I wrote I think slightly more than a year ago for Project What's after SPM, which I believed failed to launch. Haiz.
Anyway, for your reading.
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What drove me to study what the Chinese would describe as a “cold door subject” was my interest in studying are we are shaped by the people around us. A process, called socialization, is done since one’s babyhood, continuing to his death. In this process, we see how a person is shaped through every interaction in his life course. Not only it helps people understand people, but it helps you understand you.

Anthropology is derived from Greek words “anthropos”, which means “human”, and “logia” which means “discourse” or “discussion”. It is a study of the culture, belief and practices of living people, with the goal of providing a holistic account of humans and human nature itself. Sociology, as the name connotes, is a study and analysis of the human social structure and activity, with the goal of pursuing social well-being for all man. In simpler (albeit in extremely inaccurate) words, anthropology is the studies the individual and his direct influencers, whereas sociology studies the society as a whole.

The subject matter of these courses is diverse in nature. I believe it is quite safe to say that anthropology and sociology is the mother of all social sciences. There are 5 branches in anthropology:
1.    Biological Anthropology
2.    Cultural Anthropology
3.    Linguistic Anthropology
4.    Social Anthropology, and
5.    Archaeology

Sociology, on the other hand, has a wider scope:
1.    Sociology of culture
2.    Sociology of deviance
3.    Sociology of economics
4.    Sociology of education
5.    sociology of gender
6.    Sociology of work/industry
7.    Sociology of knowledge
8.    Sociology of law
9.    Sociology of military
10.    Sociology of politics
11.    Sociology of religion
12.    Sociology of science, and
13.    Sociology of stratification

Are you surprised to see subjects such as law, economics, and politics in the list? Well, these subjects are a part of sociology because they play a big role in society. Another fact nugget for you: these subjects were developed so extensively, it was decided that they should be split up. In Universiti Sains Malaysia, Economics is a subject still studied in the Faculty of Social Sciences, while in most universities Economics have split with the Faculty of Social Sciences to form its own faculty. I guess there is only so much the human brain can handle.

I’m personally drawn to the sociology of deviance, simply because everyone has been involved in an act of deviance at least a few times in the lifetime. Another concept in this aspect of sociology is that crime is a deviant behavior; however, not all deviant behavior is a criminal act. This is because an act of deviance is an act against societal norms whereas a criminal act has been defined and prosecutable by the law. For example, transsexuals are seen as deviants in society, but the law does not state that they can be prosecuted by law. However, a night burglary is a crime because it is defined and prosecutable according to Act 574, Section 456 of the Penal Code, which states “Whoever commits lurking house-trespass by night or housebreaking by night, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine, and for every second or subsequent offence shall be punished with imprisonment and shall also be liable to fine or to whipping.”

People should take a course in either anthropology or sociology for the simple reason that our society needs people who have more than just a basic knowledge of self and society. Some of the questions that arose for me and my view of society came up during my course of study are
1.    Do you like the person you see in the mirror? Why?
2.    What influenced all the decisions you’ve made so far?
3.    Can you change the course of your future?
4.    Do you like the society today? Why?
5.    Can you understand why they act that way?
6.    Can you empathize with them although you do not subscribe to their ideologies?

I’m not aware of the monetary or scholarship opportunities; however, the course will most definitely widen your worldview. This in turn will help you understand not only yourself and the people around you; it also enables you to bring gradual change in the environment you are in.