A person who is able to pull themselves away from a situation mentally and think about different points of view and how items interact is using their sociological imagination. American sociologist C. Wright Mills created the concept in 1959 and defined it as the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and wider society. It is the ability to look at something with fresh- yet critical eyes. Mills created this theory during a time where he felt that sociologists were too concerned with social structures and not looking at the concerns of people in their everyday life.
To Mills, his concept of the sociological imagination could bring people together so they could change the concept of a personal challenge like homelessness and make it a public issue. Mills wanted to combine our biographies, our life, with the greater picture of history and see how it is interconnected. When we see the two come together and interact, then we can understand both better.
For example, through the concept, one can see how personal barriers or challenges may be connected to larger social issues. A person may be homeless due to bad choices or through a series of events that led them to homelessness. The person may not have been able to stop. the train of events that led to the loss of their house or apartment.
It was simply unavoidable. For Mills, the personal challenges are the troubles, or the biography, that an individual faces, while the issue placed before them are the social challenges, or the history. Another example is a college student who spends the majority of their time gaming. instead of going to class and doing their homework.
They are experiencing a personal trouble, especially when they don't pass their classes. However, if we look at statistics, we may find a different picture. After six years at a four-year college, less than 60% of students earn a degree. UCLA noted that 45% of their students earn a bachelor's within four years. So...
What are the larger social issues at play with this situation? Has society done all it can to prepare college freshmen for the rigors of college, while also possibly holding down a part-time job? Did the student have money to buy a textbook? Were they experiencing possibly some mental health issues at the time and avoiding classes? The sociological imagination will help us look at the personal and the social issues involved in our lives.
And that is what that book that Mills wrote sought to do. It wanted to reconcile the concepts of the individual and society. Mills'book challenged numerous sociological theories and viewpoints as he stated that academic sociologists of his time were supporting elitist ideas and attitudes.
Although he experienced pushback with the book. His perspective enabled sociologists to initiate change instead of just observing injustice and writing about it. Now, how else can his concept help us in life? Think about when you decide to go buy a new pair of shoes.
You can use the sociological imagination to assist you with the purchase. Why are you buying the specific type of shoe you're buying? Is it so that you can go running?
Why do you go running? Will you keep up with your running habit for very long? Do you want a particular brand because you saw them in a video, on Instagram, on some sort of commercial? Bringing up questions can help us see if there are economic circumstances that we've taken into consideration.
They can see if a health study encouraged someone to take up running. Or if they were inspired by a movie or watching a marathon or simply because a friend has asked them to come running and they're really looking forward to it. Looking at the situation can help us see what is best for us to know and really to help us make the right decision.
Finally, Mills said that if a society lacks a sociological imagination, it will tend to be apathetic and possibly accept all beliefs, traditions, and events as unavoidable and natural, because people will not see their role within history. People will then be more susceptible to commit acts that could be terrible, and that they will follow society and the pushes of society instead of their own personal morals. The community also will not progress and change when need be. Instead, Mill sought for society to see what is real, so that it could think of other items, and so that it could make change when need. If you have any other questions or comments, write them down below.
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