ourself about the world's complex problems and do something about them."

All too often as teachers we strive to move the disengaged by simply driving home the importance and seriousness of a social injustice. We then outline the statistics supporting our claim, cover the theories of why those statistics are present, and maybe even cement the importance of the issue with a heart wrenching video. But then we just move on to the next social problem to be covered, or offer implausible or downright impossible solutions (i.e. Communist revolutions, eliminating gender norms, removing national boundaries, etc.) Even if we have successfully moved that disengaged student, we have framed the problem as insurmountable. Without any discussion of possible solutions students do one of three things; they move back to their previous state of disengagement. They become a paralyzed cynic, or they begin to lean on empty “do-gooder” statements that remove any personal responsibility outside of their own thoughts.

Johnson Moves on to outline that any discussion of a social problem should follow 5 steps; (1) identify the process through which social problems are constructed (How they are discussed, why we consider them a problem, (2) identify existence of the social problem (Studies that show it is real and not a cultural myth), (3) identify core causes of the social problem (for example over-consumption causing pollution, living in a consumer culture, etc.), (4) identify structural solutions to the social problem(changing of cultural norms around social status being based in consumption), and (5) identify individual actions that contribute to structural solutions (Beginning to lessen your own consumption, getting involved with local groups that are spreading information to others).