How to be a Sociologist

I...am not...a psychologist.

I am...and probably always will be...a sociologist.

Normally these distinctions don't bother people. But this one bothers me. I don't do feelings. I don't do hormones. I don't do "how's your relationships with your mother." I am...and will continue to be...a sociologist.

This distinction recently surfaced at work. Why are people poor, someone asked. This was easy for me. "It's because they don't have access to resources, or they are being exploited of their resources." This is what Marx or Weber or Schumacher would say and as a sociologist, I'm obligated expound on their correctness.

I've been delighted recently to introduce my colleuges to theories and paradigms within international development...there's Modernization...and Growth with Equity...and Liberation from Dependency...all of which will eventually feature in their own blog postings.

But introducing my sociological paradigms has helped me understand some key differences in approaches. Viewing the world from the top down--like a sociologist--affords it's own challenges and blessings. On the one hand, it allows us to see "the big picture" of global issues, to understand how things came to be (ex. the NY Stock Exchange, Russian Communism, Feminism) and how they interact (ex. globalization, integrated approaches to international development). This...is where I live. But then there's the social work influences. How are individuals affected by events and people and how do they take these experiences and interact with the world around them? How do individual choices affect society? There is a complexity here, perhaps a greater complexity then how supply and demand affect geopolitics.

There is no one right way to look at the world. Everyone has their own perspective, and I dare say that perspective is influenced by personal experience and preferences. But in the end, I see the world is systems and structures where cultures and societies swirl around in organized manners following unspoken rules until someone throws a wrench in and disrupts the prescripted expectations. I look at movements and trends and ooze enthusiasm about how things will change.

The other ways aren't wrong. I just really love my little sphere and the lenses I've adapted to give meaning to global chaos. But self-awareness of personal bias is the first step towards integrated approaches to worldviews.