I'm a proud sociologist. I'm rooting for the discipline. Culture wars notwithstanding, sociologists all over the country continue to do good work. But the field does need to change, for it's own sake and for the stakeholders, institutions and causes we ostensibly hope to support.

The good news is: sociology has bounced back before. @asanews.bsky.social membership saw declines in the early 1980s but expanding to 2.5x its previous size by the 2010s. Enrollments saw steep declines throughout the 1970s but largely recovered by the 90s: musaalgharbi.substack.com/p/on-inequal...

As sociology shrank in its substantive focus and diversity of worldviews, it contracted in a literal sense. Relative to peer disciplines, we've seen sharper declines in enrollments, professional organization membership, jobs, and funding: musaalgharbi.substack.com/p/on-inequal...

There are many other ways in which the discipline has a highly (and inappropriately) constrained field of view, as I detail in this quick (10 minute) talk: youtube.com/live/HCjG-19...

All that said, contemporary sociology does seem to be overly-focused on inequality, understood in moralistic and identitarian ways, while neglecting other dimensions of the phenomena, and other social issues: musaalgharbi.substack.com/p/on-inequal...

For @heterodoxacademy.bsky.social, I've stressed how intense partisanship distorts social research and reduces it's reach & impact: youtu.be/ngdZvwr5gA0?... I've also detailed how diversifying these fields (across dimensions) has enriched our understanding of society: youtube.com/watch?v=AsqJ...

In contrast with #economics, sociology is *not* political. It is hyperpolitical. It has the form of 'radical' politics without the substance. And, as a consequence, it is not just practically sterile but also extremely polarizing: musaalgharbi.substack.com/p/on-inequal...

#Economics is a deeply political field. It shapes policymaking at a level that dwarfs sociology. But it is not *partisan.* Most economists are Democrats: degruyterbrill.com/document/doi... independent.org/tir/2022-fal... But they'll work with *anyone.* This increases the impact of their work.

Saida Grundy believes in sociology as a weapon. Yet, weapons can famously be used by anyone, often in ways contrary to the intent of their owners: americanprogress.org/article/debu... Today, sociology *is* being weaponized... by the political right, against academia and social research writ large.

I like that the article led with comments by @lisahajjar.bsky.social, whom I deeply admire and look to as a model, in many respects, for public engagement. And what she says here is completely apt: wsj.com/us-news/educ...

#Sociology has been in the news a lot lately. A new piece just dropped in @wsj.com, featuring some comments from me. Per usual, they only used a few sentences from the hour+ conversation. Let me to expand a bit below. tldr: my answer to the titular question is an emphatic "no"🧵

Don Quixote grows increasingly consumed by vanity and pride. He loses his way and betrays himself. Soon after he is defeated and compelled to return home -- at which point he loses his will to live: musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/207467752/...

Don Quixote provides many reflections on the transformative power of devotion that ring quite true in my own life and are well-validated by contemporary social research: musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/207467752/...

Don Quixote is often described as "mad" but he's far more lucid than many assume and his "madness" is, itself, quite revelatory: musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/207467752/...

Don Quixote is a profound book. It's also really, really, really funny. And the juxtaposition of deep reflections and sheer ridiculousness itself seems to say something about the human condition... which inspired a digression on #Plato taking a dump: musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/207467752/...

Thematically, Don Quixote was a really groundbreaking book in its treatment of topics like gender, ethnic tension, social stratification and religion. The book's unusual structure empowered him to take bold swings: musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/207467752/...

Structurally, Don Quixote was revolutionary and still reads like a groundbreaking text today. Its sheer level of ambition and creativity remains almost without peer: musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/207467752/...

It's wild to revisit a text after decades apart. I'm different. The world is different. The context is different. The translation is different. And this culminated in a very different experience of Don Quixote than I had in 2007: musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/207467752/...

My seminar at St. John's College in #SantaFe was excellent, both in virtue of the unique pedagogical approach of St. John's and also because it's fun to work through a text with lifelong learners: musaalgharbi.substack.com/p/book-revie...

I'm living in my home town for the next six months writing my second book. But before I descended into my book cave, I spent a week teaching a seminar on Don Quixote. My latest for Symbolic Capital(ism) includes my reflections on the text.

More information about the paper follows below. @springernature.com has provided a non-paywalled link to access the paper here: rdcu.be/frrBu

My latest co-authored article with @dietram.bsky.social, @farooquema.bsky.social, @almacristalhm.bsky.social + lots of folks I couldn't find on this platform explores how institutions and experts can productively respond to the populist challenge. Now live in @nature.com

But, again, appealing to these constituents isn't *bad.* It's smart! These are the voters who turn out to midterm primary elections. Appealing to the voters who turn out is literally how you win elections. And win, they did! musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/178564807/...

Oh, and with respect to prominent attempts to obscure the importance of highly-educated, white and relatively-affluent voters to the success of @demsocialists.bsky.social candidates this cycle, some context on that viral essay: musaalgharbi.substack.com/p/a-graveyar...

Oh, and with respect to prominent attempts to obscure the importance of highly-educated, white and relatively-affluent voters to the success of @demsocialists.bsky.social candidates this cycle, some context on that viral essay: musaalgharbi.substack.com/p/a-graveyar...

The election of @aoc.bsky.social and #TheSquad also occurred during a midterm primary election. Their primary victories relied on the same dynamics as the Mamdani slate. And they can be instructive on how things are likely to play out from here: musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/178564807/...

Some have compared the #DSA candidates to the #TeaParty. Guess what, the Tea Party also rose to prominence during a midterm primary cycle, taking advantage of the same unusual characteristics of the electorate in these types of cycles: musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/178564807/...

Much has been made about the fact that supporters of the Mamdani slate skewed whiter, relatively affluent and more educated. Guess what? This is what the electorate for midterm primary elections look like. And you win by appealing to the people who show up! musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/178564807/...

In the recent midterm primary elections, Mamdani was able to pull of his coup by basically inverting his 2025 general election strategy. This was a smart move, because the electorate for this type of cycle is very different: musaalgharbi.substack.com/i/178564807/...

In short, as sociology and its main organizing body have grown increasingly insular in their politics and their areas of focus, they have also become smaller in a very literal sense. This is likely not sustainable: musaalgharbi.substack.com/p/on-inequal... But there's reason for hope.