Lorraine Battersby

When I first started to study for the BA in Sociology in 1992, I have to admit I wasn’t all together too sure what I was getting myself into. It might be hard for young people to get their heads around a time without internet but in 1992, we had to rely on the prospectus as practically our sole source of information – no instant Googling of “what is sociology?” for us! I signed up for the course because of the media and society module in particular but after the first few lectures in social psychology with the esteemed Fr Micheál MacGréil in the grand old Aula Maxima building, I began to realise the scope of the discipline. Sociology certainly opened my mind to understanding man’s/woman’s place in society, which at its most basic definition is what journalism is all about -journalists are commentators on society. While I have studied journalism as a separate discipline, and learned the essential tools of the trade through that course of study, sociology enabled me to develop my lateral thinking and made me aware of issues and trends, historical and current, which still act as the solid foundation to my work these days. I totally recommend Sociology at Maynooth University – enjoy!