Welcome to the SOC 206 Online course WebBoard!

I am the instructor for the course. My name is Jim Salt (please call me Jim). I teach sociology full-time at LCC. This term I'm teaching this course, three classroom-based versions of this course, and a course entitled Social Class, which is part of a Learning Community entitled Fat Cats and Underdogs.

I am originally from New England (Mass, Maine, and New Hampshire), but have lived in Oregon for 16 of the last 20 years. I received my BS in sociology from the Univ. of Maine in 1980, my Masters and Doctorate in Sociology from the Univ. of Oregon in 1984 and 1991, respectively. I've taught sociology full-time at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, the University of Tampa (FL), and here now for four years. I consider myself extremely fortunate and privileged to be teaching here.

While I greatly value my opportunity to teach sociology, I am a firm believer that the goal of education is not just knowledge, but "action"; my favorite quote from one of my favorite philosophers says that "Philosophers [one could also add sociologists here] have merely interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it." I believe that the privilege of studying about our world must be "paid back" by our efforts to address the problems we find within it, as we see them. There are many ways this can be done, of course. Personally, I have always tried to be active in my community; most recently much of my "community work" energy has gone into the LCC faculty union, of which I am the Chair of the Action Team and the Vice President for Transfer Faculty. Working for faculty (as well as student and classified worker) rights, and promoting and defending a progressive vision of our college has been a central task in my work. This has been especially important lately in light of the administration's cuts of numerous educational programs, and the resulting loss of educational opportunities for students and loss of jobs for over 30 full-time faculty, including a number of my friends and close colleagues.

I do look forward to getting to know the students in this course, as we explore the sociological study of our societies' institutions and processes of social change. You will find I believe that a number of our social institutions are far from perfect, and in great need of significant social change (the final subject of the course). I do not, of course, expect students in the course to agree with my sociological interpretations; but I do expect everyone to develop their own critical insights into our social institutions, and to share them openly, earnestly, and respectfully in these WebBoard discussions (more on this in the Section A Introduction!).

See you on line,

Jim Salt