Benefits Of Sociological Imagination

Rebekah Blair 1/19/2017 Sociological imagination is, as defined in our textbook, the ability to see the connections between our personal experience and the larger forces of history. So basically, it is speaking of the relationship between who we are as people and the social forces that shape our lives around us, saying that we think about certain things in ways because of what happens around us. Even though we may think that we are going through something alone and nobody understands us, to me, this is saying that our personal experiences are not all our own after all.

Social Imagination is a sociological concept that was introduced by American sociologist C. Wright Mills In 1959. In the book The Real World: An Introduction To Sociology, fifth Edition by Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein. It states “the ability to understand the intersection between biography and history, or the interplay of self and the world; this is sociology’s task and it’s promise.” (Mills 1959) (PG 13) It means to associate biography (what is happening in our every day life experience) with history (the social environment around us).

Meaning of sociological imagination The sociologist, C Wright Mills said that the sociological imagination is a perspective on the world that helps us to see the links between society and the individual’s experiences and circumstances. The sociological imagination explains that external influences significally influence the individual’s motivations, way of thinking and social status in society. The sociological imagination attempts to understand human behaviour by placing it within a broader social context, as well as, observing the connections between what appears to be the personal problems of the individual compared to the larger social issues. Personal problem and social issue A personal problem is society is the hardships that negatively affect one individual’s life, for example alcohol

Sociological Imagination in the way that C Wright Mills explained and understood it was that all personal and private problems were caused by public and political issues, or at least strongly related to each other (Macionis and Plumber, 2012) He saw the relationship

Individuals within society are influenced by the socio-economic factors of the society which they inhabit. This essay will discuss Sociological imagination which was first mentioned by author C.W. Mills who wrote a book with the same title. The personal problem that will be discussed is childhood trauma, because it is broad this essay will focus more on depression and how it effects society on a larger scale. Lastly this essay will then show the advantages of using Social Imagination in our everyday life’s and how we can use it to the benefit of society on a wider scale. Social Imagination is the concept of being able to differentiate a personal problem from a problem that is affecting a wider society on a much larger scale.

Sociological imagination can be defined as one’s awareness of the impact that society has on their personal life because of the outside conditions and circumstances. The outside world create standards for people, even if they do not know that they are being looked at in this way. Therefore, society influences a person’s behavior and limits their free will. This theory is clearly demonstrated in The Truman Show. The movie helps to deepen my understanding of sociological imagination and helps me to see how the outside world controls my life.

When it comes to Critical Social Theory and The Sociological Imagination, there are so many social issues that people are unclear on solving and that’s the reason Sociological Imagination is made, to convey attention to issues and taking a gander at the world sociologically, making sociological inquiries and giving sociological answers. The term Critical Social Theory is a very important term not only in Sociology but also in the world. The term was coined in Frankfurt, Germany in the 1930’s (Appelrouth and Edles 2012). Basic Social Theory was made to realize change in the public eye.

C. Wright Mills believes that the sociological imagination is a key aspect when attempting to understand the ever changing world we live in. He defines the sociological imagination as “the capacity to shift from one perspective to another” (Mills, 1959 [2000]: 7). He is therefore suggesting that we should observe public situations from a variety of different perspectives in order to understand how these interactions are influential upon our personal situations. It can be interpreted that Mills believes that the relationship between our personal lives and the wider social forces is important to developing a strong sociological imagination. Mills’ two main arguments regarding the sociological imagination includes the idea of public issues and personal troubles.

The Sociological Imagination Sociological imagination is a "quality of mind" that allows one to grasp "history and biography and the relations between the two within society.” (Elwell). Sociological imagination is understanding your situation while taking into consideration the broader society. It allows us to see our own society-, and the people within it- from an alternative perspective that of our own personal experiences and cultural biases. It therefore links society and the individual.

So let’s start by looking at the term ‘sociological imagination’ and what it actually means. ‘The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography

In Sociology, “Sociological imagination is a person’s ability to connect his personal experiences to the society at large and to a greater extent, to historical forces. Sociological imagination allows a person to question customs or habits that seem natural to him. It is a person’s ability to think away from the familiar routines people take in everyday life.” (“What is The Sociological Imagination, 2016). In other words, the sociological imagination focuses on the idea of someone understanding on who what why and how certain things shape the way a person lives or interacts with people.

In Mills’ publication, he describes the sociological imagination as “a quality of mind that will help them [humans] to use information and to develop reason in order to achieve lucid summations of what is going on in the world and of what may be happening within themselves”. (Mills, 2000, p. 5). Giddens, in his publication ‘Sociology: A brief but critical introduction’, concurs with Mills’ definition of the sociological imagination, and further states that three particular views are essential to understanding the social world: “an historical, an anthropological, and a critical sensitivity.” (Giddens, 1986, p. 13). Mills believes that the sociological imagination deals largely with two main components: the individual, and society.

The term "Sociological Imagination" was introduced by C. Wright Mills in 1959. The definition of Sociological imagination from our textbook is “the ability to understand how your own past relates to that of other people, as well as to history in general and societal structures in particular”. In other words, Sociological Imagination is the ability to recognize that an individual's personal troubles are a product of public issues which aren’t always controlled by the individual. This concept can help to provide a better understanding about the current social problems our nation is facing. Sociological imagination helps an individual understand the society in which they live in by placing an individual away from reality and looking beyond the

To have sociological imagination is to have “vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society" (Mills 2). Overall, sociological imagination is the concept which is based on social locators. As mentioned previously, there is a difficulty to grasp control on class, gender, and race because a person is born into these three categories. In a practical sense, my personal choices are shaped by my social locators. Sociological imagination currently plays a role in my presence at Sacred Heart University.

However, in our society we need to understand the importance of sociological imagination and how it helps us understand the society as a whole. In our society we have noticed