Sociological Imagination Summary

The sociological imagination is an individual having the knowledge of historical events that occurred in earlier societies and being able to use it to analyze how those events impacted individuals and the society as a whole. When obtaining sociological imagination one is able to see through a lens that helps them comprehend why today’s society is the way it is. C. Wright Mills explains that having a understanding of how history has shaped the lives of many and communities in earlier times gives the ability to why certain life events or society issues are taking place in todays world. Social scientist like Durkheim, Marx, or Weber give frame works that helps us think like social scientists and have sociological imagination. For example, Mill’s states that a first command to obtaining a sociological imagination is to be able to associate one’s personal life experience to the world

around them. For instance, having a sociological imagination people can have some sort of pathway in their life to follow when understanding others history and how old societies functioned. Mill refers this to a historical biography and understanding it and using it as a plan to ones life and social issues in society.
Mills gives three steps that help obtain sociological imagination.

The first step is that an individual has to be able to view each particular society as one whole. Also, be able to examine all components in that society and be able to relate them to each other and how they affect one another. Also being able to compare that society to other social orders and examining the changes that are occurring or continue to occur. Second, an individual must ask themselves where that society stands when it comes to human history and how it impacts the society. Each feature in the society must be evaluated to see if historical periods of time had impact or not. Also, a person must study each period of time in that society to be able to understand its characteristics and changes. Third, studying the way women and men are viewed and prevailed in the society is important. One must evaluate whether people are liberated, repressed, or how human nature is defined in that society. Overall, one must hold the ability to be able to progress and examine historical change to also understand today’s

troubles.
Mills states that both understanding public issues and connecting it with historical events helps an individual understand their own private troubles better. However, they both have a distinction that Mills explains. For example, “troubles” are something that only individuals go through. Only the individual is able to experience that trouble that only make them feel threatened by that particular trouble. On the other hand, an issue is a public issues. It affects the society institutions as a whole. These public issues may also cause threats but it can be disputable by what the issue and threat really is. They then become contradictions or antagonism. Some example, that Mills gives are unemployment, or war. These might be viewed are personal troubles however when the population of people who are impacted by these trouble increases it becomes a societal issue. It is important to distinguish both because then one can see how solving these issues and making structural change in society can decrease people’s troubles. It concludes everyone in society is connected to each other. A personal issue I have encountered is going through finical hardships and living as low class citizen. Although, my parents work fulltime we still face this financial issue because of the minimum wage not being a living wage. Although my dad works fulltime he still gets paid 9 dollars an hour. Having a family of 6 and living of minimum wage if difficult. This trouble makes it a social issue, due to the state not raising the minimum wage to a living wage. In addition, other families and individuals have the same trouble due to the social issue of having such a low minimum wage when the cost of living is high in California. Therefore, individuals can come together to make structural change in society.