When I began my doctoral studies the professor who ran the graduate program in Political Economy was a sociologist. He was originally interested in mathematics but realized that he would never be among the best mathematicians. He pursued sociology because many sociologists are not analytical nor gifted in math. Math and statistics allow you to measure things. Since he was great at math he knew he could be among the best sociologists in the world. Yet not all sociologists are as dedicated to empirical research as he is. The following was reported by the Wall Street Journal:
Now, sociology, long derided by many academics in humanities and the “harder” social sciences for its perceived squishiness, is being criticized from within.
An increasingly vocal group of sociologists say the discipline’s cratering reputation is especially vivid when compared with economics, psychology and political science, all of which can seem more serious and pragmatic—gateways to law school or business school or an advanced degree in healthcare. Whereas those disciplines often use cutting-edge methodologies, sociology seems dusty and theory-laden. Even sociologists acknowledge that students are often drawn to the major because they’re afraid of math or are sold on sociology as a means to activism.
Sociology is a discipline equipped to answer questions about the human condition. Why are some people rich, while others are poor? Why is poverty often generational? Why are some people homeless? Why do the offspring of higher income couples do better in school than children born in poor families? These are all the types of questions sociologists should be answering, but nowadays their answers are biased and too often wrong. Within sociology, any inequality among groups is considered de facto the result of discrimination. Thus, research into alternative theories is viewed as “racist, morally wrong and victim blaming at best.” More from WSJ:
Sociology, the discipline tasked with pursuing the answers, would seem well poised to take these issues on. For decades, its analyses informed policy on issues ranging from criminal justice to immigration to urban development.
Yet today, sociologists are embroiled in an ideological and existential battle of their own—one that is increasingly public and at least in part of their own making.
In 2023 the American Sociological Association president explained to his members that sociology is “a form of liberatory praxis” that is “currently undergoing a renaissance as antiracist, decolonial, feminist, queer and transnational theorizing lead us to more inclusive insights.” That same year the Florida commissioner of education argued that sociology had been “hijacked by left-wing activists.” Many sociologists see activism as a moral obligation, while others disagree. More from WSJ:
Other sociologists say the impulse toward activism is compromising not only the aim and use of sociological research, but the quality of the research itself. In lieu of engaging in objective analysis, the discipline is shaping, even bending, the truth.
In his 2014 book The Sacred Project of American Sociology, sociologist Christian Smith wrote:
“Sociology’s sacred project champions emancipation, autonomy, equality, justice, inclusion, diversity, open-mindedness, progress, tolerance, and cosmopolitanism,”
“In the end that sacred project actually tends to produce sectarian narrowness, exclusion, uniformity, silencing, self-censorship, lack of debate, the negative sanctioning of nonconformists, and the debilitation of rigorous thought.”
He described sociology textbooks as “thinly veiled political progressivism watered down to pathetic mush.”
When a University of North Texas empirical sociologist became the editor of the journal Theory & Society, he took steps to reorient the journal to publish research that is more open and rigorous. The entire editorial staff resigned in protest.
Sociology has gone off the rails on many college campuses and largely abandoned the search for truth in favor of liberal activism that fits their preconceived ideas. The field of sociology is divided between those who see activism as their obligation and want to stifle any dissent; and scholars who think activism and stifling dissent impedes true scholarship. Too bad we cannot get rid of the former and preserve the latter.
Read more at the Wall Street Journal (ungated): Is it time to ‘liquidate’ the study of sociology?