What can Sociology do?

I met one my MBA classmates at campus. He was one of closest friends in my MBA days, we were in the same team to do BSM(Business Study Mission), one of feature programs in Nanyang MBA, and dissertation. Though being close, we have not seen each other for years. After hugging and laughing, we burst out the questions almost at the same time:

“What are you doing here?”

“I am teaching in Business school.”
“I am studying Sociology.”

“What can Sociology do?”

You’ve gotta to forgive my friend, he is account by training and was former CFO for a big firm, a bit calculative and, of course, with pure economic mindset.

I now appreciate better Prof Zhou’s course “Economic Sociology”, after using economic sociology approach to explain to him, I wasn't sure whether my friends satisfied my explanation, for he looked a bit unconvincing.

But his question left me thinking,

What can sociology do?

We see the world and our societies have been through so many changes, we see social inequality and pathological process right under our eyes; we see the worried trends in humanity, crisis arises across nations, we feel globalization impacts upon our family, our identity, our root of culture....yet what can sociology do?

After some time of studying in this area, Sociology remains as dismal science to me. (I know that my sociology profs will frown at me). The subjectivity of both researchers and respondents makes sociology very ambiguous.

If my friend asks his students a concept of “rate of return”, he probably will happy if they give him an equation. However, if you asks a sociology student a common concept, such as family, culture, social class. You won’t be satisfied if he didn't give an answer with a page or two. Why? There aren’t so much common shared concepts in sociological terms subject to complex contexts in any given social condition.

Perhaps it is better to let sociologists to answer the above question. I may add some empirical observations of what graduates can do after they finish their study?

I came to know some of socio-graduates, some of them are now primary school teacher; some of them work in MYCS; some of them are social workers…. A handful of them are continuing further studies.

It is poignant to think about such questions. I guess however fewer of my fellow classmates will bother to. I admire their innocent youth.