Abstract
It is a curious contradiction that sociology, a discipline that includes in its subject matter socialization, norms, occupations, formal organization, the institution of education and the concept of the career does not necessarily prepare its products in a systematic and coherent manner to become trained professionals. Newly minted Ph.D.s must often learn by trial and error because we have left them adrift concerning how to conduct themselves as professional sociologists. Moreover, while these new Ph.D.s are usually trained well as scholarly researchers, many are not prepared for the non-research careers they will take as sociologists. When this happens, we sociologists, supposedly enlightened about such matters, have failed our students.
This article is divided into two parts. The first is a critique of traditional graduate education in sociology. The second part plays off these criticisms by offering a coherent plan, consonant with the current and future possibilities for sociologists.
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Eitzen, D.S., Zinn, M.B. & Gold, S.J. Integrating professional socialization and training for sociology graduate students. Am Soc 30, 56–63 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12108-999-1023-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12108-999-1023-5