A Call to Sociology

While saying let us continue from where we left off on the subject of sociologist employment in the public sector, I decided to take the name of a fine book published recently as the title. Peter L. Berger's book titled Invitation to Sociology, which treats sociology also as a kind of consciousness and a point of view, has been published by İletişim Yayınları in A. Erkan Koca's translation (2017). It is a good, classic book worth recommending also to those who look at sociology from outside the profession.

When we speak of the importance of sociology, it should of course not be understood that we are attributing to sociological knowledge a Messianic role of savior. After all, sociological knowledge is produced with theories, and sociologists are not, and cannot be, exempt from the political or ideological influences current within a society. But a faculty that sociology bestows is also the ability to think about oneself, to know oneself, and thus to develop a high awareness of the influences to which the profession can be exposed.

In sociological terminology this is called reflexivity. The subject who observes, knows, and classifies must be aware, while doing so, of what kind of effect he has on reality and what kind of interaction his own subjectivity has with this effect.

Am I attributing too much to the sociologist or to sociological knowledge?

Let us not sound as though we are talking not about a sociologist but about a sage who has solved all the secrets of the world, but when it catches its vein, sociological knowledge can also provide guidance to an advanced degree.

We can say that sociology in Türkiye has become quite diversified and benefits from a kind of free circulation it has acquired among all disciplines. This possibility of course provides opportunities and advantages, but some of them also stem from the job description not being sufficiently delimited; therefore this freedom also stems in part from other problems that the profession of sociology suffers from.

Since sociology as a profession is not sufficiently recognized by the public sector, it does not receive the necessary support and cannot make the better contributions it could make, and when it cannot, it cannot develop sufficiently.

Skill depends on favor, and as everywhere in the world, in Türkiye too the sources of favor that will reinforce, develop, encourage and promote skill are in the hands of the public sector. The shortcut route of favor that comes first to mind is none other than public employment. Thus sociology, because of the public support it is deprived of precisely where it is most needed, cannot respond to this need, because above all it cannot enlighten itself.

Sociology is no longer taught as a course in high schools as it used to be. Since there are either no sociology questions or very few in the university exams, interest in sociology does not form at an early age. Since the rate of employment in the public sector is at the lowest levels and with low personal rights, the admission scores of the departments are also low. This means that admission to the profession is possible with very low achievement, and it is readily guessed how negative an effect this will have on the quality of the profession. From teacher and student interaction at this level it will also not be easy for sociological thought or knowledge of high quality to emerge.

Unfortunately, the sociology that the public sector does not support is thus left with no chance of development. And the public sector that has neglected sociological knowledge has no chance of tackling many of its problems with a more qualified politics. The matter thus turns into a vicious circle.

We wrote this earlier too on another occasion, let us repeat it: when no attraction has been created in the field of employment, it is very difficult for a scientific field to record sufficient development. Although sociology education at universities is sufficiently widespread, raising interest in the profession to higher-quality levels can be possible through improvements in the profession's field of employment. Even without this much improvement, there are urgent measures that must be taken to strengthen the profession of sociology, which has proven its high contribution to the state, to the development of democracy and to society in general.

First of all, the sociology education in high schools, which used to have more weight but has recently been reduced (together with the philosophy and psychology courses), must be given greater importance.

If necessary, "philosophy group" questions in the university exams should be increased so that they are thereby given greater importance in high schools too. It is clear that these, by increasing sociological interest in the younger generations, will, in addition to creating a more equipped and higher-quality youth, also have a positive indirect effect on sociology employment.

Moreover, in state units such as especially the Ministry of Family and Social Services, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Health, many units of the General Directorate of Security, and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, there should be no doubt that employing sociologists is no longer a luxury for modern societies and that sociologist employment in these areas will bring a more coordinated, integrated and healthy functioning of state and society.

Either a separate cadre definition should be made for sociologists, or they should be deemed sufficient for defined areas such as social work and social pedagogy, for the education they receive is already more than sufficient. Keeping sociologists apart from this scope is in itself a serious problem of privilege-seeking. The formation of the profession of sociology gives even more than this. Moreover, sociology is more inclined to offer an interdisciplinary perspective, going beyond the narrow specialist perspective to which other professions are exposed by virtue of their formation.

The invitation to sociology is in fact, for a civilization that has brought forth Ibn Khaldun from its bosom, an invitation to come to awareness of the conditions of vitality of whatever must be protected and revived on behalf of that civilization.

To heed this call, it is first necessary to make sociology able to discuss reviving itself and able to carry out its duty.