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"It can be said that the first wisdom of sociology is this:
Things are not what they seem."
— Peter Berger
| Dr. Andi Stepnick Associate Professor of Sociology 300-C Wheeler Humanities Building Belmont University Nashville TN 37212-3757
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I earned my bachelor's degree in Communication Studies from Virginia Tech and Master's and Doctoral degrees in Sociology from Florida State University. My dissertation is entitled, Real Men Love Jesus: An Analysis of the Production and Reproduction of Masculinities within Promise Keepers. Promise Keepers is a contemporary Christian all-men social movement organization. Through qualitative research strategies, primarily participant observation, in-depth interviews with conference organizers and participants, and content analysis of Promise Keepers materials, I explore how this organization encourages members to construct, enact, and resist particular forms of masculinities. I also examine how the "Christian masculinity" promoted by Promise Keepers is a historically specific construct shaped primarily by the social institutions of gender, religion, and sport. I am currently revising my dissertation for article publication. My other research interests include gender, religion, and culture. Want to read more? I've attached the first chapter of my dissertation here.
I've been teaching at universities since 1995. You can find out more about my background and professional activities by reading my curriculum vitae.
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My passion for teaching began in 1990 when I started working with the Virginia Opera as Director of Education and Outreach. My colleagues and I faced a great challenge: To make opera — often a culturally and economically inaccessible art form — accessible to a broad segment of Virginians. Working together we created an outreach plan called, "Bridgeworks: New Operas, New Creators, New Audiences." Through this plan the Virginia Opera successfully bridged the gap between divergent constituencies throughout the state. This first experience with the educational process was valuable to me in many ways. Above all I was most fulfilled by contributing to the enrichment of people's lives through expanding their appreciation for cultural diversity.
In the arts, the best performers use their creative talents to communicate with audience members. Similarly, excellence in teaching originates from a communicative relationship between teachers and their students. For me, this process begins with an awareness of who my students are and how they developed their ideas about the world and their places in it. Knowing this information helps me identify the most effective teaching methods to use. Often students are unclear as to what Sociology is, viewing it no more than common sense — they believe their own experiences are typical, "natural," and "the way things should be" while seeing others' perspectives and experiences as less valid. As a teacher of Sociology, I challenge students to critique their experiences as "natural" and "true" — something that is often difficult and uncomfortable for them.
Given this challenge, teachers — like artists — must improvise and adjust to their audience. Improvisation in the classroom manifests itself as an ability to perceive and respond to students' need for different approaches to the material. I use a variety of teaching methods and classroom exercises to convey the importance of Sociology not only as an academic discipline but as an analytic tool for understanding the social forces that shape students' personal experiences. For example, I often play "theme music" (e.g. songs about poverty, racism, crime) as my students come into class. My students and I may analyze specific songs from different theoretical frameworks or we may begin discussions based on particular lyrics. By incorporating aspects of popular culture into my classes, students become aware of the relationship between popular culture and society — how social forces influence the creation of particular forms of popular culture and how popular culture shapes different conceptions of reality. Through activities like these, I hope to encourage my students to become active participants in their own education, not passive recipients of content I give to them. Students respond to my efforts and the feedback I get from them verifies that I have reached them in a meaningful way. (If you are a student, I encourage you to let me know how I can improve my courses and help you learn more effectively.)
My teaching philosophy is based on an inquiry into the conditions under which learning and intellectual growth, education, takes place. Underlying this inquiry is an assumption about how people learn: I believe that we learn through experience, and that experience is cumulative.
As a teacher of Sociology, my responsibility is to create an environment where learning Sociology is an experience for students. Achieving this goal requires creating meaningful relations in the classroom. The unique role of the teacher is to provide and use theoretically informed structures and methods that encourage the active participation of students, thus encouraging learning.
This philosophy is grounded in four principles. First, there must be mutual respect among participants. Participants should feel humanized through respectful dialogue with others. Second, classrooms must be safe spaces that encourage open communication between participants. Third, whenever possible, participation should be self-determined. Finally, teaching should incorporate active learning practices that maximize student participation and student learning.
The Sociology of Gender
Collective Behavior and Social Movements
Introduction to Sociology
Social Problems
Sociology of Health, Illness, and The Body
Men, Masculinities, and Media
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Gender Social Institutions and Complex Organizations Methods General Interest/Other |
 "It is never too late to be what you might have been." "A closed mind is a dying mind." "Be the change you want to see in the world." |
College Survival
Links to a Better Education (e.g., Time Management, Studying for Tests, Taking Notes, How to Write a Paper, Stress)
SVSU Student Success
Center (more handouts on everything useful for students)
Quality Reading
New York Times
The Washington Post
The Los Angeles Times
Nashville City Paper (local)
Gender Sites
National Women's History Project
Work and Family Sites List
American Men's Studies Association
Women's Studies List (including Activism, Feminism, History, Sport)
Volunteer Opportunities and other ways to do good
Hands on Nashville
Nashville Peace and Justice Center
The Hunger Site
The Southern Poverty Law Center
Children's Defense Fund
Heifer International
World Hunger Education Service
Action Against Hunger, USA
American Red Cross
Blood Water Mission
GreaterGood.com
American
Sociological Association
Section on Sex and Gender
Section on Family
Section on Race, Gender, and Class
Society for the Study of Social Problems
Tired of reading and thinking? Remember: I am your intellectual workout coach!
Want abs of steel? Then, you've gotta work out! Get tired after 5 sit-ups? Would a good personal trainer let you quit, have some pizza, and watch MTV? Want to develop a brain of steel? You can only develop your strength by working out your brain muscles! So, when you find yourself thinking that the readings (writings, tests, papers, etc) are "too hard" or "too long" just remember that if you don't work the muscle, it'll just stay flabby. (You don't really want that, do you?) So get to it! Remember, only you can do those (brain) sit-ups!
