A Workshop on the Development of the Sociology Curriculum at Al Andalus University
Under the auspices of Prof. Dr. Mhd Amer Al Mardini, University President, and as part of the activities of the Basic Sciences Development Program at Al Andalus University, a workshop was held on Saturday 14-1-2023 to develop the sociology curriculum in the university faculties.
Prof. Dr. Mohammad Yahya Moualla, Chairman of the Scientific Accreditation Committee, gave an opening speech in which he welcomed the attendees, stressing the importance of sociology and its relation to other sciences, as well as the reflection of this relation on the individual's personality in the society where he/she lives. He also highlighted the importance of making sociology curricula shed light on issues that mainly concern our society.
Prof. Dr. Mhd Amer Al Mardini, University President, gave a specch in which he referred to the need to initiate revision for all basic science courses at the university; he also focalized sociology as a course that mainly focuses on societal issues and problems. He spoke of the need to focus on issues that require awareness and understanding from students who may face such issues in their scientific and practical lives (the issue of smoking, for example), with a focus on teaching sociology in an interactive way, and the aim of refining the student's psyche and developing his/her dialogue skills.
After that, the course coordinator, Dr. Fadi Shamsin, and Dr. Linda Saleh, the course instructor, presented a comprehensive and adequate presentation of the vocabulary of this course in the faculties of Al Andalus University, and then compared these course contents with their counterparts in the world leading universities (University of Cambridge and University of Essex in Britain - University of Coastal Carolina in the USA). The presentation also contained a comparison with a number of prestigious Arabic universities such as Qatar University, King Saud University, Assiut University, Suez Canal University, and Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan. The result of this comparison shows that there is a significant intersection in the vocabulary of our course with these universities, with an emphasis on the need to differentiate from these universities in a way that suits the distinct nature of Al Andalus University as it is for medical sciences firstly. The distinction should be made in a manner that suits the reality of our societies secondly. The most important scientific and academic references and periodicals in the field of sociology at the Arab and international levels were also presented, and it was found that the sociology course at our univeristy is rich in these references.
Afterwards, an extensive discussion took place on the teaching methodology of the sociology course and its vocabulary in the faculties of Al Andalus University. Dr. Fadi Shamsin, course coordinator, presented proposals for developing the sociology course; the proposals were mainly concerned with the necessity of continuous revision of the course contents in a manner which suits our society and its problems. Also, it was proposed that the university organizes discussion circles among students with the aim of familiarizing and training them to dialogue and discussion.
