Feb. 3, 2014

EXPLORING ONLINE SOCIOLOGY 

Each of the sociology and related sites provided on the syllabus offer a wealth of diverse information, ranging from racism, to feminism, to social media, and much more. As a student of sociology, I find each website to be interesting, though not all sites are necessarily relevant to my focus, which is animals and society (i.e., human-animal relationships).

There were a few websites, such as OpenLearn, Teaching with Data, the Society Pages, and The Sociological Imagination that perhaps lend themselves a bit more to my focus due to their array of topics; however, if I have to select one off of the list, I would select OpenLearn. Generally speaking, I am often forced to fit my focus into existing sociological research (methods and theory) due to the limited focus on animals and society within the sociological discipline. This is something I do not mine and in fact, I actually appreciate being part of a somewhat developmental aspect of social science, which has focused on humans. OpenLearn seems to offer a range of topics, including topics on animals.

OpenLearn appears to have a wealth of information, including but not limited to health, education, the arts, finances, science and technology, and nature and environment. The last topic most closely pertains to my focus as it discusses issues regarding species, habitats, and conservation, to name a few areas. Additionally, the site has a section on society, which contains links to policy and legal matters. As I go forward with my educational goal of gaining a PhD in Public Policy, I can see where this site, more than the other, will continue to offer me valuable resources for my area of focus, which is ultimately to improve the human-animal relationship.

As a side note, I have also discovered online resources more directly related to my focus. Here are three: 1) Society and Animals Forum http://www.societyandanimalsforum.org; 2) Homepage for Animals and Society section of the American Sociological Association http://www2.asanet.ogt/sectionanimals/; and 3) The British Sociological Association Animal/Human Studies Group http://www.britsoc.co.uk/study-groups/animalhuman.aspx.