Sociological Imagination Case Study

Curtiss Engstrom
Sociological Imagination

Q1. Mills argues that people can only truly understand their own experiences if they possess a “sociological imagination.” In your own words, what is the sociological imagination and what does it help people see?

A. The sociological imagination is what people use to create ideas and views on what is going on in the world around them by using the information around them, whether it be modern news to help develop an idea of a current issue, or taking in all points of view to create a clearer understanding of a historical event and see how others are so ingrained in their position. It helps get rid of the preconceived notions about anything and replace it with a clear and true understanding about what

Sternheimer argues that a sociological perspective will help us better understand the social processes behind things we might take for granted. According to Sternheimer, why is “who we hang out with” more than just personal choice? (1-2

One way that Wilensky believes that social science shapes public policy is that it opens up people’s minds and helps people think about certain issues without any prejudice. An example the Wilensky uses the New Deal policies to show this. The New Deal helped get struggling Americans work, money, and housing. These bills were non exclusive to people, meaning they were open to anyone who needed it, ignoring ethnicity, sex, health, or age. If you needed help, the government was there to provide it no matter what. The other way that Wilensky believes that social science shapes public policy is that he believes that social science causes certain policies to be pushed in a certain direction, in the sense that people with certain ideas and favoritisms ingrained in their head come to power, build support, and do what it takes to get their ideas pushed through, whether it is for the good or bad of a society. The New Deal was something FDR had ingrained in his head when he pushed that through in the thirties. Obama had universal health care for all in his mind when he got that passed and had his group of people push it through. Every person in power has an idea of what he wants to do, and hires people, creates policies, and does whatever necessary to get it done cause that just what he want no matter if it helps or hurts