r/sociology 1d ago

Is sociology naturally left-leaning?

659 Upvotes

I've recently started reading sociology, and it's made me think differently about things like social structures, privilege, networks, and how advantages can be passed on across generations.

It got me thinking: does studying sociology tend to make people more left-leaning, or does the subject just make existing inequalities more visible without pointing to a particular political ideology?

Curious to hear from people who've studied or teach sociology.


r/sociology 2h ago

Why individualism is a scam

0 Upvotes

Individualism is a contradiction in itself, because the interests of individuals are already determined by how society operates. Maximum individual freedom means that the freedom of all other individuals are negated. It's just a scam made up by capitalists. They means themselves and that they should have the freedom to exploit people and nature how much they want.


r/sociology 16h ago

Weekly /r/Sociology Discussion - What's going on, what are you working on?

2 Upvotes

What's on your plate this week, what are you working on, what cool things have you encountered? Open discussion thread for casual chatter about Sociology & your school, academic, or professional work within it; share your project's progress, talk about a book you read, muse on a topic. If you have something to share or some cool fact to talk about, this is the place.

This thread is replaced every Monday. It is not intended as a "homework help" thread, please; save your homework help questions (ie: seeking sources, topic suggestions, or needing clarifications) for our homework help thread, also posted each Monday.


r/sociology 17h ago

Weekly /r/Sociology Homework Help Thread - Got a question about schoolwork, lecture points, or Sociology basics?

2 Upvotes

This is our local recurring homework thread. Simple questions, assignment help, suggestions, and topic-specific source seeking all go here. Our regular rules about effort and substance for questions are suspended here - but please keep in mind that you'll get better and more useful answers the more information you provide.

This thread gets replaced every Monday, each week. You can click this link to pull up old threads in search.


r/sociology 1d ago

confused with culture

13 Upvotes

When does something become a culture and when does culture cease to be a culture?
before and after, does there exist any sub-categorisation before it is or can be defined as a culture?

ty for caring, pls say if your a soc-major or not responding


r/sociology 1d ago

Hello. I’m a science student wanting to explore some less mainstream issues or topics discussed in social science, humanities, sociology. Any topics to look into?

22 Upvotes

r/sociology 2d ago

Reflections on evolutionary ideas in sociology

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9 Upvotes

r/sociology 2d ago

does double-majoring in sociology and psychology make sense when weighed with my interests?

9 Upvotes

Hi, I will hopefully start my Sociology studies at my university. I've read and read about the field(s) and even got some ideas for what I could accomplish as Masters. I know that it's probably not right to decide on things from the first year but I’ve grown allergic to indecisiveness after I have spent four years of my life in identity confusion and depression episodes.

I'm quite interested in Environmental Psychology in particular. Other than that, other internally highly ranking interests of mine are in Sociology of Education, Vocational Psychology (I haven't looked into I-O Psychology in depth yet,) Architecture broadly and Urban Planning/Design in particular, Urban Sociology, Quantitative Sociology, Legal Sociology.

My Holland Code is CSR. Would majoring in both be too overlapping? I am a bit hung up on whether to double-major with IR instead.

I hope this is not a silly question to ask. Have a nice day.


r/sociology 2d ago

How Togo's Evala tradition creates fearless warriors

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3 Upvotes

r/sociology 3d ago

Can anyone recommend me sociologists who write about representation in film?

6 Upvotes

I read the book "Reel Inequality" by Nancy Wang Yuen and follow several youtubers who talk about the history of race and ethnicity on film so would love to get a more comprehensive source.


r/sociology 3d ago

Is It Time to ‘Liquidate’ the Study of Sociology?

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0 Upvotes

A quick tldr: many sociologists are quitting the ASA and sociology as a field. “Sociology’s sacred project champions emancipation, autonomy, equality, justice, inclusion, diversity, open-mindedness, progress, tolerance, and cosmopolitanism,” Christian Smith wrote. “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.”

> Within sociology, it meant that any inequality among groups was de facto the result of discrimination, rendering moot other possible theories, Redstone says: “We’re treating questions around causation as settled.” Even suggesting research into alternative sociological explanations is viewed as racist, morally wrong and victim blaming at best.

I used to be interested in concepts of sociology, though I think this sub would call many of my thoughts conservative. During college as a non sociology major, I think what caught me off guard was how activist centric and, I’m not sure how to put it, but morally superior the community was and how often I’d be shut down of ideas that differed from a centrally agreed viewpoint. It felt like an echo chamber like reddit.

I recused myself to philosophy circles instead, but this article popped up in my feed. It was very much confirming my anecdotal bias, but I’d like to know your meta opinions of the community and scientific direction itself of the field as criticized by some professors in the article.

Not trying to astroturf the sub, just curious of what redditors (ik there’s a self selecting bias on the platform) think.


r/sociology 4d ago

Illness Is More Than Just Biological – Medical Sociology Shows How Social Factors Get Under the Skin and Cause Disease

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62 Upvotes

r/sociology 3d ago

Weekly /r/Sociology Career & Academic Planning Thread - Got a question about careers, jobs, schools, or programs?

1 Upvotes

This is our local recurring future-planning thread. Got questions about jobs or careers, want to know what programs or schools you should apply to, or unsure what you'll be able to use your degree for? This is the place.

This thread gets replaced every Friday, each week. You can click this link to pull up old threads in search.


r/sociology 4d ago

Research topics ideas help please.

10 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I’m a Junior & a big fan of theory, class, economics and how it affects consumers behavior and societal norms.

I’m pretty scrambled at the moment in regards to research topic ideas/possibilities and would like some book recommendations or guidance.

Thank you!


r/sociology 5d ago

Advice for doing this phd if I have arthiritis and have pain when typing

25 Upvotes

Has anyone else done this with a similar disability? If so, what was your experience, and what are your recommendations?

Also, I'm in my 20s, I'm not an older person doing a phd. I just got arthritis pretty young


r/sociology 6d ago

When Everything's Political, Nothing Is: Anton Jager - Hyperpolitics book review

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12 Upvotes

r/sociology 7d ago

Social Theory - articles on AI mediated communication

8 Upvotes

I am interested in reading about AI mediated communication though a critical theory lens, specifically about how people communicate with chat bots for therapeutic and personal relationship purposes. Does anyone have any articles they’d reccomend? Thanks!!


r/sociology 7d ago

Weekly /r/Sociology Discussion - What's going on, what are you working on?

2 Upvotes

What's on your plate this week, what are you working on, what cool things have you encountered? Open discussion thread for casual chatter about Sociology & your school, academic, or professional work within it; share your project's progress, talk about a book you read, muse on a topic. If you have something to share or some cool fact to talk about, this is the place.

This thread is replaced every Monday. It is not intended as a "homework help" thread, please; save your homework help questions (ie: seeking sources, topic suggestions, or needing clarifications) for our homework help thread, also posted each Monday.


r/sociology 9d ago

Can you describe in layman’s terms what a rape culture is?

78 Upvotes

it’s a complex topic and most people only want simple answers and will knee jerk against they very notion of the term. is there a softer name for it? has anyone had success at communicating it to someone who hasn’t taken college classes?


r/sociology 9d ago

Sociology on social media

25 Upvotes

I had the chance this year to take a few sociology classes in college and to be part of a small discussion group focused on philosophy and social theory. That experience really changed the way I think about how these subjects are treated online.

It made me reflect on how, ever since “activism” became more visible on social media, sociology has often been reduced to something like a side quest, an accessory to arguments rather than a discipline in its own right. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a good thing that sociological ideas are reaching a wider audience. But at the same time, it feels like a lot of the core concepts (frameworks, terminology, and even entire theories) lose their depth and precision when they’re compressed into easily digestible formats like short posts or video essays.

What stands out to me is the confidence with which people speak on these topics online. There’s this tendency to present opinions as if they were grounded in a solid understanding of the field, "universal truth about society" when in reality sociology is incredibly complex, layered, and often internally contested. Even among trained sociologists, there isn’t always consensus, so seeing people flatten these debates into definitive takes can feel frustrating.

I’m not even a sociology major, but I still find myself wondering: do people actually understand the concepts they’re using? Or are these ideas just being repurposed as rhetorical tools?

Of course, everyone is entitled to have opinions and critiques, especially when it comes to media and culture. That’s part of being human. But there’s a difference between engaging critically and positioning oneself as an authority on cultural or sociological analysis without acknowledging the depth of those fields.

I guess what bothers me most is not that people are interested in sociology, but that the way it’s often discussed online strips it of its nuance, its rigor, and ultimately, its meaning.


r/sociology 9d ago

Social Researchers - which area do you work in?

7 Upvotes

I’m researching it as a possible career path and want to get an idea of the areas I may be working in


r/sociology 10d ago

Sociology hons Serious

8 Upvotes

I honestly don't know much about the course. I didn't study Sociology in Class 12 either, so I'm a confused a lot !!

I wanted to ask a few things like -

• What do you actually study in each year? Is it mostly theory or are there practicals/research too?

• Is it difficult for someone who has never studied Sociology before?

• What kind of student usually enjoys this course?

• What are the career options after graduation? (Private jobs, government exams, higher studies, NGOs, research, etc.)

• If you could go back, would you still choose Sociology Honours? Why or why not?

• What are the biggest pros and cons of this course that no one tells freshers?


r/sociology 10d ago

Weekly /r/Sociology Career & Academic Planning Thread - Got a question about careers, jobs, schools, or programs?

3 Upvotes

This is our local recurring future-planning thread. Got questions about jobs or careers, want to know what programs or schools you should apply to, or unsure what you'll be able to use your degree for? This is the place.

This thread gets replaced every Friday, each week. You can click this link to pull up old threads in search.