Professor Kathy Liddle is a sociologist whose research interests lie at the intersections of culture, organizations, gender, and sexuality. In addition to teaching introductory sociology, she has developed and taught courses on culture, media, qualitative methods, and sociology of books. She has particular interest in creating community within classrooms, increasing student engagement in large enrolment courses, and addressing the particular needs of first-generation university students.

Professor Liddle received a PhD in Sociology with a certificate in Women’s Studies from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, an MA in Sociology from Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, and a BA in Clarinet Performance from Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio.

Professor Liddle’s Fellowship will continue an existing multi-year renewal project of the Introduction to Sociology course in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto Scarborough. This is a 500-student gateway course for the discipline, often providing students with their first exposure to thinking about the social world systematically. Prior to the renewal project, the course had been taught for many years in a traditional lecture format with multiple-choice examinations.

Based on consultations with department members and undergraduate students, the renewed course will involve more opportunities for developing writing skills; more frequent and varied types of assessments; expanding coverage of contemporary theories to include anti-racist, post-colonial, and queer theories; addressing gaps in core academic skills, such as basic library research, academic integrity, knowledge of campus resources, and study skills; creating more connections to “real world” scenarios; and combating the feelings of anonymity and isolation that students feel in a 500-person course.