On the Current State of Sociology

Sociology today, much like other social sciences, is still alive and well but its actual place and purpose in contemporary society lacks much admiration. I suppose a legitimate question here is – is sociology really making a difference in society? Granted, the many practitioners and writers within the ambit of sociology, as a discipline, may find great pleasure in doing what they do (e.g., research and writing). But is that all there is to sociology – research, teaching and writing? Is the general US public, for instance, aware of any inroads made by sociology, if we can suggest that inroads and public progress is being made? Though sociology has come a long way since the days of its early pioneers, we’re still not too far removed from the vision of early sociologists like Émile Durkheim and his hope for the ability of sociology to be able to resolve real social issues. In other words, it is not enough to simply address social issues, like rampant inequality (economic and otherwise), but actually making a difference in terms of achieving resolution seems to be a goal that is constantly outpacing, if not eluding, sociology altogether