Lets Hear From Some Students

Some of the most candid, perceptive, and witty critiques of sociology come from college students themselves. They appear as anonymous posts on social media, online sites, chatrooms and campus media.

“It Goes Precipitously Down from There”

“I trust 90 percent of findings from physics, 70 percent from biology, 50 percent from medicine, and 15 percent from economics. It goes down precipitously from there”

“I Just Want the Seek the Truth”

“I'm a sociology major at UC Berkeley. Sociologists fail to separate their values from their research. I just want to get to truth. I understand that it may be impossible to avoid bias in research, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't strive for value-free research.”

It Takes About Two Seconds of Thought”

“Holy crap do I hate Sociology. If you like sociology- sorry that you're wasting your time on something so pointless. I took intro to sociology a few years ago and found it to be the dumbest, easiest thing to learn, It takes about two seconds of thought and I can skate by without challenging myself or doing shit. I did not put any thought into the stupid, worthless discipline that is sociology. Seriously though, if you want to call yourself "Doctor" and have the IQ of a sponge, get a PhD in sociology.”

It's just theories about how people *might* associate with each other. It's just ideas. I took the class and got an A without reading a word from the texts

I took a course called Sociology of Developing Countries, went to 2 lectures that semester, didn't study for the final and somehow managed a B. It's not only dumb and easy to learn, it's wishy-washy so pretty much anything you write can be interpreted as correct.

“I’m a Marxist, Which is Pretty Common in Sociology.”

“I’m a Marxist, which is pretty common in sociology. I would work with a collectivist anarchist who isn’t against creating a central apparatus with decentralized control like a confederation of communes.” (LeftismIsRight on Reddit)

“Please Post Links to Five Great Sociology Papers”

“Please post links to five great sociology papers; I am genuinely curious if such papers exist. A great paper is something that contains a deep, non-trivial insight -- something that makes you think differently about the world after you read it. I want papers, not books. If you can't provide at least five such papers, it will confirm my belief that sociology is a bunch of garbage. If you do provide such papers, I would be more than happy to change my beliefs, and will start paying more attention to sociology.”

“Far More Precision and Insight”

“If you start reading papers in things such as health economics, labour economics, etc. you'll realize that what a lot of economists study are essentially sociological questions, except with far more precision and insight and far sounder statistical methods than in sociology.”

“It Sounds Like Ideology Mixed With a Variety of Grudges”

“Quite often what you hear from sociologists or what you hear dressed up as sociology doesn't sound like science, it sounds like ideology mixed with a variety of grudges. They also seem fairly insular. They already know the answers and you're asking stupid questions which indicate you're far less enlightened then they are.”

“They have a Conclusion and then Find Evidence That Backs it Up”

“Nowadays, sociology is just a political tool of the Left. They seem to do the opposite of most sciences, they have a conclusion (i.e. America is systemically racist), and then find evidence that they think backs it up, but a lot of times they, ironically, just don't take into account any other information. They just come to conclusions to make crazy people seem normal.”

“Even the Advanced Classes were a Snore Fest”

“Being a rather 'fresh' sociology student who graduated two years ago I can say this...sociology doesn't prep you for the workforce. And looking back, I wish there was a stronger 'backbone' to the program. Honestly it felt like it was a patch work 'quilt'. One semester I'd take a class on race relations, (which was boring and only iterated on the obvious) and the next I'd have a class on the 'classics' (which was simply 'read a chapter on Marx, now Weber, now someone else'). Even the advanced classes were a snore fest because...well nothing they said had any 'weight' to them, and they weren't in order - thus you could tell that they had no actual relation to each other (or relations that were solid enough to matter).

“The Professor Just Ridiculed Them”

“I’m on my 3rd year of a Sociology major and in my experience, it's not only devoid of conservative pov's, it's actively ANTI conservative. We were watching a doc on the "gender wage gap".. there was a section from a conservative think-tank which presented nuanced data and very reasonable explanations for the earnings discrepancies, basically arguing that the discrepancies aren't the result of gender discrimination. The professor just ridiculed the organization that produced the section and my classmates joined in, just laughing it off. No discussion or argument about the content.”

“I Receive nothing Except the Far Leftist Point of View”

“I am a sociology college student and receive nothing except the far leftist point of view of society. It is sad to see students struggle with the one hugely exaggerated point of view of the left. Nothing really makes sense and socialism has proven to turn societies into poor dumping grounds. One would hope that these highly “educated” instructors would live in the real world; teach students truth not the hopeless false hope of socialism, putting down capitalism. When will sociologists get it?”

I Find it so Uncomfortable to Have all What I Know Dismissed Just Like That

“I’m majoring in economics and currently taking a sociology course. I find it so hard to reconcile the different conclusions that are drawn. I also don't like how my professor sometimes dismisses what I say on the grounds of it being "neo-liberal" or "mainstream economics.  I hate how I come off as a angry heartless person in this sociology course when I try to explain my opinion through my major, I end up in weird unethical positions. I find it so uncomfortable to have all what I know dismissed just like that. I also don't like dismissing sociology on the basis that it doesn't align with what I took.”

“It Ends up Being a Leftist Echo Chamber”

“I don't like how sociology gets taught. It ends up being a leftist echo chamber, and conservatives just write it off as some pink-haired non-binary shouting people.”

Sociology is at the Absolute Bottom When it Comes to Research Skills

“In the social sciences, sociology is unfortunately at the absolute bottom when it comes to research skills. It's becoming more so, given the quality of the people they recruit. Maybe I shouldn't say all sociology. People who focus on demography or network analysis do a little better, but they are one-trick ponies, and aren't really interested in asking these "big" questions where the biases become pervasive. I remember I took a PhD seminar in sociology research methods once. I had to take something to fill up my schedule since I had already taken pretty much all the quant classes I could and there was little left. This was a second-year PhD seminar (meaning it was about as high as these people would go, since there's no more classes to take after your second year). I was horrified at what I saw. The poor professor had to explain basic correlations and how to read a basic regression table and what R-squared meant to these people. Second year PhD students! So to be fair to them, they're not really equipped to challenge their biases, or for anyone in their field to challenge them”. (AIG on MarginalRevolution.com)

“The Inanities of Its Precepts and Methods”

“I took sociology courses at Penn while an undergraduate there in the late '60's. Reading this article [about sociologist Alice Goffman] rekindled my intense dislike for the field, its verbosity, and the inanities of its precepts and methods.” (Comment to NY Times Article from BobR)

“People and Society are too Unpredictable to Study, Document, and Infer Based on Past Data.”

“Sociology is not a real science because it does not have universal consistency. People and society are too unpredictable to study, document, and infer based on past data. A person or group of individuals could act one way for one reason, and another can act the same way for another reason. Humans are so complex that it is pointless to try understand/infer because results and inferences have no meaning. Finally, sociology is useless as it has no real life applications. I've never heard of sociology ever contributing to any societal changes.

“It Tries so Hard to Pose as a Scientific Field”

“It’s a shit field. It is definitely not scientific. If it saw itself as more of a literary or philosophical pursuit, it would be fine, but it tries so hard to pose as a scientific field. It’s ridiculous.”

Sociology is the Worst

“Sociology is the worst. I have never had a Professor say so many incorrect things until I got into a Sociology course.”

People Treat it Like a Religion and Feel it Replaces Religion

“Sociology was one of my majors in college. People absolutely treat it like a religion (and feel it replaces religion). People derive their sense of identity off a few theories they agree with - looking at you marxists” (Reddit User Immediate Cup 9021)

My Sociology Class was Useless

“My sociology class was useless and my professor would've honestly struggled to find employment outside of academia. It's fine as an elective but has no benefit as a core class forcing students to spend a few grand just for that class if it adds no real value.” (Pappy01987 on Reddit)

The Work is More Like ‘Advanced journalism’ and not Science.

“I work in the department of sociology of sports. I question the scientific part of the research. The work is more like ‘advanced journalism’ and not science. It is just more or less subjective interpretations of the interviews. In principle, it is the same job a journalist is doing, just in a more elaborate manner” (Reddit User MeisterOz)

My Sociology Advisor Commented that Cancel Culture is a Right-wing Myth

My sociology advisor commented that cancel culture is a right-wing myth, which I took as a warning to students to make sure they self-censored. I emailed him asking that some students might interpret it that way, hoping he could reassure me otherwise. He didn’t respond. I wasn’t going to waste my time and money pursuing it further because I would never enjoy a single day working in the field alongside people like that”. (Reddit user pinesinthedunes)

My Life Experience was Inferior to their Theory. They Taught him to be Smug

“I had the painful experience of mentoring and financially assisting an undergraduate for a few years as he earned his bachelor’s degree. He was influenced by his sociology professors that they were the true arbiters of virtue. Never mind that I had a law degree, and a second graduate degree, and had been on the faculty of two law schools. They convinced HIM that my life experience in court rooms and classrooms was inferior to their theory. (I also have a certificate from Cornell University in Diversity & Inclusion Issues. I’m more sympathetic than most, I’d say.) But at the end of the day he was not learning critical thinking or even objective observation. He was merely a parrot for the idea that he was somehow smarter than most others. They taught him to be smug.” (Comment to NY Times Article from ‘Bruce Lee’)

The Least Academically Gifted Students Flock to it and Learn Very Little

“I also think sociology is mostly a bunk degree (as someone with a BA - lol- in sociology). There’s very few math requirements in the degree, no ‘labs’ required etc. This sets it up to have the least academically gifted students flock to it and learn very little about how research is conducted and reviewed. But students read a ton on things they are then expected to regurgitate out instead of being able to defend why it is or is not scientifically sound”. (pennywitch on Reddit)

My University has the Most Boring Lectures Which Just Cover Marx and Racism Constantly

I did A level sociology and found it interesting. I then took it as a combined degree at University and it has been the most boring thing ever. Sure I am interested in how the world works and theories about it. However my University has the most boring lectures which just cover Marx and racism constantly and don’t really do much else. I am so fed up of writing essays on race or Marx views about society. (AthensMoons on Reddit)…. Same thing happened to me. I took a sociology 101 class and was blown away. I never heard of "sociology" before and was just so excited learning about these topics that I was always thinking to myself about. I returned to college a few years later to get me degree in Sociology. It was horrible. Nothing but nonstop poliical talks and everything EXTREMELY far left leaning. And the professors could care less about letting you know that you shouldn’t be there if you didn’t think like them. It was a clusterfuck but I did get my bachelors degree. It was such a disappointment. (Low_Industry2524 on Reddit)