What a fantastic opportunity this is, to be able to write about how I feel about sociology and what it has added to my life. Sociology has enormous value as an academic discipline that is based on informed opinion, intelligible theoretical ideas, rigorous research and robust arguments, but we do not often get the chance to shout about it.

For me, being a sociologist is more than spouting hot air. It is about trying to understand why things happen, how they could differ, what could change and where. It is about exploration and imagination, challenging systems, people and procedures, and (it is to be hoped) providing solutions or suggestions for the future. It is about not accepting the status quo. It is about finding your own feet, thinking independently and challenging others. It is about contributing to a civilised and inclusive society. Sociology is a discipline bursting with ideas and potential, but sociologists also have too quiet a voice within the public sphere at present, and there is much more to be done to continue to cement the discipline’s credibility.

My own path into sociology has been one of good fortune, fortuitous timing, hard work and persistence. Certainly, I have always thought of myself as very lucky that I was introduced to sociology. In the 1990s sociology was not an option of study at school, so when it was suggested by my parents that I consider it as a degree subject I had very little prior knowledge. Having done A-levels in history, politics and economics, first and foremost I knew that I enjoyed learning about people. But I also knew that I was not moved by understanding people in terms of them as individuals. Rather, what I liked was understanding what made people get on (or not) together, what made communities cohere or revolt, and what made societies ‘work’ more broadly. I wanted to learn more about how these intersected with wider belief systems, institutions, cultural expectations and the political economy.

For me then, sociology was a natural ‘fit’. Almost from day one of my undergraduate degree at Lancaster University, I felt fortunate to have found an academic discipline that I cared about. During those years, I observed my peers bemoaning a degree that they considered boring and studying topics that they detested, all in the name of getting a ‘well paid’ job at the end of it.