Essay #1
Lisa McIntyre
Sociology 101
September 8, 2014
Deeper Thought into the Sociological Imagination
Everyone has his or her own perceptions of the world. Among many, there are two that can disguise the naive observer and sociologist. Individualism and sociological imagination are two different ways that people can live their lives. They can blame everything on the individual or look at the bigger picture of different scenarios. In Philip Meyers and Stephanie Coontz’s articles they both discuss scenarios that look at an individual or a group of similar people and talk about the overall view of why situations occur.
In The Promise, written by C. Wright Mills, Mills discussed the sociological imagination. The sociological imagination is the ability to step back and have a different outlook on your everyday routines and to think of these routines in a new way. Mills also discusses individualism, which is the ability to be self-reliant. The relationship between both terms is that one focuses on just one individual where as the other focuses on what the social aspect of a situation made that individual act a certain way. People tend to rely too much on how society will act and feel about certain situations and actions. In some cases this is good, but it is also a good thing to be independent, this is why individualism and sociological imagination should be used together. Mills described the sociological imagination as “the ability to look beyond personal troubles of individuals to see the public issues of social structure” (Mills 31). What people do and how people think and act influences their social environment. Social influences such as people and social structure sway people’s behavior in society. Being able to notice these environmental influences and act as an individual is important in having a sociological imagination.
Sociological researchers use sociological imagination to explain social things typically ignored by people immersed in
Sociology 101
September 8, 2014
Deeper Thought into the Sociological Imagination
Everyone has his or her own perceptions of the world. Among many, there are two that can disguise the naive observer and sociologist. Individualism and sociological imagination are two different ways that people can live their lives. They can blame everything on the individual or look at the bigger picture of different scenarios. In Philip Meyers and Stephanie Coontz’s articles they both discuss scenarios that look at an individual or a group of similar people and talk about the overall view of why situations occur.
In The Promise, written by C. Wright Mills, Mills discussed the sociological imagination. The sociological imagination is the ability to step back and have a different outlook on your everyday routines and to think of these routines in a new way. Mills also discusses individualism, which is the ability to be self-reliant. The relationship between both terms is that one focuses on just one individual where as the other focuses on what the social aspect of a situation made that individual act a certain way. People tend to rely too much on how society will act and feel about certain situations and actions. In some cases this is good, but it is also a good thing to be independent, this is why individualism and sociological imagination should be used together. Mills described the sociological imagination as “the ability to look beyond personal troubles of individuals to see the public issues of social structure” (Mills 31). What people do and how people think and act influences their social environment. Social influences such as people and social structure sway people’s behavior in society. Being able to notice these environmental influences and act as an individual is important in having a sociological imagination.
Sociological researchers use sociological imagination to explain social things typically ignored by people immersed in