If you’re reading this, you may have encountered one of the Sociology and Criminology faculty and graduate students in a classroom. But how do sociologists think about and practice sociology out in the world? I recently conducted a poll of our department, asking graduate students and faculty to answer a few questions about their extracurricular interests and activities, and whether or how they saw those activities as related to their identity and values as sociologists. Five graduate students and six faculty responded, generously taking a moment to connect their interests and hobbies to our shared discipline.
Many intro-level sociology classes begin with C. Wright Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination. It may sound mysterious or abstract at first, but by the time you learn the concept, it may be too late for you – you may already be learning how to view the world analytically while participating in everyday life, placing your own experience within broader context. As one respondent put it, “Everyone practices sociology in their daily lives. We sociologists are more mindful that we are doing it than most people, who do it the way that fish swim in water.” The sociological imagination, then, is a way of studying swimming, the water, and maybe even the fishbowl.
Another person wrote, “Sociology helps me better see the patterns and systems at work in the world.” This mindset is both a blessing and a curse, as someone put it, “My sociological perspective is tightly intertwined with my larger world views and is something I carry with me everywhere – even when I'm trying to get away from it all! For example, it's always there in the background when I'm watching a tv show for entertainment! I just can't shut it off!” They continue, “This is what initially drew me to sociology – the potential for sociological thinking to help me make sense of and navigate the world around me.”
And how do they engage their sociological imaginations? Departmental members mentioned more obviously connected practices like conducting trainings and political participation, union organizing and “political discussions,” which one person wrote “will always be my favorite and least favorite activity.” Another person wrote of politically engaged efforts as an individual citizen, “Within that community I can find outlets for my political thoughts/energy so it doesn't just stay bottled up inside of me!”
But departmental members also described how more everyday practices can be done with a sociological mindset. Simply engaged conversations, “posing questions of curiosity to understand how and why people believe what they believe,” can make spending time with family and friends sociological. Gardening, as a sociologist, can mean engaging in systems-based thinking to consider one’s impact on a larger ecosystem. Another person loves spending time at the ocean, its “vastness makes individual problems seem small” (a perfect metaphor for Mills’ description of sociology as connecting personal troubles to broader social issues). Another respondent described how traveling fuels their analytic lens: “I always come back with a renewed appreciation for customs, practices, cultures, and people. It's also fun to use my sociological imagination abroad, looking for differences in interactions, behaviors, and structures.”
Unsurprisingly given its prominent role in our profession, several respondents mentioned a love of reading. One person wrote, “Reading was my first escape from the pressures of real life, trying to fit in with the complications of social relationships.” Another person wrote, “I love a good story…I find stories to be really powerful and they help me think in new ways as well as entertain. They also help me question the things I take for granted in my own life… There is so much sociology in fiction, especially in sci-fi and fantasy.” Both noted that reading can and should provide inspiration for storytelling as sociologists, whether in writing or in classes.
As our landscape for teaching, learning and writing shifts, and as many of our core precepts and values are challenged, it’s important to remember that we are people first and foremost, and our work can and does transcend the classroom. Asked the question, “What does it mean to you to "practice" sociology in your everyday life (if you do)? Alternately, what do you hope sociology can achieve in the world?”, a majority of respondents expressed a commitment to sociology’s capacity to explain and support social change, toward broader goals like equality.
As one person put it: “Practicing sociology to me means constantly questioning assumptions, understanding diverse perspectives, and being acutely aware of how social structures, norms, and inequalities shape people's experiences. I hope sociology can promote deeper empathy and drive positive social change as well as continue to thrive and grow in what is now becoming an inhospitable environment for social science and academia.”