OurSummer,OurVoice

A first-year, first-semester group of academically disadvantaged students (with high school GPA under 2.70) worked together to produce a published anthology during their first semester in college. Specifically, the final project for one section of SOC 100 culminated in writing a 4-page paper that assessed the level of understanding students had that sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. Students were asked to use their sociological imaginations as they investigated the structure of groups, organizations, and societies, and how people interact within these contexts. Additionally, students were encouraged to examine the dynamics of power and inequality in society and the ways in which our individual lives are patterned by broader social institutions.

These papers were then published as an anthology that was bound in a physical book (available on Amazon!) and distributed a few months after the course ended. Student participation and involvement in the overall publication process was voluntary yet 100% of the students who wrote final papers participated in the anthology aspect of the project.

Finally, a student author panel event, hosted in the Alvin D. Loving Cultural Center, was held for the student authors, with four students chosen to speak about their work. The event was well-attended with UM-Flint faculty members and members of the Greater Flint community engaging with the students.

The project was innovative because it extended beyond the semester and the product was a collective outcome. This avoided the common “study to the test” phenomenon and allowed students to envision their work beyond the scope of the limited 7-week semester time frame. Further, the publisher, a local Blackowned business, is excited and ready to conduct this project again in future semesters.