I had an interesting discussion a few days ago with my wife. We were talking about the futures of our disciplines (hers: genetic counseling; mine: sociology). I haven’t said this publicly before, but I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I don’t think sociology is long for academia.
Before I go down this path, I want to start with the caveat that I don’t want this to happen. I’m not advocating for this to happen. I’m just looking at what appears to be happening and what has happened and projecting that into the future. This is all speculative, of course. I don’t have a crystal ball. I may very well be wrong about all of this and I welcome thoughts and feedback on how/why I am wrong.
Now, on to my explanation…
Sociology, broadly speaking, is a scientific approach to studying social life.
The focus on social life differentiates sociology from psychology to a large degree, though there is substantial overlap (e.g., social psychology, cultural psychology, etc.).
A number of disciplines have split out of sociology (though with other influences as well): economics, criminology/criminal science, political science, gender studies, racial/ethnic studies, etc. As they have done so, they have cannibalized the discipline. Each time there is a split away from sociology, it takes both people and interest away from sociology.
Using criminology as an example, there is no meaningful difference between what criminologists and sociologists do; criminologists just focus on crime and deviance. And criminology has something sociology does not – a clear brand that parents of college students understand. If you get a degree in criminology, there is a presumed career path – corrections, law enforcement, government work (e.g., FBI, CIA, etc.). The same is true with political science and public health. There are not meaningful differences between those disciplines and sociology, but those disciplines have the benefit of a clear career path post-graduation, which isn’t as clear with sociology.
Here’s where my prediction enters and why I think sociology will continue to shrink. I think more disciplines will cannibalize sociology to the point that it becomes unsustainable. I also think there will be some large splits that will take place over the next two generations of research (so, 40 to 60 years), resulting in a much smaller discipline.
Using the current sections of the American Sociological Association to illustrate my point, here is what I think is going to happen.
The following sections are already covered by a sister discipline. These disciplines will continue to divert people and funds away from these ASA sections and to their own disciplines:
| Sister Discipline | ASA Section |
| Psychology | Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity; Children and Youth; Decision-Making, Social Networks, and Society; Social Psychology; Sociology of Emotions; Sociology of Mental Health; Organizations, Occupations, and Work^ |
| Political Science | Peace, War, and Social Conflict; Political Economy of the World-System; Political Sociology |
| Criminology / Criminal Science | Crime, Law, and Deviance; Drugs and Society |
| Economics | Economic Sociology; Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility; Labor and Labor Movements; Sociology of Development; Sociology of Consumers and Consumption; Organizations, Occupations, and Work |
| Education | Sociology of Education; Teaching and Learning in Sociology |
| Public Health | Medical Sociology |
| Environmental Science | Environmental Sociology |
| Communication | Communication, Information Technologies, and Media Sociology |
| Law | Sociology of Law; Sociology of Human Rights |
| Demography* | Aging and the Life Course; International Migration; Sociology of Population; Community and Urban Sociology; Global and Transnational Sociology |
| History | Comparative-Historical Sociology; History of Sociology and Social Thought |
| Social Work | Disability in Society; Family; Sociological Practice and Public Sociology |
I put an asterisk (*) next to Demography because some people would argue that it is a sub-discipline of sociology while others would argue it is its own discipline. I think it will eventually become its own discipline. I put a carat (^) next to Organizations, Occupations, and Work as it falls into two sister disciplines, Psychology and Economics.
By my count, the table above includes 34 of the 52 ASA Sections, leaving the following 18:
- Animals and Society
- Asia and Asian America
- Biology and Society
- Collective Behavior and Social Movements
- Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis
- Latina/o Sociology
- Marxist Sociology
- Mathematical Sociology
- Methodology
- Race, Gender, and Class
- Racial and Ethnic Minorities
- Science, Knowledge, and Technology
- Sociology of Body and Embodiment
- Sociology of Culture
- Sociology of Indigenous Peoples and Native Nations
- Sociology of Religion
- Sociology of Sex and Gender
- Sociology of Sexualities
- Theory
I think some of these will eventually be swallowed up by other disciplines, even though we don’t realize it at the moment:
| Other Disciplines | ASA Section |
| Data Science | Mathematical Sociology; Methodology; Science, Knowledge, and Technology |
| Biology | Animals and Society; Biology and Society |
I also think critical sociology will eventually be consumed by the Humanities (broadly speaking). They already share many affinities, leading me to believe the Humanities will become a bit more empirical/science-y and will co-opt critical sociology. That would include the following:
| Other Disciplines | ASA Section |
| Humanities Disciplines (broadly; e.g., Communication; Literature; History) | Marxist Sociology; Sociology of Body and Embodiment; Sociology of Culture; Asia and Asian America; Latina/o Sociology; Racial and Ethnic Minorities; Sociology of Indigenous Peoples and Native Nations; Race, Gender, and Class; Sociology of Sex and Gender; Sociology of Sexualities; Collective Behavior and Social Movements |
To be clear about this prediction, I think lots of sister disciplines (e.g., Psychology, Economics, Criminology, Public Health, etc.) will continue to focus on racial/ethnic and sexual/gender minorities as well as other forms of inequality in society, but within their fields and not as specific subfields within those disciplines (e.g., political scientists will study unequal access to political positions on the basis of race, gender, and class). Thus, there will continue to be a fair amount of research on inequalities, but it will be focused on health in Public Health or on politics in Political Science.
That leaves three sections: Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis; Sociology of Religion; and Theory.
All of the sister disciplines have Theory. The Theory section will get folded into all of the other disciplines.
I’m a little skeptical that Sociology of Religion will be co-opted by Religious Studies; they are quite different. The same is true, of course, of critical sociology and the Humanities. But it is possible these will team up, leading Religious Studies to have more quantitative and empirical scholars in the same departments as people focused on religious history, scriptural analysis, and even theology. Of course, lots of social scientists will continue to study religion, but within their contexts: religion and health in public health; religion and crime in criminology; religion and development in economics; etc.
Sorry, Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis. I’m not sure where you belong. I had a great Ethnomethodology professor in graduate school (Dr. Angela Garcia) who convinced me of how insightful it is. My students love it when I discuss Garfinkel’s breaching exercises. I think that may be the only ASA Section that doesn’t have a logical home elsewhere in academia.
To reiterate, I don’t want this to happen. I’m not advocating it. It just seems like it’s possible given the decline we are seeing in sociology and the growth in sister disciplines.
I welcome thoughts.
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