Science fiction is not my favorite fiction genre. But, having recently read The Sparrow, watched Project Hail Mary, and read plenty of Isaac Asimov, Arthur Clarke, Jules Verne, and Ray Bradbury, among other novels, I was reminded that science fiction and sociology often ask the same big questions. These include:

1. How do humans deal with big social and/or technological change? These changes mark the modern era but we do not always have opportunities to reflect.
2. Can humans and societies come together to tackle common problems? Under what conditions would people set aside differences and conflicts or will these hinder human efforts to address problems or changes?
3. What does it mean to be human and work together in large groups? This can come to the fore when humans come into contact with other beings.
4. How do humans make meaning when their worlds are disrupted? Humans are meaning-making creatures who have to fit major changes into the way they approach the world.

These different fields might not approach the questions in the same way and they may not come to the same answers but there is some overlap in what they consider.