Howard L. Sacks began teaching at Kenyon in 1975 and was selected as Kenyon's first recipient of the National Endowment for the Humanities Distinguished Teaching Professorship in 1994. His courses included social psychology, contemporary social theory, community and field research. He has particular interest in traditional art and culture and in the past offered additional courses in folklore, ethnomusicology and cultural politics. As director of Kenyon's Rural Life Center, Sacks oversaw a wide range of public projects with students and faculty on local rural life. He also served Kenyon College as Interim Provost from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009.
His publications have appeared in American Quarterly, American Music, Theatre Survey, the Journal of American Folklore, Contemporary Sociology, Social Forces, Symbolic Interaction, the John Edwards Memorial Foundation Quarterly, as well as numerous magazines and newspapers. His book, "Way Up North in Dixie: A Black Family's Claim to the Confederate…
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Howard L. Sacks began teaching at Kenyon in 1975 and was selected as Kenyon's first recipient of the National Endowment for the Humanities Distinguished Teaching Professorship in 1994. His courses included social psychology, contemporary social theory, community and field research. He has particular interest in traditional art and culture and in the past offered additional courses in folklore, ethnomusicology and cultural politics. As director of Kenyon's Rural Life Center, Sacks oversaw a wide range of public projects with students and faculty on local rural life. He also served Kenyon College as Interim Provost from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009.
His publications have appeared in American Quarterly, American Music, Theatre Survey, the Journal of American Folklore, Contemporary Sociology, Social Forces, Symbolic Interaction, the John Edwards Memorial Foundation Quarterly, as well as numerous magazines and newspapers. His book, "Way Up North in Dixie: A Black Family's Claim to the Confederate Anthem" (Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003 [1993]), was hailed in the Nation as "the fullest, most finely detailed account of the musical life of a nineteenth-century African American family anywhere in the United States," and received a 1994 Ohioana Book Award. Professor Sacks was twice awarded an NEH Fellowship for College Teachers for his scholarly research.
Sacks has served on panels of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as on the board of directors of the National Council for the Traditional Arts; and he consults regularly with organizations and communities on arts and cultural activities. Most recently, he worked in China on efforts to preserve intangible cultural heritage.
As director of Kenyon's Rural Life Center, Professor Sacks regularly guideds projects involving the local community. He has received over thirty grants for scholarly research and public programs, including six award-winning projects on regional life: "Seems Like Romance to Me: Traditional Fiddle Tunes from Ohio;" "The Community Within: Black Experience in Knox County, Ohio"; "Rural Delivery: Family Farming in Knox County, Ohio"; "Life along the Kokosing"; and, "Where Does Our Food Come From?"; and "The Place to Be: Public Life in Knox County, Ohio".
Howard Sacks is also well known in the area as a guitarist and singer whose repertoire includes blues, country, and rockabilly. In 2014 he participated in a musical tour across China funded by the U.S. State Department. Sacks has appeared on three recordings.
Education
1975 — Doctor of Philosophy from UNC Chapel Hill
1973 — Master of Arts from UNC Chapel Hill
1971 — Bachelor of Arts from Case Western Reserve Univ, Phi Beta Kappa
Courses Recently Taught
SOCY 104
Identity in American Society
SOCY 104
This introductory course explores the collective foundations of individual identity within the American experience. In what sense is the self essentially social? How are changes in identity attributable to the organization of experience throughout life? What are the effects of gender, race and social class on consciousness? How have changes in American industrial capitalism shaped the search for self-worth? In what ways have science and technology altered our relationship to nature? What challenges to identity are posed by emerging events in American history, including immigration and the African diaspora? How has the very advent of modernity precipitated our preoccupation with the question "Who am I?" Situated as we are in a farming community, we will consider these questions of identity through an examination of local rural society. Students will conduct group research projects to connect our ideas to everyday life. Students may take only one introductory-level course. Students are expected to take an introductory-level course to enroll in area and core courses in sociology. Open only to first-year and sophomore students. No prerequisite.
SOCY 234
Community
SOCY 234
Humans are essentially social beings, and so living in communities is fundamental to our humanity. This course will examine the nature and dynamics of community. The changing character of community in modern and postmodern society will provide the central theme of our investigation. Given Kenyon's location, we will pay particular attention to rural community life. The course will close by examining efforts to build effective communities. Throughout our investigation, we will consider the central place of community study as a method for understanding human society within sociology. This course counts toward the "institutions and change" requirement for the major. Prerequisite: 100-level sociology course or permission of instructor
SOCY 291
Special Topic
SOCY 291
This mid-level course will explore the methods that sociologists use to study popular culture and media products, and will examine the connections of popular culture and media to broader social patterns within American society. Course material will cover a range of subjects, including movies, television, the news, novels, and advertising. Students will become familiar with several approaches to the study of popular culture and mass media, and examine what these cultural products can reveal about social norms, trends, and relationships. In addition to empirical assessments of the content of cultural products, the course will examine the institutional structures that shape their production and distribution, as well as patterns of audience consumption and interpretation. This work will culminate with the opportunity to design a research project that uses sociological methods to critically interpret and analyze popular culture products. Prerequisite: foundation course in sociology or permission of instructor.
SOCY 362
Contemporary Social Theory
SOCY 362
Social theories offer systematic explanations of human behavior as well as insights into the historical moments in which they were created. In this course we will investigate some of the last century's major theories concerning the nature of society and the human social process. Most of these sociological theories are American in origin, but some new developments in Western European thought will be included as well. Specific theories to be considered include: (1) the functionalist theory of Talcott Parsons; (2) social behaviorism, as articulated by George Herbert Mead; (3) Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann's sociology of knowledge; (4) the critical theory of Herbert Marcuse; and (5) intersection theory, as developed by Patricia Hill Collins. The consideration of the intellectual and social contexts in which these theoretical traditions have arisen will be central to our analysis throughout. This course will be of value to students interested in developing a systematic approach to understanding society and should be especially relevant to those concentrating in the social sciences. This counts toward the theory requirement for the major. Prerequisite: SOCY 262 or permission of instructor. Offered every year.
SOCY 440
Blackface: The American Minstrel Show
SOCY 440
The most popular form of stage entertainment in the 19th century, the minstrel show continues to have profound effects on American culture. In this advanced seminar we will explore minstrelsy as a musical, theatrical and social phenomenon. Issues to be considered include the interplay of African and European music and culture on American soil, the rise of popular culture, the public portrayal of gender and ethnicity, and race relations. We will examine readings from a variety of disciplines as well as original materials (scripts, photographs, audio recordings and film) related to minstrelsy from the last two centuries. This counts toward the culture and identity requirement for the major. This also fulfills the senior seminar requirement in the African diaspora studies concentration and the American studies major. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Offered every two to three years.
SOCY 477Y
Fieldwork: Rural Life
SOCY 477Y
This course provides an introduction to fieldwork techniques and to the ethical and political issues raised by our purposeful involvement in other people's lives. Students will spend considerable time conducting original field research throughout Knox County. Our research will consider issues related to the character of rural society. The results of this research will provide the basis for a major public project. This fulfills the senior seminar requirement in American studies. This counts toward the methods requirement for the major. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
SOCY 478Y
Fieldwork: Rural Life
SOCY 478Y
See the course description for SOCY 477Y.
SOCY 491
Special Topic
SOCY 491
This course is for advanced students. See online searchable schedule for further description. Prerequisites: permission of instructor and department chair.
SOCY 493
Individual Study
SOCY 493
Individual study is an exception, not a routine, option, with details to be negotiated between the student(s) and the faculty member, along with the department chair. The course may involve investigation of a topic engaging the interest of both student and professor. In some cases, a faculty member may agree to oversee an individual study as a way of exploring the development of a regular curricular offering. In others, the faculty member may guide one or two advanced students through a focused topic drawing on his or her expertise, with the course culminating in a substantial paper. The individual study should involve regular meetings at which the student and professor discuss assigned material. The professor has final authority over the material to be covered and the pace of work. The student is expected to devote time to the individual study equivalent to that for a regular course. Individual studies will be awarded 0.5 units of credit. Because students must enroll for individual studies by the end of the seventh class day of each semester, they should begin discussion of the proposed individual study preferably the semester before, so that there is time to devise the proposal and seek departmental approval before the registrar’s deadline.
SOCY 497
Senior Honors
SOCY 497
This course is for students pursuing departmental honors. Prerequisite: permission of instructor and department chair.
Academic & Scholarly Achievements
2009
Catching Stories: A Practical Guide to Oral History (with Donna M. Deblasio, Charles F. Ganzert, David H. Mould, and Stephen H. Paschen). Athens, OH: Swallow Press, 2009.
2003
Way Up North in Dixie: A Black Family's Claim to the Confederate Anthem (with Judith R. Sacks). Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2003 [1993].
2012
“Food for Thought: Building Sustainable Food Systems and Sustainable Communities.” Pp. 213-22 in James Martin, et al., The Sustainable University: New Goals and New Challenges for Higher Education Leaders. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012
2010
"Why aren't there any turkeys at the Danville Turkey Festival?" Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 1.1 (August 2010): 1-7.
2008
"We Learn What We Eat: Putting Local Food on the table and in the Curriculum." The Chronicle of Higher Education 50.13 (November 21, 2008): A31-32.
2003
"From the Barn to the Bowery and Back Again: Musical Routes in Rural Ohio, 1800-1929." Journal of American Folklore116.461 (Summer 2003): 314-338.
2000
"Cork and Community: Postwar Blackface Minstrelsy in the Midwest." Theater Survey 41.2 (November 2000): 23-50.
1999