Sociology courses and concepts are not just for people
looking to become sociologists. I
wrote about the diversity of the sociology major recently, and mentioned
that journalists and even novelists can benefit from a degree in sociology. How
can storytellers enhance their skills by learning about sociology?
Understand characters whose backgrounds are
different from your own
Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, people drive the
stories we tell. Often characters come off as one-dimensional if we are working
from only superficial knowledge about people whose lives are significantly
different from our own. Sociology courses that examine issues of race, gender,
and socio-economic status are great tools to learn about what it is like to be
part of a group other than our own.
Many sociologists use ethnography in their
research, a qualitative
method that requires a researcher to spend an extended period of time in the
lived environment of the people they study. Back
in 2008, I blogged about the similarities and differences between sociology
and journalism. Ethnography shares some similarities with in-depth reporting; good
journalists and ethnographers both strive to communicate the perspectives of
their subjects and share their everyday realities with readers.
Writers who plan to conduct interviews would benefit from
learning more about ethnography, in-depth interviews and the ways in which
sociologists interpret the findings from talking with their informants. For example, fiction
writers who conduct ethnography or just read the results of ethnographic
studies will learn about a community or culture that they had never been part
of, providing more background information if they want to include characters
from those backgrounds in their work.
2. Learn about the broader contexts that shape
the choices individuals make
Students of sociology learn about the meaning and importance
of social structure,
the way in which the economy, politics, history, and social changes impact our
lives. To make fiction characters more believable and our nonfiction subjects
more understandable, it is important to provide readers with their broader
social context.
For instance, if we are writing about someone who is homeless,
we would want to know more than just about that individual. If they recently
lost their home, what factors led up to this event? How common is it in their
community? Are the costs of apartment living out of reach? What factors might
complicate their chances of finding work, such as the loss of a major industry
in their region? If they suffer from mental health issues—either as a cause or
result of their housing status—what resources are readily available to them?
In fiction, we often learn of a character’s “backstory,” or relevant events
that precede the narrative. The broader context is akin to the “surround
story,” or issues that impact individuals in the past, present, and future, in
ways that our readers might not otherwise know about.
3. Inform your readers about often
misunderstood social realities
For sociologists, the “surround story” is central to our
work. We might use stories of individual experiences with the goal of
illustrating a common experience based on our research. Sometimes these
findings are not well understood by the general public.
For instance, many
people might not understand how people become homeless, beyond presuming an
individual made poor choices. The struggles of people in poverty, housed or
not, may not be obvious to people who have never encountered others in this
predicament. Sociological findings on a number of issues, from poverty to
changes in families, crime and experiences in the juvenile or criminal justice
system, will add a great deal to the kinds of stories that we often hear about
in popular culture.
Social
institutions like medicine, education, and the criminal justice system
provide the backdrop for many television dramas. Understanding how large
organizations work—and communicating about them to viewers or readers—provide
important information not just about characters, but about our own everyday
lives.
Above all else, sociology helps us learn to ask critical
questions about both individuals and their broader context. What factors shape
an individual’s life
chances? How do changes in policies and laws impact people’s daily lives?
Is this person’s experience typical, or anomalous?
Learning about sociology not only enhances a writer’s
ability to tell interesting stories, it also helps us tell stories that will
have a powerful impact on those who read them. Good writing is both about
learning something new and learning something about ourselves.
As you touched on, I believe that storytelling (in all forms) plays a dominant role in the learning, growing, and accepting of our own cultural identities. I was born into a complicated family; then again, who isn’t? My father is of Angelo-Saxon decent and fathered a child (my half-sister, Dena) with his first wife. My mother, on the other hand, is Mexican and Puerto Rican. Together they had my older brother Christian and seven years later I unexpectedly entered the world. Up until then neither one of my parent’s families had ever married—let alone reproduced with—someone outside of their race. Growing up I felt disconnected and confused about my race. What was I? Who was I? And where could I begin to find those answers? Looking back now I realize the key to understanding my world and myself better could be achieved through sociological exploration. Great article!