Last but Not Least: the Pedagogical Insights of “intellectual Craftsmanship”*

influence of The Sociological Imagination, they think of such concepts as the intersection of biography and history, the distinction between personal troubles and public issues, the predilection for psychologisms instead of social structural explanations, and the pitfalls of abstract empiricism and grand theorizing. As is well established, Mills’s insights on these matters are particularly relevant to the process of teaching and learning. In addition to this special issue of Teaching Sociology, countless articles have appeared in the journal explaining how to spark, convey, embrace, illustrate, embody, build, stimulate, develop, and otherwise illustrate the sociological imagination (Bidwell 1995; Crowdes 2000; Dowell 2006; Haddad and Lieberman 2002; Hoffman 2006; Jacobs 1998; Kain 1999; Kaufman 1997; Mobley 2000). Moreover, a number of researchers have found that acquiring a sociological imagination is the number one learning goal for introductory sociology students (Grauerholz and Gibson 2006; McKinney et al 2004; Persell, Pfeiffer, and Syed 2007; Wagenaar 2004). Although we share the general consensus about the relevance and utility of Mills’s work, we feel that one of the major pedagogical resources of The Sociological Imagination has been overlooked for far too long: namely, the appendix, “On Intellectual Craftsmanship.” Given all of the work that has been written about the benefits of The Sociological Imagination for teaching and learning, we are surprised that none of this scholarship makes mention—much less develops—Mills’s ideas about being an intellectual craftsperson. The insights that Mills lays out in this section have certainly been well received and appreciated. For example, this appendix has been described as a “concise, practical guide . . . that is also deeply inspiring” (Wakefield 2000:18) and as “one of the finest guides available for doing intellectual work” (Reed 1989:6). Nevertheless, the extent to which teachers and students may use Mills’s ideas for strengthening what transpires in the classroom has gone largely unnoticed. To some LAST BUT NOT LEAST: THE PEDAGOGICAL INSIGHTS OF “INTELLECTUAL CRAFTSMANSHIP”*