Thoughts on sociology?

[M_BONG]

Hi all!

So I've picked my Arts units for semester 2 which are:
ATS1701 - Australian Politics and
ATS1945 - Terrorism and Political Violence.

However, I was just looking through the Arts unit guide and stumbled across ATS1366 - Sociology 2. The unit content seems really really interesting because it covers a lot of concepts I'm interested in - ie. feminism, inequality, sexuality etc.

My concern is the following:
a) I want to major in Politics and ATS1701 is a first year gateway subject and I am worried that if I take sociology I might miss out on important content/credit points to major in it;
b) Sociology does not appear to have the best reputation around. I don't know why though, is it because of how the course is structured, the content covered etc?
c) Australian Politics appears to be a breeze because it's a foundations subject; I already did Modern Politics sem1 and going by that it would be really easy and I really need a boost in my Weighted Average Mark because sem1 wasn't the best for me, grades-wise..

so I guess what I am wondering is:
1. Is it risky to choose Sociology when you a) know nothing about it b) didn't do the first sem equivalent?
2. How do you guys rate Sociology?
3. If you were in my position (looking to major in Politics), would you still choose Sociology?

Cheers!

[ShortBlackChick]

I dont think you need to do the first sem equivalent even though it might be a prerequisite. In terms of content I dont think it's an issue.

Honestly, I hated sociology, I wanted to minor in it but found it to be the driest units ever. The topics seem cool as, but I found them to be covered in a really superficial, basic kind of way that didnt really appeal to me. I did think Semester 2 was better than Semester 1 content but still, I do not recommend unless you're thinking about majoring/minoring in it. I recommend you stick to your two units you've chosen, because they're interesting lol.

If you want to check it out, find what the textbook is and check it out. I realised I still have the textbook from 3 years ago lol

[M_BONG]

I dont think you need to do the first sem equivalent even though it might be a prerequisite. In terms of content I dont think it's an issue.

Honestly, I hated sociology, I wanted to minor in it but found it to be the driest units ever. The topics seem cool as, but I found them to be covered in a really superficial, basic kind of way that didnt really appeal to me. I did think Semester 2 was better than Semester 1 content but still, I do not recommend unless you're thinking about majoring/minoring in it. I recommend you stick to your two units you've chosen, because they're interesting lol.

If you want to check it out, find what the textbook is and check it out. I realised I still have the textbook from 3 years ago lol

Awesome, thanks for that!  Judging from the unit guide, they do seem to cover things in a shallow manner.

Yeah I did have qualms and glad to hear from someone who's done it!

Any other input from other people welcomed!

[Nikli]

Hi. I've studied a little bit of sociology at Monash (and finished within the top 10% of the intake) and found it to be pretty pointless. There were some very interesting topics, like the sociology of medicine, but to be honest they covered them in a really perfunctory, dull way. You'd probably be better off just doing research on your own. Some of the readings assigned totally lived up to the bad reputation sociology has at times.

I think it says enough that I couldn't actually remember any of the content apart from the briefest stuff from Foucalt and nailed them exam. That said, I have friends that have said it improves after the first year -- but they aren't very close friends, and I can't state with any certainty that it really improves in a meaningful way.

(Re-reading your post, I see you're actually talking about Sociology 2.)

Sociology 1 and 2 are more or less totally unrelated. Or they were two years ago, and I doubt much has changed.

tl;dr First year sociology is awful in my opinion.