Sociology is the study of human society. Having an understanding of social imagination allows you to relate and understand the reasonings behind why we make the decisions we make. Being able to open your mind to reasoning is crucial for grasping society. I thought that the concept of sociological imagination was an interesting way of understanding society. It focuses on putting in human factors when addressing sociological facts and research. I think Mills was trying to say that facts are just facts unless meaning or reasoning is put behind them. One needs to think outside of the box and try to find a reasonable explanation to a given fact and find a resolve to the facts that seem problematic. Mills talked about how sociological research was disconnected to being human. Research that seemed problematic was addressed as issues of science and not problems of society. We are all human and we can not look at other humans as parts on a factory conveyer belt. We are more complex than a machine. Specific influences from society affects the decisions we make. One needs to look at social crises at a social standpoint and not a personal standpoint. We need to set aside our notions and potential preexisting biased opinions and look into the reasoning of why from another standpoint. In order to find answers that can solve social problems, we have to change the way society is structured and recognize that these problems are not individual shortcomings. Like Debra says in the video, we can find solutions to these sociological issues by putting ourselves in other people's situations. They say you can’t a judge a person until you walk a mile in their shoes. In this case, we need to use sociological imagination to allow ourselves to walk a mile in societies shoes. Check123
The sociological imagination is all about getting out of your individual bubble and being able to see things from a sociological perspective. This is very difficult for us as humans and takes a great amount of effort and imagination because we are generally egocentric. It is hard to look at a situation from a perspective other than your own, and being able to do so takes training. That process of learning how to see from others’ point of views is exactly what Mills wanted to instill within people. He wanted people to see how they fit into society and, in turn, how others fit into society. Being able to remove yourself, your experiences, and your biases from the perspective of society are the fundamentals of the sociological imagination. Using a societal perspective instead of an individual perspective changes your view of the world. The problems around you, especially ones that people face in majority, then become societal problems, not individual problems, as many people believe. In the video, C. Wright Mills - The Sociological Imagination, Dr. Marshall talks of a survey where she asks her students if they are struggling financially. After many years of giving this survey and collecting responses from her students, she found patterns in her results. Almost all of her students were struggling financially, which seemed odd because as a whole, they do not spend much on living or food expenses. The results lead her to conclude that it was school, itself, that was the cause for the students’ financial struggles. Her survey is a great example of a shift from individual perspectives to the sociological imagination because when the majority of people are facing the same troubles, the issue has to be bigger than the individuals. Society is to blame for those problems, and the sociological imagination is a tool to source societal problems and eventually solve them using information gathered using that imagination. aardvark123
The study of Sociology is very important in every aspect of our lives. It is the study of human society in the here and now. It is very important to step out of our own bubbles and look at the sociological perspective of others, identifying the reality as clearly and accurately as possible. As described in the video by Mills, this is the sociological imagination. Before Mills, people were looking at sociology through their own thoughts and feelings, not seeing the whole picture.To value all of human kind you must see the perspective of all of the different kinds of people in the society. An example of this would be asking a friend to go out to lunch and they repeatedly tell you they cannot afford it and can barely pay their rent. The automatic response to that is that they are budgeting and in college. They only have enough money to barely get by. Instead of looking at this example and thinking they aren't making enough money you can tackle this from another angle, or perspective. Maybe the cost of rent for college students is to high, or the price of schooling. This really requires you to think outside the box and totally look at things from a different angle and this can change the way one thinks for the better. After watching this video, C. Wright Mills gives us another way to look at our problems. Sometimes our problems are structural and need to be seen from a different perspective to really understand what kind of problem it is. The Sociological Imagination is an amazing tool that can and should be utilized in everyday life. So many people look at things from their own perspective and that is it, they never even think about the situation from another persons perspective. This can lead to understanding and if everyone adapted this way of thinking I believe we would have a better world today. Scuba123
Sociology is the study of society’s behavior. In order to study the behavior of society, C. Wright Mills states that we must use something called “sociological imagination”. Sociological imagination is understanding the relationship between experiences and society. The reason it is important is because it changed how researchers approach the study of society. Before the idea of sociological imagination, the point of sociology was to take fact and report to the government and let the government make administrative decisions on such things as housing and education. This new thought process allowed people to understand the relationships between personal self and how they relate to the bigger picture, and thus society. The reverse is also true, in that societal truths also have meaning for the individual and effect their values, character, and behavior. The goal of Mills’ concept was to bring reason to human behavior and to change reporting tactics from what researchers felt was happening to reporting what was actually happening. Mills defines sociology as an intellectual science based on the study of what it means to be human. An example of sociological imagination is unemployment. If I were to lose my job, it affects me as an individual person. But when I look out and see that millions of other workers have lost their job for a similar reason, ex: outsourcing to a foreign country, I become part of a sociological group. The society we live in limits our identity and helps us understand the connection between personal, private issues and social historical conditions. It sets the standard for many things, such as beauty, sexual preferences, ethics and morals, wealth, violence, acceptance/rejection, the list goes on. Sociological imagination is the ability to relate one’s self with others in society. It is one of the most important skillsets provided by sociology. sunflower123
This video explains sociological imagination as the ability to look beyond ourselves and our personal problems to identify social problems. We often blame ourselves for the personal problems when there are countless other people feeling the same exact way. Rather than facing the same problem over and over again we could create solutions to prevent whatever is causing the problem. However, this is extremely difficult because our personal problems take up so much of our mind space that we rarely look beyond ourselves. That is why having a sociological perspective and or global perspective can be so helpful in solving problems because it allows to find common links among ourselves. C. Wright Mills explains politicians are moving away from sociological thought by only reporting stats. He argues we must use sociological imagination to come to proper conclusions. Although this approach certainly has merit it could be potentially problematic if said problem could be solved solely by the means of person. I am not sure of the extent of problems can be solved solely by the means of the person and when there needs to be intervention. Debra Marshall addresses this concern saying that if they is a large enough group of people suffering there is most likely an underlying issue. When it comes to discussion I think there has to be a combination of the two things we need statistics to demonstrate trends, but statistics don’t tell the whole story about a person. We also need sociological imagination and empathy to fully report social problems. We most certainly need sociological imagination to treat others with respect. We are not politicians, we do not have to make the tough decisions about what programs to fund and which programs to cut; all that we have to do is recognize that there are social problems and be sensitive and respectful to those around us. Glass123
Sociology is a vital part in understanding a persons behavior, decisions, and the situations that they are in. Sociology is defined as the study of social behavior or society, including its origins, development, organization, networks, and institutions. Social imagination is what helps us understand the reason why people act and behave the way they do and also the reasons behind whatever happened. C. Wright Mills's theory allows us to see that sometimes the problems we have are structural and that sometimes we are not the main cause of the problems that happen to us everyday. Minor issues come up and that can lead to problem after problem, which leads to even bigger problems. Unfortunately, we cannot control everything that occurs in our everyday life. Sickness, death, malfunctioning alarm clocks, emergency health problems, motor vehicle accidents, and car breakdowns are a few list of things that we simply cannot control. This is what C. Wright Mills wants to make clear. Sometimes it is not us that contributes to the issues that we face. In the video another definition for sociology is that it is the study of more social problems than individual shortcomings. Sociology is such an important part in understanding the things that happen and the way we react to them. Panda123
Sociology is the study of understanding society and how they behave as a whole. I believe in the video she really expands on this concept and opens up more behind the entire theory. She explains how everything is not so black and white. It is also a huge problem for society as a whole to look beyond themselves and focus on making our world better as a whole. Things need to progress and involve and not in a negative way, but in a positive way. The way his theory is laid out on how it is a quality of mind that needs to be practiced by everyone is interesting. I do not think that everyone gives time in their day to think of all the different points brought up in this video. I believe that as a society everyone is focused on themselves and what is happening and their lives. This begins to consume us and many don't even realize it is happening or view it as a problem. Looking at society and the problems that are around us everyday is a large concept to grasp. I also think people are very selfish and a little unwilling to open their minds to fix the problems in society. They may not view everyone else's problems as "important" as their own problems. Sociological imagination is a valid concept however, think it is a thing that is easier said than done. It is hard to understand other peoples stories and relate when society is so focused on ones self. Overall I think society would benefit is this concept was brought to more individuals attention. Litv123
While C. Wright Mills has a point in stating that sociological research had started to become too analytical, I think that he may have also overstated the bounds of sociological imagination in an effort to correct the lack of, for lack of a better term, heart in research. Sociology has always been about affecting change for the betterment of society; therefore I personally do not have a problem with analysts strictly gathering data to search for patterns and trends in order to nudge society in a better direction. At the same time, I am also extremely appreciative of those researchers who are able to put themselves into another's shoes to ask the right questions and hopefully find some decent answers. However, one thing I (yes, me, the lowly SOC110 student with exactly one class period under their belt) disagree with Dr. Marshall on is her notion that being a broke college student is a social injustice. I would argue that it is kind of a standard for most students. Why is it such a bad thing? Times like this can be extremely beneficial to an individual as they can develop wise fiscal habits and rise above through higher education and can become more resilient. Of course, this is all easy for me to say as I have not exactly struggled or been in need as much as others. Dr. Marshall also makes the point that education should be cheaper and I would agree with my whole heart. My question to her would be if she herself would be willing to take a pay cut in order to make that happen. The national average (2015) for a professor’s salary at a four-year university was $114,134, so I would say that would be a pretty good place to start making cuts in order for education to become cheaper. -ThreeTwo123
Sociology is the systematic study of human society. When the thought of sociology was created looking at people was a one sided subjective view of studying society. C Wright Mills wanted people to start using their imagination instead of just counting things when coming up with a thesis as to what they were reporting. He more or less wanted to have people step out of their bubble and see other people’s world in their own eyes. More or less like walking in their shoes and seeing their world how they see it. This is where sociological research being disconnected with the subjects does not help figure out a solution to a problem. In the video there was an example given by Debra Marshall PhD. of asking her students year after year about who thought they were struggling financially. Originally if only a few students said they were it would be deemed that it was due to be through their own life choices that put them into this situation. After many surveys were taken a pattern started to form to show that a majority of the students were struggling financially. This is where Mill’s theory of sociological imagination helps with a solution to the problem. Mills wants people to look at the situation from their view to come up with a solution to remedy the problem. This is where people could theorize what could be the problem. Is it due to high tuition rates, or room and boarding be to high for a college student? Once the problem is detected it can be addressed. Before sociologists would just collect the data and come up with their own solutions using their own life experiences. They needed to step back and see if there was other reasons why there were so many students in this situation.
Sociology is the systematic study of human society. When the thought of sociology was created looking at people was a one sided subjective view of studying society. C Wright Mills wanted people to start using their imagination instead of just counting things when coming up with a thesis as to what they were reporting. He more or less wanted to have people step out of their bubble and see other people’s world in their own eyes. More or less like walking in their shoes and seeing their world how they see it. This is where sociological research being disconnected with the subjects does not help figure out a solution to a problem. In the video there was an example given by Debra Marshall PhD. of asking her students year after year about who thought they were struggling financially. Originally if only a few students said they were it would be deemed that it was due to be through their own life choices that put them into this situation. After many surveys were taken a pattern started to form to show that a majority of the students were struggling financially. This is where Mill’s theory of sociological imagination helps with a solution to the problem. Mills wants people to look at the situation from their view to come up with a solution to remedy the problem. This is where people could theorize what could be the problem. Is it due to high tuition rates, or room and boarding be to high for a college student? Once the problem is detected it can be addressed. Before sociologists would just collect the data and come up with their own solutions using their own life experiences. They needed to step back and see if there was other reasons why there were so many students in this situation.Diver123
The concept of sociological imagination is defined as how someone understands the role he or she plays in the “bigger picture.” It is understanding how someone as an individual fits into society. If sociology exists to bring understanding on people’s thoughts and actions, then sociological imagination takes this a step further by giving one the capability to see beyond the scope of his own role. This concept of sociological imagination allows people to look past themselves as individuals and start to see themselves as part of a group. People with a grasp on this concept can view things from perspectives outside of their own. These changed perspectives allow people to, “view things from the perspective of social problems rather than individual shortcomings.” Being able to grasp this concept that our issues are not unique to us, but rather common problems, can lead to significantly beneficial changes in societies. One example of this is seeing that a specific community contains a lot of poverty and hunger. If people begin to see that this community doesn’t contain individuals who are starving, but instead a group of people who legitimately cannot afford to be well nourished, then this issue is more likely be taken seriously. This concept of sociological imagination can transform one’s mind to see everyday scenarios differently. For example, rather than seeing some drunk on the side of the street asking for beer money, one who has sociological imagination may see someone who cannot live sufficiently on his own. With sociological imagination come traits like empathy, sympathy, and compassion. That is why sociological imagination is so important. If more people who have an excess amount of resources understand that the need for these resources are so great, then change can actually be obtained. The compulsion to help that comes with empathy should not be ignored. Without action, sociological imagination can be useless. Sociology is bringing light to these situations of desperation so that people may no longer remain ignorant. -M&M123
I truly believe Dr. Marshall hit the jackpot when she pointed out the importance of stepping inside someone else's shoes within the stratosphere of the sociological imagination. In fact, I think without actually putting it into words, Dr. Marshall thoroughly explained due to the detailed ramifications that exist within the human psyche, most individuals find themselves generalizing their problems to themselves and only themselves rather than society as a whole. C. Wright Mills founded the idea of the sociological imagination due to specific principles that cause an individual to host their own worldly problems without essentially looking at the bigger picture. That bigger picture being society and the many forms of the sociological imagination that take place within it. Dr. Marshall once again hit the nail on the head when she pointed out that many of her students often express their struggles to get by while both working and maintaining and education. However, what most students fail to do, myself included, is think of their problems in terms of a greater meaning and how they are actually shaped by the world around us. We may often think that we are our own direct influence in how our day to day lives play out, and while that is sometimes the case it of for the most part is not. The environment, social situations we are placed in, as well as our genetics and cultural background are all factors that play into who we are and how we view the world around us. With Mills' sociological imagination endeavor we are pushed to further pursue why it is exactly that we behave they way we do and how it is not just important to look inward at ourselves, but of even greater importance to look beyond our own lives and examine how the lives of others shape and create a mold for our own personal meanings.-MrG123
C. Wright Mills proposes the idea of sociological imagination which allows us to view individual circumstances as structured societal problems. Sociology was once many different social theories, but over time it has become the accumulation of facts used to smooth the process of administrative decisions. Debra Marshall uses the example of asking each of her students how any of them struggle month to month. Because of past classes responses and the social setting they are in, she already knew that the majority of her students would say they struggle month to month. As individuals, we see this specific circumstance as a personal problem. This is because there are various different problems that each student goes through causing them to struggle month to month. By using sociological imagination, this individual issue turns into a structured, societal problem. Evaluating your own personal experiences allows you to grasp a sense of who you truly are and how you fit into society. Once this is done, you can allow yourself to experience the world as others do. The sociological imagination allows us, as individuals, to see that these "personal circumstances" are in fact the opposite. By doing this, we can begin to understand that other things are usually the primary contributors to out personal circumstances, which then allows us to propose real solutions to societal problems. Daisy123
Sociology is having an understanding of human society. Social imagination helps you understand the reasons behind decisions we make in everyday life. Every force in society that is designed to help everyone is structual function. The video stated that finding solutions to sociological problems would be east to solve if one traded places in each other's shoes. We need sociological imaging skills to allow ouselves to see other's perspective in society. C. Wright Mills feels that sociological research was a disconnect on how we feel and should be looking at society as ahole. Sociology helps you see how the world works in everyday life. People makes up the sociology system. Mills feel that sociology needs to avoid furthering the bureaucratization of reason and of discourse. A person has to see things from another person's view in order to understand why things are the way they are. Sociology allows you to look at social problems in order to understand the structure of what's going on, according to Mills. Sometimes the problems we have are social. Rendezvous123
Sociology is the systematic study of human society. In other words, it is studying how society behaves as a whole rather than each individual person. I really appreciate how Mills said that people need to learn how to walk in another person's shoes to get to know them better. Studying sociology is important so that we can learn to respect others around us. Seeing society as a whole, can aid that. By what we discussed in class, I can tell that Mills looks at sociology from a social conflict point of view. People need to look at the "structure of society". We have to figure out if the problem is personal or public. Instead of looking at individual shortcomings, we should look at the society we live in instead. Everyday people should look at one another in their perspective rather than their own. By doing this, it will help people understand others around them, which is an important skill to possess. I enjoyed her example about money problems in the classroom. Most people merely focus on their own money issues and receiving their education, while it could be more beneficial to look at it as a public issue. In today's society, education is extremely expensive, the economy is declining, and it is difficult to find jobs in the work place right now. Instead of fixating on a personal problem, we should try to fix the problem that our society is facing. How we view the world around us is not solely based on how we feel. You must take into consideration genetics, a person's environment, religion, gender, race, and so forth. How a female views the world, is different than how a male would in some ways. This shows how important it is to try and see the world through other people's perspectives. -softball_savvy123
C. Wright Mills’ idea of the sociological imagination was the direct result of his rejection of the sociological practices of his time. Prior to this mid-20th century idea of sociological imagination, sociologists simply served the government in research positions and essentially acted as census officers, recording and presenting data to the government and leaving the decisions to them. Mills, a social conflict theorist, believed that it was the sociologist’s responsibility to look at the nature of human affairs rationally and take a more active role in social change to “avoid furthering the bureaucratization of reason and discourse.” Through the use of sociological imagination, a sociologist could use the history and biographies to understand the lives and realities of individuals, and use this information to report back what that reality is. By focusing on a person’s troubles and citing them as problems of science rather than just data, Mills thought they could better realize the traditional values of sociology - scientific analysis to effect positive social change. Through this idea, Mills emphasized the importance that a sociologist should succeed in truly understanding the social nature of humankind rather than simply collecting data. In more micro, class-related terms, we can use this limited collection of individual histories and biographies in order to conjure up a broader idea of ICC Students, or members of any social group. It is in this step which sociology truly steps into its own as a discipline; through the use of this “sociological imagination,” information can be extrapolated to form trends in a way unlike even similar branches of study like psychology or history. This leads therefore into investigations regarding social trends based on structure that leads to a material way of solving a problem. This transfers the study from focusing on an individual problem to a broad structural problem. -dday123
Sociological imagination is a tool that people use to better understand different lifestyles and situations. It is important that people have a sociological imagination because it offers a new perspective on life. C. Wright Mills made an interesting point when he said that Sociological research was becoming strictly facts rather than theoretical research. This means that whoever is doing the research lacks the sociological imagination because they can’t see past numbers to find the root of the problem and how society could be better. This does not help society. It only offers knowledge of statistical information. People need to be shown that there are deeper meanings behind what happens to them every day. Society affects every single person’s life. I think that societies were built on imagination and in order to better them and fix their problems, people need to continue to expand their imaginations. Debra explained a great example of sociological imagination when she talked about her students not being able to make ends meet. She said they all probably think it is because of something personal that they did, but then goes on to say that if the entire class is struggling, the problem is no longer personal. A person must shift their perspective to see that society has to have caused so many people to struggle. If all of the students are doing all that they can to make ends meet, then there are different factors going on in society to cause difficulties for people in that society. This type of thinking provides a better answer to fixing the problem because the problem is now seen as a shared reality. Someone can’t really help that their tire blew and they lost their job because they didn’t make it to work. If everyone understood that this person needed money to fix the tire because they couldn’t afford to, then there would be benefits taking place by the government to help them out in these situations. -Kiwi123
Sociology is the study of society. The Sociological Imagination provides intellectual thinkers that discuss what realities are. It gives us the chance of understanding the reasons why people make the decisions that they do. It’s like when you were a kid and your mom would tell you to put yourself in the other person’s shoes and see things from their perspective. She was teaching you indirectly the sociological imagination. Dr. Marshall discusses talking to her classes and asking the question, “Who here struggles to make ends meet at the end of the month?” She discusses how we view this to be something that we are not doing correctly. So we try to change something like getting a new job, moving to a cheaper place, or shopping less. We think that this is something individual just with us. But if you look at this in a different way, she had most of her students saying they also struggled to make ends meet. Most of the students when she interviewed were doing everything they possible could to make ends meet. The question became what is contributing to this problem? She stopped looking at this individually and looked at it through the sociological imagination. One important point she made was, the sociological imagination lets us “view things from the perspective from social problems rather than individual shortcomings.” That is what C. Wright Mills did for sociology and what the sociological imagination is and lets us do. He allows us to see that sometimes the problems that we are having are not in our control but in the structure. Using this sociological imagination every day will help us to understand other people’s situation and will be beneficial for both parties here (you and the person you are attempting to understand). SAS123
Sociology has changed from a study of what people think reality should be, to a study of what reality actually is. This is thanks to C. Wright Mills who forever changed the way sociology was thought about. He fashioned that sociology is about turning personal problems into public issues and the key to accomplishing this is through the sociological imagination. Mills says that this is a “quality of mind” that allows you to escape from your own perspective and bias and situate yourself in the reality of others, setting aside your personal beliefs and dispositions. Once you can put yourself in the shoes of others, then you have the ability to report back what their reality actually is. This is very beneficial because we all suffer personal problems however some of these might also apply to a lot of the population and then it becomes a social problem rather than an individual shortcoming. Sometimes these problems need to be addressed on a structural level and are not any person’s fault. The example given in the video is that students in college being broke is most likely due to housing costs or tuition costs, not reckless spending. If this was one college student who was broke and the rest were well off, there would be a much more likely chance we would attribute this to bad money habits than a problem with the structure of society. This seems like it was a brilliant advancement to sociology because it revealed the changes that are necessary to our society. It is a way to distinguish between the situations when the people need to change, and the situations when the structure of society needs to change. Before Mills brought up this vital distinction between personal and societal, the blame could easily be placed on the wrong thing. -Chameleon123
C. Wright Mills, a sociologist, claims that sociology was starting to drive away from the understanding of society. He states that it is becoming more of a “bean counting”, meaning that sociologist go out, count up people, and report it back to the government, and let the government figure it out from there. Mills says that this is taking away a person’s ability to imagine. People were disconnecting with themselves. They were stepping out of their comfort zones and experiencing how other people experienced the world. This allowed people to see the everyday reality of everyday life. The way people communicate affect each of us differently, and this is something that we need to understand. Mills wanted sociologist to not just report what they have found, but to actually situate themselves into other people’s viewpoints. And then they should be able to report back the reality of this situation. So in other words, Mills wanted sociologist to truly understand their studies. He put himself out there and demonstrated what it really means to be a scientist and be human, and how to relay that feeling to others. The example provided talks about income. She asks how many people struggle to make ends meet and then says that if someone is struggling, then they might question what they are doing or not doing and what is effecting them from doing so. The money issue might come from, expensive house, expensive car, shopping, ect. This is seen as an individual issue or circumstance. If the situation is not directly the person’s fault, then it is time to take a look at the structure. Meaning it is time to see the situation through the other person’s eyes. There might be something going on at home that makes it hard for them to keep money, making them live paycheck to paycheck. rosethorns123
Sociology is the study of human society. Having an understanding of social imagination allows you to relate and understand the reasonings behind why we make the decisions we make. Being able to open your mind to reasoning is crucial for grasping society. I thought that the concept of sociological imagination was an interesting way of understanding society. It focuses on putting in human factors when addressing sociological facts and research. I think Mills was trying to say that facts are just facts unless meaning or reasoning is put behind them. One needs to think outside of the box and try to find a reasonable explanation to a given fact and find a resolve to the facts that seem problematic. Mills talked about how sociological research was disconnected to being human. Research that seemed problematic was addressed as issues of science and not problems of society. We are all human and we can not look at other humans as parts on a factory conveyer belt. We are more complex than a machine. Specific influences from society affects the decisions we make. One needs to look at social crises at a social standpoint and not a personal standpoint. We need to set aside our notions and potential preexisting biased opinions and look into the reasoning of why from another standpoint. In order to find answers that can solve social problems, we have to change the way society is structured and recognize that these problems are not individual shortcomings. Like Debra says in the video, we can find solutions to these sociological issues by putting ourselves in other people's situations. They say you can’t a judge a person until you walk a mile in their shoes. In this case, we need to use sociological imagination to allow ourselves to walk a mile in societies shoes. Check123
ReplyDeleteThe sociological imagination is all about getting out of your individual bubble and being able to see things from a sociological perspective. This is very difficult for us as humans and takes a great amount of effort and imagination because we are generally egocentric. It is hard to look at a situation from a perspective other than your own, and being able to do so takes training. That process of learning how to see from others’ point of views is exactly what Mills wanted to instill within people. He wanted people to see how they fit into society and, in turn, how others fit into society. Being able to remove yourself, your experiences, and your biases from the perspective of society are the fundamentals of the sociological imagination. Using a societal perspective instead of an individual perspective changes your view of the world. The problems around you, especially ones that people face in majority, then become societal problems, not individual problems, as many people believe. In the video, C. Wright Mills - The Sociological Imagination, Dr. Marshall talks of a survey where she asks her students if they are struggling financially. After many years of giving this survey and collecting responses from her students, she found patterns in her results. Almost all of her students were struggling financially, which seemed odd because as a whole, they do not spend much on living or food expenses. The results lead her to conclude that it was school, itself, that was the cause for the students’ financial struggles. Her survey is a great example of a shift from individual perspectives to the sociological imagination because when the majority of people are facing the same troubles, the issue has to be bigger than the individuals. Society is to blame for those problems, and the sociological imagination is a tool to source societal problems and eventually solve them using information gathered using that imagination. aardvark123
ReplyDeleteThe study of Sociology is very important in every aspect of our lives. It is the study of human society in the here and now. It is very important to step out of our own bubbles and look at the sociological perspective of others, identifying the reality as clearly and accurately as possible. As described in the video by Mills, this is the sociological imagination. Before Mills, people were looking at sociology through their own thoughts and feelings, not seeing the whole picture.To value all of human kind you must see the perspective of all of the different kinds of people in the society. An example of this would be asking a friend to go out to lunch and they repeatedly tell you they cannot afford it and can barely pay their rent. The automatic response to that is that they are budgeting and in college. They only have enough money to barely get by. Instead of looking at this example and thinking they aren't making enough money you can tackle this from another angle, or perspective. Maybe the cost of rent for college students is to high, or the price of schooling. This really requires you to think outside the box and totally look at things from a different angle and this can change the way one thinks for the better. After watching this video, C. Wright Mills gives us another way to look at our problems. Sometimes our problems are structural and need to be seen from a different perspective to really understand what kind of problem it is. The Sociological Imagination is an amazing tool that can and should be utilized in everyday life. So many people look at things from their own perspective and that is it, they never even think about the situation from another persons perspective. This can lead to understanding and if everyone adapted this way of thinking I believe we would have a better world today. Scuba123
ReplyDeleteSociology is the study of society’s behavior. In order to study the behavior of society, C. Wright Mills states that we must use something called “sociological imagination”. Sociological imagination is understanding the relationship between experiences and society. The reason it is important is because it changed how researchers approach the study of society. Before the idea of sociological imagination, the point of sociology was to take fact and report to the government and let the government make administrative decisions on such things as housing and education. This new thought process allowed people to understand the relationships between personal self and how they relate to the bigger picture, and thus society. The reverse is also true, in that societal truths also have meaning for the individual and effect their values, character, and behavior. The goal of Mills’ concept was to bring reason to human behavior and to change reporting tactics from what researchers felt was happening to reporting what was actually happening. Mills defines sociology as an intellectual science based on the study of what it means to be human. An example of sociological imagination is unemployment. If I were to lose my job, it affects me as an individual person. But when I look out and see that millions of other workers have lost their job for a similar reason, ex: outsourcing to a foreign country, I become part of a sociological group. The society we live in limits our identity and helps us understand the connection between personal, private issues and social historical conditions. It sets the standard for many things, such as beauty, sexual preferences, ethics and morals, wealth, violence, acceptance/rejection, the list goes on. Sociological imagination is the ability to relate one’s self with others in society. It is one of the most important skillsets provided by sociology.
ReplyDeletesunflower123
This video explains sociological imagination as the ability to look beyond ourselves and our personal problems to identify social problems. We often blame ourselves for the personal problems when there are countless other people feeling the same exact way. Rather than facing the same problem over and over again we could create solutions to prevent whatever is causing the problem. However, this is extremely difficult because our personal problems take up so much of our mind space that we rarely look beyond ourselves. That is why having a sociological perspective and or global perspective can be so helpful in solving problems because it allows to find common links among ourselves. C. Wright Mills explains politicians are moving away from sociological thought by only reporting stats. He argues we must use sociological imagination to come to proper conclusions. Although this approach certainly has merit it could be potentially problematic if said problem could be solved solely by the means of person. I am not sure of the extent of problems can be solved solely by the means of the person and when there needs to be intervention. Debra Marshall addresses this concern saying that if they is a large enough group of people suffering there is most likely an underlying issue. When it comes to discussion I think there has to be a combination of the two things we need statistics to demonstrate trends, but statistics don’t tell the whole story about a person. We also need sociological imagination and empathy to fully report social problems. We most certainly need sociological imagination to treat others with respect. We are not politicians, we do not have to make the tough decisions about what programs to fund and which programs to cut; all that we have to do is recognize that there are social problems and be sensitive and respectful to those around us. Glass123
ReplyDeleteSociology is a vital part in understanding a persons behavior, decisions, and the situations that they are in. Sociology is defined as the study of social behavior or society, including its origins, development, organization, networks, and institutions. Social imagination is what helps us understand the reason why people act and behave the way they do and also the reasons behind whatever happened. C. Wright Mills's theory allows us to see that sometimes the problems we have are structural and that sometimes we are not the main cause of the problems that happen to us everyday. Minor issues come up and that can lead to problem after problem, which leads to even bigger problems. Unfortunately, we cannot control everything that occurs in our everyday life. Sickness, death, malfunctioning alarm clocks, emergency health problems, motor vehicle accidents, and car breakdowns are a few list of things that we simply cannot control. This is what C. Wright Mills wants to make clear. Sometimes it is not us that contributes to the issues that we face. In the video another definition for sociology is that it is the study of more social problems than individual shortcomings. Sociology is such an important part in understanding the things that happen and the way we react to them. Panda123
ReplyDeleteSociology is the study of understanding society and how they behave as a whole. I believe in the video she really expands on this concept and opens up more behind the entire theory. She explains how everything is not so black and white. It is also a huge problem for society as a whole to look beyond themselves and focus on making our world better as a whole. Things need to progress and involve and not in a negative way, but in a positive way. The way his theory is laid out on how it is a quality of mind that needs to be practiced by everyone is interesting. I do not think that everyone gives time in their day to think of all the different points brought up in this video. I believe that as a society everyone is focused on themselves and what is happening and their lives. This begins to consume us and many don't even realize it is happening or view it as a problem. Looking at society and the problems that are around us everyday is a large concept to grasp. I also think people are very selfish and a little unwilling to open their minds to fix the problems in society. They may not view everyone else's problems as "important" as their own problems. Sociological imagination is a valid concept however, think it is a thing that is easier said than done. It is hard to understand other peoples stories and relate when society is so focused on ones self. Overall I think society would benefit is this concept was brought to more individuals attention. Litv123
ReplyDeleteWhile C. Wright Mills has a point in stating that sociological research had started to become too analytical, I think that he may have also overstated the bounds of sociological imagination in an effort to correct the lack of, for lack of a better term, heart in research. Sociology has always been about affecting change for the betterment of society; therefore I personally do not have a problem with analysts strictly gathering data to search for patterns and trends in order to nudge society in a better direction. At the same time, I am also extremely appreciative of those researchers who are able to put themselves into another's shoes to ask the right questions and hopefully find some decent answers.
ReplyDeleteHowever, one thing I (yes, me, the lowly SOC110 student with exactly one class period under their belt) disagree with Dr. Marshall on is her notion that being a broke college student is a social injustice. I would argue that it is kind of a standard for most students. Why is it such a bad thing? Times like this can be extremely beneficial to an individual as they can develop wise fiscal habits and rise above through higher education and can become more resilient. Of course, this is all easy for me to say as I have not exactly struggled or been in need as much as others.
Dr. Marshall also makes the point that education should be cheaper and I would agree with my whole heart. My question to her would be if she herself would be willing to take a pay cut in order to make that happen. The national average (2015) for a professor’s salary at a four-year university was $114,134, so I would say that would be a pretty good place to start making cuts in order for education to become cheaper. -ThreeTwo123
Sociology is the systematic study of human society. When the thought of sociology was created looking at people was a one sided subjective view of studying society. C Wright Mills wanted people to start using their imagination instead of just counting things when coming up with a thesis as to what they were reporting. He more or less wanted to have people step out of their bubble and see other people’s world in their own eyes. More or less like walking in their shoes and seeing their world how they see it. This is where sociological research being disconnected with the subjects does not help figure out a solution to a problem. In the video there was an example given by Debra Marshall PhD. of asking her students year after year about who thought they were struggling financially. Originally if only a few students said they were it would be deemed that it was due to be through their own life choices that put them into this situation. After many surveys were taken a pattern started to form to show that a majority of the students were struggling financially. This is where Mill’s theory of sociological imagination helps with a solution to the problem. Mills wants people to look at the situation from their view to come up with a solution to remedy the problem. This is where people could theorize what could be the problem. Is it due to high tuition rates, or room and boarding be to high for a college student? Once the problem is detected it can be addressed. Before sociologists would just collect the data and come up with their own solutions using their own life experiences. They needed to step back and see if there was other reasons why there were so many students in this situation.
ReplyDeleteSociology is the systematic study of human society. When the thought of sociology was created looking at people was a one sided subjective view of studying society. C Wright Mills wanted people to start using their imagination instead of just counting things when coming up with a thesis as to what they were reporting. He more or less wanted to have people step out of their bubble and see other people’s world in their own eyes. More or less like walking in their shoes and seeing their world how they see it. This is where sociological research being disconnected with the subjects does not help figure out a solution to a problem. In the video there was an example given by Debra Marshall PhD. of asking her students year after year about who thought they were struggling financially. Originally if only a few students said they were it would be deemed that it was due to be through their own life choices that put them into this situation. After many surveys were taken a pattern started to form to show that a majority of the students were struggling financially. This is where Mill’s theory of sociological imagination helps with a solution to the problem. Mills wants people to look at the situation from their view to come up with a solution to remedy the problem. This is where people could theorize what could be the problem. Is it due to high tuition rates, or room and boarding be to high for a college student? Once the problem is detected it can be addressed. Before sociologists would just collect the data and come up with their own solutions using their own life experiences. They needed to step back and see if there was other reasons why there were so many students in this situation.Diver123
ReplyDeleteThe concept of sociological imagination is defined as how someone understands the role he or she plays in the “bigger picture.” It is understanding how someone as an individual fits into society. If sociology exists to bring understanding on people’s thoughts and actions, then sociological imagination takes this a step further by giving one the capability to see beyond the scope of his own role. This concept of sociological imagination allows people to look past themselves as individuals and start to see themselves as part of a group. People with a grasp on this concept can view things from perspectives outside of their own. These changed perspectives allow people to, “view things from the perspective of social problems rather than individual shortcomings.” Being able to grasp this concept that our issues are not unique to us, but rather common problems, can lead to significantly beneficial changes in societies. One example of this is seeing that a specific community contains a lot of poverty and hunger. If people begin to see that this community doesn’t contain individuals who are starving, but instead a group of people who legitimately cannot afford to be well nourished, then this issue is more likely be taken seriously. This concept of sociological imagination can transform one’s mind to see everyday scenarios differently. For example, rather than seeing some drunk on the side of the street asking for beer money, one who has sociological imagination may see someone who cannot live sufficiently on his own. With sociological imagination come traits like empathy, sympathy, and compassion. That is why sociological imagination is so important. If more people who have an excess amount of resources understand that the need for these resources are so great, then change can actually be obtained. The compulsion to help that comes with empathy should not be ignored. Without action, sociological imagination can be useless. Sociology is bringing light to these situations of desperation so that people may no longer remain ignorant. -M&M123
ReplyDeleteI truly believe Dr. Marshall hit the jackpot when she pointed out the importance of stepping inside someone else's shoes within the stratosphere of the sociological imagination. In fact, I think without actually putting it into words, Dr. Marshall thoroughly explained due to the detailed ramifications that exist within the human psyche, most individuals find themselves generalizing their problems to themselves and only themselves rather than society as a whole. C. Wright Mills founded the idea of the sociological imagination due to specific principles that cause an individual to host their own worldly problems without essentially looking at the bigger picture. That bigger picture being society and the many forms of the sociological imagination that take place within it. Dr. Marshall once again hit the nail on the head when she pointed out that many of her students often express their struggles to get by while both working and maintaining and education. However, what most students fail to do, myself included, is think of their problems in terms of a greater meaning and how they are actually shaped by the world around us. We may often think that we are our own direct influence in how our day to day lives play out, and while that is sometimes the case it of for the most part is not. The environment, social situations we are placed in, as well as our genetics and cultural background are all factors that play into who we are and how we view the world around us. With Mills' sociological imagination endeavor we are pushed to further pursue why it is exactly that we behave they way we do and how it is not just important to look inward at ourselves, but of even greater importance to look beyond our own lives and examine how the lives of others shape and create a mold for our own personal meanings.-MrG123
ReplyDeleteC. Wright Mills proposes the idea of sociological imagination which allows us to view individual circumstances as structured societal problems. Sociology was once many different social theories, but over time it has become the accumulation of facts used to smooth the process of administrative decisions. Debra Marshall uses the example of asking each of her students how any of them struggle month to month. Because of past classes responses and the social setting they are in, she already knew that the majority of her students would say they struggle month to month. As individuals, we see this specific circumstance as a personal problem. This is because there are various different problems that each student goes through causing them to struggle month to month. By using sociological imagination, this individual issue turns into a structured, societal problem. Evaluating your own personal experiences allows you to grasp a sense of who you truly are and how you fit into society. Once this is done, you can allow yourself to experience the world as others do. The sociological imagination allows us, as individuals, to see that these "personal circumstances" are in fact the opposite. By doing this, we can begin to understand that other things are usually the primary contributors to out personal circumstances, which then allows us to propose real solutions to societal problems. Daisy123
ReplyDeleteSociology is having an understanding of human society. Social imagination helps you understand the reasons behind decisions we make in everyday life. Every force in society that is designed to help everyone is structual function. The video stated that finding solutions to sociological problems would be east to solve if one traded places in each other's shoes. We need sociological imaging skills to allow ouselves to see other's perspective in society. C. Wright Mills feels that sociological research was a disconnect on how we feel and should be looking at society as ahole. Sociology helps you see how the world works in everyday life. People makes up the sociology system. Mills feel that sociology needs to avoid furthering the bureaucratization of reason and of discourse. A person has to see things from another person's view in order to understand why things are the way they are. Sociology allows you to look at social problems in order to understand the structure of what's going on, according to Mills. Sometimes the problems we have are social. Rendezvous123
ReplyDeleteSociology is the systematic study of human society. In other words, it is studying how society behaves as a whole rather than each individual person. I really appreciate how Mills said that people need to learn how to walk in another person's shoes to get to know them better. Studying sociology is important so that we can learn to respect others around us. Seeing society as a whole, can aid that. By what we discussed in class, I can tell that Mills looks at sociology from a social conflict point of view. People need to look at the "structure of society". We have to figure out if the problem is personal or public. Instead of looking at individual shortcomings, we should look at the society we live in instead. Everyday people should look at one another in their perspective rather than their own. By doing this, it will help people understand others around them, which is an important skill to possess. I enjoyed her example about money problems in the classroom. Most people merely focus on their own money issues and receiving their education, while it could be more beneficial to look at it as a public issue. In today's society, education is extremely expensive, the economy is declining, and it is difficult to find jobs in the work place right now. Instead of fixating on a personal problem, we should try to fix the problem that our society is facing. How we view the world around us is not solely based on how we feel. You must take into consideration genetics, a person's environment, religion, gender, race, and so forth. How a female views the world, is different than how a male would in some ways. This shows how important it is to try and see the world through other people's perspectives. -softball_savvy123
ReplyDeleteC. Wright Mills’ idea of the sociological imagination was the direct result of his rejection of the sociological practices of his time. Prior to this mid-20th century idea of sociological imagination, sociologists simply served the government in research positions and essentially acted as census officers, recording and presenting data to the government and leaving the decisions to them. Mills, a social conflict theorist, believed that it was the sociologist’s responsibility to look at the nature of human affairs rationally and take a more active role in social change to “avoid furthering the bureaucratization of reason and discourse.” Through the use of sociological imagination, a sociologist could use the history and biographies to understand the lives and realities of individuals, and use this information to report back what that reality is. By focusing on a person’s troubles and citing them as problems of science rather than just data, Mills thought they could better realize the traditional values of sociology - scientific analysis to effect positive social change. Through this idea, Mills emphasized the importance that a sociologist should succeed in truly understanding the social nature of humankind rather than simply collecting data. In more micro, class-related terms, we can use this limited collection of individual histories and biographies in order to conjure up a broader idea of ICC Students, or members of any social group. It is in this step which sociology truly steps into its own as a discipline; through the use of this “sociological imagination,” information can be extrapolated to form trends in a way unlike even similar branches of study like psychology or history. This leads therefore into investigations regarding social trends based on structure that leads to a material way of solving a problem. This transfers the study from focusing on an individual problem to a broad structural problem. -dday123
ReplyDeleteSociological imagination is a tool that people use to better understand different lifestyles and situations. It is important that people have a sociological imagination because it offers a new perspective on life. C. Wright Mills made an interesting point when he said that Sociological research was becoming strictly facts rather than theoretical research. This means that whoever is doing the research lacks the sociological imagination because they can’t see past numbers to find the root of the problem and how society could be better. This does not help society. It only offers knowledge of statistical information. People need to be shown that there are deeper meanings behind what happens to them every day. Society affects every single person’s life. I think that societies were built on imagination and in order to better them and fix their problems, people need to continue to expand their imaginations. Debra explained a great example of sociological imagination when she talked about her students not being able to make ends meet. She said they all probably think it is because of something personal that they did, but then goes on to say that if the entire class is struggling, the problem is no longer personal. A person must shift their perspective to see that society has to have caused so many people to struggle. If all of the students are doing all that they can to make ends meet, then there are different factors going on in society to cause difficulties for people in that society. This type of thinking provides a better answer to fixing the problem because the problem is now seen as a shared reality. Someone can’t really help that their tire blew and they lost their job because they didn’t make it to work. If everyone understood that this person needed money to fix the tire because they couldn’t afford to, then there would be benefits taking place by the government to help them out in these situations. -Kiwi123
ReplyDeleteSociology is the study of society. The Sociological Imagination provides intellectual thinkers that discuss what realities are. It gives us the chance of understanding the reasons why people make the decisions that they do. It’s like when you were a kid and your mom would tell you to put yourself in the other person’s shoes and see things from their perspective. She was teaching you indirectly the sociological imagination. Dr. Marshall discusses talking to her classes and asking the question, “Who here struggles to make ends meet at the end of the month?” She discusses how we view this to be something that we are not doing correctly. So we try to change something like getting a new job, moving to a cheaper place, or shopping less. We think that this is something individual just with us. But if you look at this in a different way, she had most of her students saying they also struggled to make ends meet. Most of the students when she interviewed were doing everything they possible could to make ends meet. The question became what is contributing to this problem? She stopped looking at this individually and looked at it through the sociological imagination. One important point she made was, the sociological imagination lets us “view things from the perspective from social problems rather than individual shortcomings.” That is what C. Wright Mills did for sociology and what the sociological imagination is and lets us do. He allows us to see that sometimes the problems that we are having are not in our control but in the structure. Using this sociological imagination every day will help us to understand other people’s situation and will be beneficial for both parties here (you and the person you are attempting to understand). SAS123
ReplyDeleteSociology has changed from a study of what people think reality should be, to a study of what reality actually is. This is thanks to C. Wright Mills who forever changed the way sociology was thought about. He fashioned that sociology is about turning personal problems into public issues and the key to accomplishing this is through the sociological imagination. Mills says that this is a “quality of mind” that allows you to escape from your own perspective and bias and situate yourself in the reality of others, setting aside your personal beliefs and dispositions. Once you can put yourself in the shoes of others, then you have the ability to report back what their reality actually is. This is very beneficial because we all suffer personal problems however some of these might also apply to a lot of the population and then it becomes a social problem rather than an individual shortcoming. Sometimes these problems need to be addressed on a structural level and are not any person’s fault. The example given in the video is that students in college being broke is most likely due to housing costs or tuition costs, not reckless spending. If this was one college student who was broke and the rest were well off, there would be a much more likely chance we would attribute this to bad money habits than a problem with the structure of society. This seems like it was a brilliant advancement to sociology because it revealed the changes that are necessary to our society. It is a way to distinguish between the situations when the people need to change, and the situations when the structure of society needs to change. Before Mills brought up this vital distinction between personal and societal, the blame could easily be placed on the wrong thing. -Chameleon123
ReplyDeleteC. Wright Mills, a sociologist, claims that sociology was starting to drive away from the understanding of society. He states that it is becoming more of a “bean counting”, meaning that sociologist go out, count up people, and report it back to the government, and let the government figure it out from there. Mills says that this is taking away a person’s ability to imagine. People were disconnecting with themselves. They were stepping out of their comfort zones and experiencing how other people experienced the world. This allowed people to see the everyday reality of everyday life. The way people communicate affect each of us differently, and this is something that we need to understand. Mills wanted sociologist to not just report what they have found, but to actually situate themselves into other people’s viewpoints. And then they should be able to report back the reality of this situation. So in other words, Mills wanted sociologist to truly understand their studies. He put himself out there and demonstrated what it really means to be a scientist and be human, and how to relay that feeling to others. The example provided talks about income. She asks how many people struggle to make ends meet and then says that if someone is struggling, then they might question what they are doing or not doing and what is effecting them from doing so. The money issue might come from, expensive house, expensive car, shopping, ect. This is seen as an individual issue or circumstance. If the situation is not directly the person’s fault, then it is time to take a look at the structure. Meaning it is time to see the situation through the other person’s eyes. There might be something going on at home that makes it hard for them to keep money, making them live paycheck to paycheck.
ReplyDeleterosethorns123