Sociological imagination

The term sociological imagination was coined by the from our daily routines and look at them anew”. To ac-
American sociologist C. Wright Mills in 1959 to describe quire knowledge, it is important to break free from the
the type of insight offered by the discipline of sociology. immediacy of personal circumstances and put things into
The term is used in introductory textbooks in sociology to a wider context, rather than following a routine. The ac-
explain the nature of sociology and its relevance in daily tions of people are much more important than the acts
life. themselves.
Sociological imagination is the capacity to shift from one
perspective to another.
1 Definitions
Mills believed in the power of the sociological imagina-
tion to connect “personal troubles to public issues.”
Sociologists differ in their understanding of the concept,
but the range suggests several important commonalities. There is an urge to know the historical and sociological
meaning of the singular individual in society, particularly
C. Wright Mills defined sociological imagination as “the in the period in which he has his quality and his being.
vivid awareness of the relationship between personal ex- To do this one may use the sociological imagination to
perience and the wider society.”[1] better understand the larger historical scene in terms of its
meaning for the inner self and external career of a variety
Sociological Imagination: The application of
of individuals.[3]
imaginative thought to the asking and answer-
ing of sociological questions. Someone us- Another perspective is that Mills chose sociology because
ing the sociological imagination “thinks him- he felt it was a discipline that “...could offer the concepts
self away” from the familiar routines of daily and skills to expose and respond to social injustice.”[4] He
life.[2] eventually became disappointed with his profession of so-
ciology because he felt it was abandoning its responsibil-
Another way of describing sociological imagination is the ities, which he criticized in his classic The Sociological
understanding that social outcomes are based on what we Imagination. In some introductory sociology classes, the
do. To expand on that definition, it is understanding that sociological imagination is brought up, along with Mills
some things in society may lead to a certain outcome. The and how he characterized the sociological imagination as
factors mentioned in the definition are things like norms a critical quality of mind that would help men and women
and motives, the social context are like country and time “to use information and to develop reason in order to
period and the social action is the stuff we do that affects achieve lucid summations of what is going on in the world
other people. The things we do are shaped by: the situ- and of what may be happening within themselves.”[5]
ation we are in, the values we have, and the way people
around us act. These things are examined to how they
all relate to some sort of outcome. Sociological imagina-
tion can also be considered as the capacity to see things
socially, how they interact, and influence each other.
Things that shape these outcomes include (but are not
limited to): social norms, what people want to gain out
of something (their motives for doing something), and
the social context in which they live (ex.- country, time 2 Sociological perspective
period, people with whom they associate). Basically, as
an aspect of sociological imagination, what people do is
shaped by all these things that result in some sort of out- A related term, the sociological perspective, was thought
come. of by Peter L. Berger. He stated that the sociological per-
The sociological imagination is the ability to see things spective was seeing “the general in the particular” and that
socially and how they interact and influence each other. it helped sociologists realize general patterns in the be-
To have a sociological imagination, a person must be able haviour of specific individuals.[6] One can think of soci-
to pull away from the situation and think from an alter- ological perspective as our own personal choice and how
native point of view. It requires to “think ourselves away the society plays a role in shaping our individual lives.[6]

1
2 7
3 Uses of sociological imagination 6 Further reading
in films
The advantages of using popular films to enhance stu-
dents’ comprehension of sociological topics is widely rec-
ognized. Those who teach courses in social problems
report using films to teach about war, to aid students in
adopting a global perspective and to confront issues of
race relations. There are benefits of using film as part
of a multimedia approach to teaching courses in popu-
lar culture. It also provides students of medical sociology
with case studies for hands-on observational experiences.
It acknowledges the value of films as historical documen-
tation of changes in cultural ideas, materials, and institu-
tions.
Feature films are used in introductory sociology courses
to demonstrate the current relevance of sociological
thinking and to show how the sociological imagination
helps us make sense of our social world. The underlying
assumption is that the sociological imagination is best de-
veloped and exercised in the introductory class by linking
new materials in the context of conflict theory and func-
tionalism.
4 See also
• Sociological theory
5 References
[1] https://www.csupomona.edu/~{}plin/EWS375/The%
20Sociological%20Imagination.htm
[2] Glidden A12
[3] Mills, C. Wright.The Sociological Imagination (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1959),5,7.Print
[4] Rose K. Goldsen, “Mills and the Profession of Sociology,”
in The New Sociology, ed. Irving Lewis Horowitz (New
York: Oxford University Press, 1964), 5. Print.
[5] Keen, Mike Forrest. Stalking the Sociological Imagina-
tion: J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI Surveillance of American So-
ciology. Westport, Conn: Greenwood, 1999. Print.
[6] John J. Macionis, Linda M. Gerber, “Sociology”, Seventh
Canadian Edition, Pearson Canada
• Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.
sociological-imagination.org/>.
• Spot.Colorado.edu. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http:
//spot.colorado.edu/~{}wehr/301RD1.TXT>.
•
EXTERNAL LINKS
• Mills, C. W.: 1959, The Sociological Imagination,
Oxford University Press, London.
• Michael Hughes, Carolyn J. Kroehler, James W.
Vander Zanden. 'Sociology: The Core', McGraw-
Hill, ISBN 0-07-240535-X Online chapter sum-
mary
• Judith Bessant and Rob Watts, 'Sociology Australia'
(2nd ed), Allen & Unwin, 2001. ISBN 1-86508-
612-6
• Laurie Gordy and Alexandria Peary, 'Bringing Cre-
ativity into the Classroom: Using Sociology to Write
First-Person Fiction.' Teaching Sociology. Vol. 33,
2005 (October: 396-402).
• Ray Jureidini and Marilyn Poole, 'Sociology' (3rd
ed), Allen & Unwin 2002. ISBN 978-1-86508-896-
9
• Joel Charon, 'Ten Questions: A Sociological Per-
spective', Fourth Edition. Wadsworth, 2000.
• Earl Babbie, 'The Practice of Social Research', 10th
edition, Wadsworth, Thomson Learning Inc., ISBN
0-534-62029-9
• The Sociological Perspective: University of Mis-
souri
• The Sociological Perspective
• Giddens, Anthony. “Sociological Imagination.” In-
troduction to Sociology . 1996. Karl Bakeman.
New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1996.
Print. ISBN 978-0-393-93232-4
• Using the Feature Film to Facilitate Sociological
Thinking
7 External links
• Excerpt from C. Wright Mills, The Sociological
Imagination
• A Mills Revival? by S .Aronowitz
• Contemporary Analysis of C. Wright Mills
• On Intellectual Craftsmanship from Sociological
Imagination (pdf mirror)
https://www.csupomona.edu/~{}plin/EWS375/The%
20Sociological%20Imagination.htm
• Sociological Imagination in life events
• The Sociological Imagination
•
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