Why is sociology look down upon?

That is just rephrasing my own question.
I obviously know it is considered a soft subject, why else would it be looked down upon...

At GCSE level (and I suppose AS, but I'm less inclined to say this) it's definitely not on the same level as say, chemistry. But at university level, it's as challenging a course as any to study. The subject itself is not pointless - exams at GCSE level and the such make it seem so. It's obviously not a "doss subject" as if it were, it wouldn't be offered by universities such as the LSE and Cambridge (PhD course + part of their PPS undergrad course). I would also agree with the comments regarding it being a relatively "new" discipline in comparison to others which are more well-established.


In case you hadn't guessed already, I'm applying to do sociology at university.

I don't study the subject, I have no desire to study it at degree level, but I don't really understand why it isn't respected?

It seems quite interesting, learning about the causes/ explanations of social demographics, class systems, religion, education and just society in general. Surely all of those are interesting fields? And have a fair bit of application to the real world?

Why is it that it is less respected than geography for example?

Obviously it's not as hard as the solid sciences (so all you 'science is amazing, art is pointless' type people relax) but there are pleanty of respected degrees out there which don't involve physics/ maths/ bio and chemistry.

I don't study the subject, I have no desire to study it at degree level, but I don't really understand why it isn't respected?

It seems quite interesting, learning about the causes/ explanations of social demographics, class systems, religion, education and just society in general. Surely all of those are interesting fields? And have a fair bit of application to the real world?

Why is it that it is less respected than geography for example?

Obviously it's not as hard as the solid sciences (so all you 'science is amazing, art is pointless' type people relax) but there are pleanty of respected degrees out there which don't involve physics/ maths/ bio and chemistry.

I don't study the subject, I have no desire to study it at degree level, but I don't really understand why it isn't respected?

It seems quite interesting, learning about the causes/ explanations of social demographics, class systems, religion, education and just society in general. Surely all of those are interesting fields? And have a fair bit of application to the real world?

Why is it that it is less respected than geography for example?

Obviously it's not as hard as the solid sciences (so all you 'science is amazing, art is pointless' type people relax) but there are pleanty of respected degrees out there which don't involve physics/ maths/ bio and chemistry.

I think its because people who do it at A Level (and then at degree) TEND to be the sort of people who couldn't cope with harder subjects so they try something new. Its been shown that people who do less traditional A Levels usually have lower GCSEs, which might support this.

I'm doing a sociology paper at university. I find it really interesting, and its just as hard (if not harder) than the biology paper im doing. It isn't a "doss" subject at uni, although its limited in what you can directly do with a degree in it!

the total number of people who study sociology undergraduate at oxbridge is like 130 max.

This is compared to biology or chemisty where there would be over 1000 people studying it.

It just refllects our need for sociologists and the number of good applicants.

I agree with you regarding the point about finding other subjects easier - I did better in biology at AS than in sociology, which goes to show that it isn't necessarily "easier" than more "traditional" courses.

Also, I couldn't help but notice that you're at Cambridge (My dream uni - applying to do PPS for 2012 entry!). What sort of sociology modules are available (or what are you doing your paper on? Is it something that you were able to pick out of several?) Thanks.

Because people are stupid and would rather denigrate than investigate.

Only by snobby people who think anything which isn't maths or science is a 'soft option'.

In terms of workload they are softer options and when was the last time an arts student had to get their head around wavefunctions? Far more work in a science degree and the content is more difficult to grasp. I don't know why people try and argue otherwise.