Finding a Fit for Life's Funcʃions
Marx, Durkheim, Weber. They remain our pillows in… I mean pillars to Sociology. Much subsequent work situates themselves within the paradigms of these classical thinkers. Why is it that we remain obsessed with them, even if their most notable assertions have been countered and disproved by modern instruments of scientific...
What is Sociology? This perennially jarring – but valid – question cannot be answered without making sense of the diverse strands of research within the discipline. It is not enough to learn of distinct methodologies without knowing how they stand together. To this end, Arthur Stinchcombe’s (1984) commentary may serve...
Struck by a wave of random joyfulness, I returned home from tuition one day galloping with my front hoofs up. My mother, seeing my excitement, interrupted: “Finish your homework first!” I was momentarily puzzled. I can’t be happy until I finish my homework? Then I realized she misinterpreted my hand gestures....
Self-help can be serious. And serious books are a form of self-help, too.
Five semesters in, I finally feel like I belong with Sociology. Much has to do with the way I constitute ideas. I don’t rush into asking questions, making judgments, or finding formulas. I prefer to tackle readings on a clean slate and allow them to settle into the subconscious, until...
You’d think sociologists are best-equipped to debunk stereotypes. Surprise then, this semester, when ALL 3 of my NUS Sociology lecturers, in cordial but resigned tones, levelled essentially the same accusation at us students: That we are in it for the degree. The most subtle instance came during a Social Thought lecture on...
