save sociology!

one of my posts to TEACHSOC, AHA, and SSSI:

STRENGTHS:

1) The discipline itself is potentially liberating for both individuals and groups (i.e., it is inherently humanistic)
2) it covers "all things human" and subsequently, all things "meaningful"
3) there is nothing that we "know" of that outside of the realm of the discipline
4) the sociological imagination is brilliant

WEAKNESSES:

1) not respected within the realm of social science disciplines
2) sociologists have "dropped the ball" in getting the discipline into the forefront of mainstream (i.e., public) thought
3) the essence is being usurped by other disciplines: economics, political science, "socio-historical psych," etc.

In short, the discipline is wonderful, perfect, transformational. If there is any weakness to it, it is that sociologists have failed in getting it to where it needs to be within the general public, but there is absolutely nothing "weak" about the discipline itself.