Sociology department not concerned by drop in concentrators

Though the sociology department saw a 47 percent drop in the number of sophomore sign-ins this year, departmental representative Paul Willis said he was not concerned by the decrease. After the April 24 deadline for sophomore sign-ins, 28 members of the Class of 2014 had signed into the department, compared to the 53 students in the Class of 2013 and the 62 students in the Class of 2012 who signed in.

According to Willis, the drop in the number of students was expected, noting that the two prior years’ numbers — not this year’s numbers — were the true deviations from the norm. Sociology saw “unprecedentedly high and record numbers” in 2010 and 2011, Willis said in an email. He added that in the past, the department has consistently had about 60 to 80 total junior and senior concentrators at any given time, a range that the department currently well exceeds by over 30 students.

Records from the Office of the Registrar indicate that the numbers for the Class of 2012 and 2013 were well above the department’s historical average. The sociology department awarded 31 degrees in 2006, 34 in 2007, 21 in 2008, 46 in 2009, 42 in 2010 and 37 in 2011. In 2002 and 2003, the department awarded 21 degrees.

Willis also said that many of the department’s professors were on sabbatical in the last academic year, which meant that some of the most popular courses that could draw students into the department were not offered.

April Hu ’14, who just signed into the sociology department, said that this change in course offerings may have caused the decrease in the number of sociology majors.

“In the past, SOC has offered a variety of interesting courses, but in looking at the classes for next fall and this spring, there isn’t as much diversity in subject matter as before,” she said.

Heling Zhao ’14, another sophomore who just declared her major in sociology, added that the economic downturn, which could have affected the way the members of the Class of 2014 viewed their future, could also be a reason for the decrease in the number of sociology majors.

“Why risk majoring in something that doesn’t lead to predictable, comfortable and well-paid careers?” she said. “I certainly don’t blame them. I’ve considered many times majoring in something more ‘practical’ myself.”

Despite these concerns, Zhao said she ultimately chose sociology because she had already completed nearly half of her requirements for the concentration and also because she is very interested in the contemporary East Asian region, which she could study in the department.

Hu added that even though she agrees that the financial incentive of choosing to major in economics-related subjects over sociology could have been a reason for the decline in sociology majors, she noted that this perspective is misinformed.

“There’s a lot of misunderstanding about what sociology really is, and if you’re worried about making money in the future, you’re probably not taking the time to explore courses in subjects you aren’t familiar with,” Hu said.

Willis said that the department expects the number of sophomore declarations to recover next year and bring the total number of students back to its usual level.

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“The department remains at the cutting edge of world sociology, both in research and teaching. We are in great health, as the recent award of the Pyne Prize to one of our students shows,” Willis said, referring to award winner Ann-Marie Elvin ’12, a sociology major who was one of this year’s winners.

Sophomore students who recently declared their major in sociology expressed surprise at the decrease in the number of declarations this year.

“I was surprised actually because one of the reasons I decided to do SOC was that several of my friends whom I was not expecting to declare did so,” David Will ’14 said.

Will was undecided between history, politics and sociology, he said, but decided on sociology because of the greater attention from professors, given the smaller size of the department.

Hu said that she was disappointed in the numbers.

“SOC is such a great department, and it has so much to offer — I think of it as the great umbrella that everything about human beings and society falls under — that it’s just a huge shame for so few people to take advantage of its strength as an academic department on campus,” she said.