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Teaching Sociology.
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DEREKV. PRICE
American University
AmericanUniversity
HENRYJ. RICH
American University
CHANGING
THE RAPIDLY
demographic real-
THE PASSIVE
EMPOWERING
STUDENT AS AN ACTIVE
RESEARCHER
15
16
TEACHING SOCIOLOGY
17
TEACHING SOCIALSTRATIFICATION
The guiding principlesof the fast-food
industryhaveacceleratedboth the demiseof
community-centeredclustersof "momand
pop" retail stores (romanticizedas Mainstreet USA) and the replacementof these
storesby corporate,chain-dominatedmalls
of WallStreetUSA. Within this postindustrial shrine to mass consumption, all the
"necessities"
of life areavailablein a centralized location of the suburbanperiphery.
Furthermore,they do not requireany prior
informationor personalsocialrelationships,
simplya standardizedmediumof exchange.
That is, moneyor its most efficienttransactional form:creditcards.
The most extremeexpressionof commercializedinterpersonalrelationshipsand
community self-sufficiencyis the popular
"themingof America."For example,CityWalkof Los Angelespresentsan "idealized
reality"of urbanlife that blursthe line between the authenticand the virtualby providingan inaccurate,pristineworldview to
those born in the "post-mall"era (Booth
1996). The "theming of America"trend
underliesthe new generationof malls:the
"megamall."As a recent account of this
phenomenonexplains:"It'sall in the mall.
That'sthe point. Peoplecan shop here,eat
here, sleep here, get marriedhere, and, as
long as they have money [or credit
cards]...can exist in here indefinitely"
(Finkel1995:30).The ongoingdebateover
the proposed $350 million American
Dream megamall project in suburban
Washington,DC illuminatesthe tensions
arising from imposing rationalforms on
everydaylife. Accordingto Stephen Fehr
(1996), the banalityof the enclosedvirtual
and
communityis miraculouslyrepackaged
marketed as personalized and localized
shoppingcenters,so thatit feelsasif theyare
partof the community.This is illustratedby
the increasingshift away from neighborhood activities that affirm community
bonds such as "trickor treating"during
Halloween to the impersonal or superficial
relationships of the antiseptic mall.
The fundamental tenets of McDonaldization-functional
specialization and
standardization-underlie the incorporation of efficiency, quantifiable calculability, and predictability in its spatial forms
THE MALL
Malls are a central feature of American suburbanizationand metropolitansprawl.They
offer nearly everything, from lottery tickets
and hobby collectibles such as baseball
cards, to medical clinics and financial services (bank branches),as well as more familiar
retailerssuch as department stores, clothing
stores, bookstores,beautysalons, and restaurants. Additionally, malls serve an increasingly important social function as a multiuse, public space. They offer familiar places
where the elderly can walk or converse with
friends, teen-agers can hang out at video
arcadesor the movies, and families can meet
at the food court. Today, suburban malls
represent rationally designed "mini-hubs"
of the postindustrialmetropolitan landscape
(Palen 1995). In fact, they have eclipsed the
traditional central business districts in their
commercial importance and are convincingly portrayedas containing "no unsavory
bars or pornographyshops, no threateninglooking characters,no litter, no rain, and no
excessiveheat or cold" (Jackson 1985: 260).
Since suburban malls have become the signature structure of the postindustrial era
(Kowinski 1985), exploring these "cathedralsof postwar culture"for a course assignment is both timely and relevant to undergraduatestudents.
The students in our mall project were
enrolled in an upper-level
sociol-
18
TEACHING SOCIOLOGY
TEACHING SOCIALSTRATIFICATION
a cooperatively negotiated division of labor.
All projectsreportedobservationsfrom their
fieldwork, including an introduction and
conclusion, with most citing appropriate
course readings.Some groups presentedtheir
observations systematically with tables,
graphs, and photographs2,while others preferreda simple narrativeapproach.All of the
papersexamined differentpatternsof stratification (race, class, and to a lesser extent gender) across the selected malls and assessed
whether their findings confirmed the
McDonaldization researchhypothesisor supported its null hypothesis. (Note, the latter
posits that all malls-regardless of presumed
architecturalstandardizationand functional
purpose--eventually attain their own social
identity and culturaldistinctiveness.)A lively
discussion followed each team'sformal presentation of their findings to the class.This led
to a consensus of opinion that the variation
acrossmalls was startlingand unexpected. In
fact, many students admitted that they had
never visited a working-class mail and were
astounded to find that all malls "are not
created equal." We then concluded with an
in-class demonstration of the popular board
game, "MallMadness,"and debatedwhether
it reinforces class, gender, and racial/ethnic
stereotypes(see Mitchell 1996).
STUDENTS'
FINDINGS
19
20
TEACHINGSOCIOLOGY
Mall
Upper-Middle-Class
Name:
Mazza
Galeria
Linguistic
Terminology Concierge
ValetParking
SalesConsultants
FoodCourt.
TransportationPrivateAutomobile
Surrounding EntranceBillboard:
DigitalHighTech;
Physical
LushlyLandscaped.
Environment
PhysicalMall OrnateEntrance:
Environment LivePlants/Brass
Railing
MarbleFloors
ChandelierLighting
Multitiered.
Artwork:
Commissioned
Statues,
Professional
Art(ForSale).
Compositionof Anchors:
RetailStores NeimanMarcus,Macy's,SaksFifthAvenue,
AnnTaylor,
Lord&Taylor,
Bloomingdale's,
Nordstrom's.
AustereEntrance:
ArtificialPlants
LinoleumFloors
UniformLighting
SingleLevel.
Artwork:Unframed,SchoolChildren
Display,SecurityStaffPhotos.
Anchors:
JCPenney,CCMurphy.
Subcontracting:
rugs,furniture,
jewelry,
checkcashing,sportscards,women's
fingernaildesigns,shoemaker.
SpecialtyRetailers:
AfricanEyes,Incense,AfricanAmerican
Fraternity/Sorority
Clothing,EthnicCraftand
Clothing(African,Indianimports),African
Americanbookstore,Christianretail.
FoodVenues
Chain:BurgerKing,RoyRoger's,Jerry's,
TacoBell,Subway,Popeye'sChicken,
MohammadAli'sRotisserieChicken.
IndependentEthnic:Chinese,Vietnamese,
Mexican.
Social
Patrons:Minorities,teenagers,multicultural.
RetailEmployees:
AfricanAmerican,Latino, Composition
teenagers,seniors.
MallSecurity:uniformed,visible,obtrusive.
AfricanAmerican,Hispanic,few whites.
SpecialtyRetailers:
Franklin
Mint,MuseumStore,Bonsai
Horticulture,
SharperImage,Nature
Company,GeorgetownGallery.
Ethnic:Chinese,Greek,Italian,French,
Russian.
SushiBar,Kobe
Full-Service
Restaurants:
Japan,Sahib'sRotisserie,Houlihan's,
Samurai,GodivaChocolatier.
white(European).
Patrons:Predominantly
RetailEmployees:
white,Asian,career
(African
Americans,Latinosin
professionals.
foodcourt).
MallSecurity:inconspicuous,casualdress.
white,someAfricanAmericans.
Primarily
scale malls], while low ceilings, dark corridors, and worn tiles distinguished the working-class malls." The brightness (natural
lighting, chandeliers) and unobstructed
openness of the middle- and upper-middleclass malls fosters a more aestheticallypleasing shopping experience than the drab and
more mundane atmosphere of workingclass malls. Such an effect in upscale malls is
consistent with their architectural design
since they cultivate a sensation of pleasurable desire through the "landscape"of the
interior area (Asensio Cerver 1995). The
researchteams reported severalother astute
insights into the social organization of
physical space. For example, one group
"mapped" the location of stores along a
hierarchicaldimension of status consumption and ease of access by consumers. This
relationship illustrated social class distinc-
21
TEACHING SOCIALSTRATIFICATION
Table 2. "How Much Is That Outfit In the Window?":
Selected Clothing Combinations by Gender and Socio-Economic Class*
Working-Class
Mall
Upper-Middle-Class
Mall
Women'sClothing
SaksFifthAvenue:Work
DanaBuchananSuit$678
Oscarde la RentaHat$100
DonnaKaranPantyhose$9
Shoes$235
Ferragamo
J.C.Penney:Work
Suit$179
JacquelineFerrar
Purse$39
Worthington
JockeyPantyhose$5
JFShoes$39
Total = $262
Total = $1,022
J.C.Penney:Formal
Sten'nayDress$150
HanesPantyhose$11
Underwear$8
AdonnaStraplessBra$21
Shoes $40
GloriaVanderbilt
SaksFifthAvenue:Formal
SaksGown$1,800
Pantyhose$16
Panties$19
NatoriStraplessBra$33
KennethColeShoes$98
Total = $230
Total = $1,966
J.C.Penney:Casual
LeeJeans$33
HuntClubT-Shirt$19
Dareto DressVest$56
ProKeds$36
SaksFifthAvenue:Casual
CalvinKleinJeans$52
CalvinKleinT-Shirt$20
JeanJacket$78
DKNYSneakers$48
Total = $198
Total = $144
Men'sClothing
MontgomeryWard
Hill &ArcherSuit$95
WentworthShirt$14
Botany500 Tie $12
Joe BoxerBoxers$14
GoldCupSocks$3
BugleBoyBelt$22
JonathanRichShoes$40
Total = $200
NeimanMarcus
GeorgioArmaniSuit$1,325
ZegnaShirt$125
Ermengildo
BrioniTie $160
JoeBoxerBoxers$14
PoloSocks$17
NeimanMarcusBelt$85
Shoes$315
SalvadorFerregamo
Total = $2,041
22
TEACHING SOCIOLOGY
cash checking outlets (Manning and Williams forthcoming). Interestingly, the upper- and middle-class malls aggressively
promoted both their respective corporate
credit cards (Macy's, Nordstrom's) with
discounts (10%) or free gifts to new applicants and other forms of consumer credit
23
24
TEACHING SOCIOLOGY
TEACHING SOCIALSTRATIFICATION
actionsthat featurean increasinglylimited
rangeof goods acrosstime and placein the
nearestretailmecca:the suburbanmall.As
this assignment demonstrates,the functional design of malls is fundamentallyinfluencedby "rational"
principlesthat facilitate massconsumptionwhile also embodying broaderpatternsof socialstratification.
Indeed, a varietyof social, economic, and
culturalfactorsfundamentallyshape these
distinctiveshrinesto the massconsumption
society.Evenso, socialagencydoesnot passively toleratethe far-reachingexcessesof
McDonaldizationtendencies. Consumers
can rejectoffensivemarketingcampaignsby
refusingto buy undesirableor unnecessary
products,workerscan quit jobs that foster
dehumanizingwork roles, minoritiescan
refuse to patronize predominatelywhite
mallsthat offerinhospitablesocialenvironments, low-income groups can demand
newer and cleanerfacilities,and shoppers
can challengeinvasivesecuritypolicies.
PEDAGOGICAL
SUCCESSES
AND POTENTIALLIMITATIONS
This fieldwork assignment provided our
white, primarilyupper- and middle-class
studentswith the opportunityto examine
criticallyvariousdimensionsofstratification
in a familiarsocialsetting.The vastmajority
of students enthusiasticallyembracedthe
projectand laudedthe opportunityfor selfdirected research(choosing researchsites
and stratification themes), collaborative
learning (especially group brainstorming
sessionswhile preparingthe final report),
and practicalrelevanceof exploringeveryday life "beyondthe obvious."The most
rewardingoutcome came during the class
discussionof the groupreports.This offered
a receptiveforumfor studentsto sharetheir
findingswith each other as well as to comparepatternsacrossall of the mall research
sites. In this way,studentswere exposedalbeit vicariously--to the full range of mall
experiences, while cultivating the germinating seeds of the sociological imagination
that had been planted through earlier class
readings and lectures. It was this participatory capstone to the project that demonstrated the intellectual progress achieved by
25
26
TEACHINGSOCIOLOGY
CONCLUSION:REFLECTIONS
ON STUDENT LEARNING
THROUGH ANDRAGOGICAL
PEDAGOGY
Sociology is generally taught from a pedagogical structure of lectures, movies, computer-aided multimedia assignments, research papers, and examinations. The
strength of the discipline, however, includes
its systematic and readily adaptable approaches to learning. While lectures and
other classroom exercises are necessary for
providing a solid foundation of relevant sociological concepts, the analytical contributions of the discipline (study of societies,
institutions, and social actors) can be en-
hanced by utilizingandragogicalteaching
techniques. Releasingundergraduatestudents from the traditionalconfines of the
classroomandempoweringtheirown investigationof familiarsocialspacesin the larger
society illustratesone applicationof this
technique.
In this fieldworkassignment,students
successfullyexploredthe social stratification of the mallingof Americain the extended classroomof metropolitanWashington, DC. Although the students had
little experiencein sociological research,
they presented relatively sophisticated
analyses.The awarenessof race,class,and
gender issues, cultivated through course
readingsand lectures,effectivelyinformed
the fieldworkof the students.This was not
easily achievedsince the privilegedbackgroundsof our white (mostlymiddle-and
upper-middle-class)students rarely encourages them to criticallyanalyze U.S.
society in generaland social stratification
in particular.We believe that the innovative synthesisof andragogicaland critical
pedagogicalteaching styles, achieved by
incorporatingreallife experiencesinto the
academicclassroom,offersexcitingopportunities for undergraduatestudents to
learn about importantsociological issues
suchas race,class,andgenderstratification
in postindustrialAmerica.
Upper-MiddleClass [C]
Georgetown
Mall1,2
MazzaGallerie
Mall1,2
Tyson'sGalleria1
*Classification
is based on priorresearchby senior
author(Manning1995;Manningand Butera1994).
Areasubwaysystem.
1Accessibleby D.C.Metropolitan
2Locatedinthe city(Districtof Columbia).
of
are
customers
racial,ethnic,and national
3Majority
minorities.
APPENDIXB. MALL
RESEARCHGUIDE
As participantobservers,your researchteam is
expectedto conductfieldworkat a minimumof
two (2) metropolitanareamalls.Youmustchose
one from GroupA (working-class
malls)and at
TEACHING SOCIALSTRATIFICATION
least one from either Group B (middle-class
malls) or Group C (upper-middle-class
malls).
For the written report, compareand contrast
your findingsfrom the differentmalls.Explain
how theirphysicalsimilaritiesanddifferencesare
the resultof contemporarysocialand economic
forces.Remember,the shoppingmall is a prodand suburbaniuct of both "McDonaldization"
zation trendsof the U.S. postindustrialsociety.
NOTE: if you do not have accessto a car,you
shouldselect malls that areaccessibleby public
transportation.Referto the Mall handout.
CONDUCTING FIELDWORK
AT THE MALL
1) What is the condition of the physical
environment surrounding the mall? How
would you describe the neighborhood from
the standpoint of socioeconomic status? Is
the location in the city, suburb, or more rural
setting?What kinds of public transportation
are available? What about parking problems? How would you describe the general
area? Is it in a commercial/industrial area,
residential,or somewhat isolated?How does
the location of the mall relate to Jackson's
discussion of transportation and spatial layout of suburbia?Explain.
2) How would you describe the layout of
the mall?What department stores "anchor"
each mall? What type of consumer do you
think the mall is targeting? How does the
mall encourage consumption versus leisure
social activities?How does it attractwomen?
Racial/ethnic minorities? Did you notice a
difference in the ambiance of the malls?
Were there different styles in physical structure and interior design?Was there an elevator, water fountain, chandelier, live plants,
statues, artwork,marble or brassornamental
materials?Did you feel "different"in a particular mall?Why?
3) Based on your observations, how
would you describe the clientele of each
mall? Are there any discernible differences
between the patrons of the different categories of malls?What time of day and days of
the week did you conduct your field work?
How much time did you spend to collect
your data?In order to enhance the reliability
of your information, plan your researchexcursion during the same time of the day
(morning, afternoon, evening) and week
(weekday, weekend). How does the
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TEACHINGSOCIOLOGY
REFERENCES
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