Sociological Imagination

1
Lesson 5 Personal Troubles and Public
Issues SOCI 108 - Thinking Critically about
Social IssuesSpring 2012
2
(No Transcript)
3
(No Transcript)
4
The Sociological Imagination

• C. Wright Mills used the term sociological
  imagination to describe the ability to look at
  issues from a sociological perspective.
• Personal troubles versus public issues
• Ex unemployment, obesity

5
The Sociological Perspective

• Incorporates Mills notion of the sociological
  imagination ?
• The sociological perspective is a quality of the
  mind that allows us to understand the
  relationship between our particular situation in
  life and what is happening at a social level.

6
The Sociological Perspective

• When using a sociological perspective, one
  focuses on the social context in which people
  live and how that social context has an impact on
  individuals lives.
• This is the essence of what sociology does.

7
Using the Sociological Perspective

• In small groups
• How would you explain the following social
  problems using the sociological
  imagination/perspective?
• Obesity
• Homelessness/Poverty
• Unemployment
• Marriage
• The metropolis
• War