Author: alex.kempler
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Urban Social Problems
This is an intermediate level, writing-intensive course that I taught for 6 semesters at OSU. In this course, students receive an introduction to the major topics within urban sociology, with an emphasis on social problems that have emerged as a result of urbanization. This course focuses primarily on U.S. cities and social problems unique to…
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Housing Movements and Mobilization
Houselessness emerged as a growing social problem in the 1980s, resulting in increased academic literature investigating the topic. These studies were generally descriptive in nature, focusing on estimating population sizes, understanding the demographic breakdown of the population, and taking “head counts” across the country. Unhoused individuals were portrayed as passive victims who were politically disempowered…
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Social Problems and Public Policy
This is an intermediate, asynchronous course that I am currently teaching at OSU. This course explores how social problems come to be, highlighting potential policy interventions. The first section of the course focuses on how social problems are defined, looking at individual, social, cultural, economic, and political causes. The second section dives into specific social…
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Eviction and Housing Policy
This line of research focuses specifically on housing policy within an increasingly commodified housing market One project builds on emerging eviction research in the United States, in which my colleague and I investigate the dynamics of the eviction courtroom during the COVID-19 pandemic through a courtroom ethnography. Given large-scale pandemic-related policy changes at the national,…
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Introduction to Sociology
This is an introductory course that I taught for 1 semester at Columbus State Community College. This course provides an introduction to the sociological perspective, exploring what it means to “think sociologically.” We look at how sociological research is done, and examine major social issues within sociology. Major social issues covered include: culture, socialization, social…
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Equality in Teaching Assessment
This area of research seeks to rectify some of the inequalities that exist in the college classroom. Since its inception, letter grading has received sustained criticism from scholars related to its reliability and validity as a measure of student learning, as well as its impact on students’ intrinsic motivation, psychological well-being, and learning outcomes. Despite…