I am a freshman in college and I have already declared my major as Sociology. My school requires you to select a minor, so I have started looking. They give you a long list of options and I have narrowed (it’s still a lot) it down to the following: anthropology, criminal justice, diversity studies, English, international studies, philosophy, political science, psychology, studies in popular culture, value studies, and women’s studies. My career goal is to get my bachelors degree and then move on to law school to become a civil rights attorney. So my question is, do minors really matter in the long run? Should I choose one to match my major or one that I’m interested in? (EX: Studies in Popular Culture doesn’t necessarily fit my major, but all of the classes seem super interesting)
btw: People have commented on about how my sociology major won’t fit my career goal and I wanna defend that by saying that I want to be a CIVIL RIGHTS attorney. I will be dealing with all types of disadvantaged people and sociology will help me learn about those different types of people. I know I shouldn’t have to defend my choice in major, but everyone always comments on it…
I think that a minor - can - nicely complement your major, but it doesn’t have to.
I double majored in anthropology, and English literature, and took a minor in comparative literature. Part of the reason I took the minor was because I kept seeing comparative literature classes that interested me, and I really liked the professors who taught them. But, the more classes I took, the more I realized how it complemented both majors.
The connection with English lit was pretty direct because they’re both about studying literature, which was nice. But what was really interesting for me was exploring the themes and ideas that were in the stories of non-English speaking cultures; this component really connected with the cultural side of my anthropology major.
Ultimately, choosing a minor is a really cool opportunity to explore outside of your major - see how other professors teach, meet other students, and learn something that maybe isn’t super important, but really interests you. You might find connections with your major, but you might also use it to round out your education.
Personally, I’d advocate for an anthro minor, but I think that you should go with popular culture because it interests you, and will give you good experience dissecting and understanding culture, which is still relevant for your career goal.