Developing a Sociology Class with PolicyMap

A sociology class at the University of Delaware is using PolicyMap to introduce students to the “geography of social justice”. Dr. Victor Perez, Assistant Professor of Sociology, is showing his undergraduate students without any knowledge of mapping (beyond how to find the nearest Thai restaurant on their phones) how to read data-rich maps. These maps are filled with information that can empower students with information about their own communities and the communities in which they’ll someday work or call home.

Being able to open up this world of information to the next generation of leaders is thrilling for us at PolicyMap. It’s one of the main reasons we built PolicyMap in the first place! Data has the power to change communities and markets and we believe that access to that data should be simple. Accessing and understanding geographic data shouldn’t require a specialized course or complicated software. And for students across all disciplines, finding that data is possible with PolicyMap.

In this first video, Dr. Perez talks about how he uses PolicyMap to teach this course and how the University of Delaware has access to PolicyMap through its library system.

In this second video, he gives a real time demonstration of some of the key concepts he is teaching using PolicyMap.

We hope these videos will inspire you to consider ways you can use data and mapping to understand a place and create strategies that can help drive change.

To learn more about how universities are incorporating PolicyMap into their course offerings, see webinars, sample curricula and maps, check out our Academic page.