Wrapping things up

So now that I'm just about done with sociology, what are my feelings about this field of academic study? What have I learned; what are my big take aways?

Well, first of all I have learned that I think I would enjoy teaching this class at a high school level. I think that a lot of these ideas--about how institutions affect our lives, about privilege and racism and sexism, about culture and how individuals behave in social situations--would be fresh and eye-opening for the high school kids I will be teaching eventually. I love the idea of facilitating the challenging discussions and questions that arise from complex sociological issues.

I was also glad that I was able to draw from my psychology background to understand many of the concepts in this course, especially those pertaining to how individuals present themselves in social situations. Sociology and social psychology are closely linked; I think the key difference is sociology tends to focus on the macro level side of things (institutions and large social trends) whereas social psychology tends to focus on small groups or individuals.

Out of anything in the textbook, I'd say the concept I was least familiar with is that of the sociological imagination. Though I think I have applied this concept instinctively before in my life--what better way to grasp the importance of large institutions than by thinking how they apply to you?--it's good to finally have a label and solid grasp of what it is and how it is used in practice by sociologists.

One observation I have about this textbook, and perhaps about the field of sociology in general, is that it comes across as being very liberal politically. I am personally a fan of this--it aligns with my own beliefs about how institutions should serve humanity--but I could see other people dismissing sociology because of this. Overall I would say that sociology is a progressive discipline that shines a light on the problems within society. Whether or not we take advantage of that illumination and put it to good use is another matter entirely.