“Sociology?” Puzzled and then suddenly excited, she chirped “Oh, do you read people's minds?!” I was horrified. “Um…No, maybe you're referring to psychology” I replied slowly. “And anyway, psychologists don't read minds” I hastened to clarify, enunciating the last two words, the shock showing in my voice. She still looked confused. “What are you planning to do?” I then enquired. Pat came the reply “Engineering”.
Be aware
I was at a party with my parents and it was my first year at college. I was proud of studying Sociology and loved my subject but the way most people dismissed it or even worse, weren't even aware of its existence saddened me. The most frequent reactions I got were those of bewilderment and sometimes mild interest but a few people have also expressed relief and happiness at hearing something rather unusual.
One doesn't need an Einstein to certify that the hard sciences have and continue to reign over the ‘lesser mortals'-the social sciences-in our country. There are institutions set up in every nook and corner of the nation that produce the appealing, packaged products of Engineering and Business graduates in large numbers, year after year. These institutions are only sprouting more rapidly now resulting in engineers just swarming every place today. They work long hours, contribute considerably to the country's economic growth and enjoy wonderful salaries. Respect for them is then obvious but ‘what do social scientists do?' wonder people. The apprehension that people have concerning career options after graduating from courses such as Political Science, History, Sociology or Economics is perhaps the most important reason for the inferior status of these disciplines.
Such hierarchy of knowledge pertains perhaps, to the subject matter of natural sciences. If the natural sciences deal with matter, social sciences deal with human beings. Since laws cannot be established about human nature and its activities, social sciences are ever dynamic and changing. There is never any monotony, and excitement arises from change, not consistency. Studying human beings and society, their formulation, development and components is not an easy task. Most people tend to brush aside or even dismiss this kind of knowledge as ‘common knowledge' but is it really so? When asked in a class what they understood of feminism, most replied ‘men bashing'. Not surprising then that Sociology is considered “the study of tribals” (another response). So if they are vaguely dismissed as ‘common knowledge' why do these subjects even exist? Whoa! Clear example of the famous idiom ‘Ask no questions and hear no lies'.
It is a pre requisite to study dictatorship before studying the concept of democracy or studying polygamy in order to understand the social sanctioning of monogamy. Not different from scientists who understood how apes developed to form human beings. We cannot ignore Darwin in the study of evolution just as Gandhi cannot be ignored in our struggle for independence. Hence, proved (as in scientific language) that history of any phenomenon is important to understand its present functioning. Then why is a student who is pursuing a Masters degree in History after a B.Sc Mathematics (“Are you serious?”) considered strange?
Social sciences do not only deal with the question ‘what?' but also ‘when, why, how and where'.Several queries and doubts arise when one studies the aspects of everyday life which seem so simple and mundane and yet not so. The greatest advantage of engaging in such studies is that there are so many perspectives to every issue that help us gain a more holistic understanding of the world. Thus, it is not just interesting but also fulfilling. Maybe, as J.Irwin Miller the famous industrialist once said “the responsibility of the humanities is to make better the conduct of human beings in their lives and professional activities”.
Conscious choices
Students may plunge themselves into academics and research, may hold secretarial and administrative positions, may choose to work in Non profit organisations that deal with issues crucial to our society such as environmental sustainability, women's issues, development projects and other humanitarian work. They may work as broadcast journalists bringing such issues to the forefront or in any other area of the media. Options are varied and plenty. If people were more aware, more broad-minded and let go of their notion of science as the stepping stone to success and glory, then humanities too can take the position it deserves. It isn't utopian to imagine such a world. Maybe it's possible if technology brought about some cool device which helped us not only ‘read minds' but change them too.
Radhika Santhanam, is a II year MA Sociology student at JNU Delhi
