Library Guides: Sociology: Video

Free Sociology Video Collections for Use in Class

Several video collections included here are among those reviewed in this article: Miller, M., & CohenMiller, A. (2019). Open Video Repositories for College Instruction: A Guide to the Social Sciences. Online Learning, 23(2). doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.24059/olj.v23i2.1492.

The Atlantic Documentaries
5-18 minute documentaries, often with sociological relevance, on current and historical topics. Sample titles: "How Black Americans Were Robbed of Their Land," "A Small-Town Plague: A New Approach to Opioid Addiction"
Sociology Through Documentary Film
Linked list of documentaries grouped by broad sociological topic. Not all are free, but some are either always free or temporarily free due to COVID-19 conditions.
The Sociological Cinema (TSC)
Over 600 video clips tagged by theme. Clips are from news, music, commercials, TV shows, etc. Each clip comes with a pedagogical application.
Crash Course: Sociology (2017-2020)
Series of nine 30-90 minute groupings of 10-minute videos designed as a curriculum, "with Sociology, 15th edition, by John J. Macionis as its reference text."
Critical Theory (2013-2015)
Leans philosophical, but certainly entertaining. Sample video title: "Derrida Explained With Video Games (And Cats)."
Norton Sociology
Brief informational videos on sociological topics, interviews with sociologists organized into playlist such as "Methods in Context."
Sociology Live! (2015)
5-minute "explainer" videos on sociological concepts like sociological imagination, cultural capital, environmental racism.
FutureStates TV (2011-2014)
Web series in which then-current social trends are extrapolated into the future.
Internet Archive: Feature Films
Most of the films here are quite old, but may still be good "fodder" for sociological approaches.
Robert Reich's YouTube channel
Robert Reich has several sub-channels and individual videos of interest to sociologists of the economy and politics.

Tools for Creating Your Own Videos

EdPuzzle
Tool for making "every video a lesson" - for annotating and highlighting video clips from other sources or your own uploaded video.
Storyboarder
If you can draw, even stick figures, you can now create simple animated gifs with this free, open-source tool.