K.

R MANGALAM UNIVERSITY

SOCIOLOGY ASSIGENMENT

Submitted to: Ms.Nupur Choudhary

Submitted by: Lalit Khatana
BALLB III Semester
1805170039
SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION AND ITS
PROPERTIES IN UNDERSTANDING SOCIOLOGICAL
STRATIFICATION

Introduction
The sociological imagination by Mills provides a framework for understanding our social
world that far surpasses any common sense notion we might derive from our limited
social experiences. C. Wright Mills (1916-1962) was a contemporary sociologist who
brought tremendous insight into the daily lives of society’s members. Mills stated:
“Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without
understanding both.” The sociological imagination is making the connection between
personal challenges and larger social issues. Mills identified “troubles” (personal
challenges) and “issues” (larger social challenges), also known as biography, and history,
respectively. Mills’ conceptualization of the sociological imagination allows individuals
to see the relationships between events in their personal lives, biography, and events in
their society, history. In other words, this mind set provides the ability for individuals to
realize the relationship between personal experiences and the larger society.

Meaning of sociological imagination:

The sociological imagination is the practice of being able to “think ourselves away” from
the familiar routines of our daily lives in order to look at them with fresh, critical eyes. C.
Wright Mills, who created the concept and wrote a book about it, defined the sociological
imagination as “the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider
society."
The sociological imagination is the ability to see things socially and how they interact and
influence each other. To have a sociological imagination, a person must be able to pull
away from the situation and think from an alternative point of view. This ability is central
to one's development of a sociological perspective on the world.

We can apply the concept of the sociological imagination to any behavior. Take the
simple act of drinking a cup of coffee, for example. We could argue that coffee is not just
a drink, but rather it has symbolic value as part of day-to-day social rituals. Often the
ritual of drinking coffee is much more important than the act of consuming the coffee
itself. For example, two people who meet “to have coffee” together are probably more
interested in meeting and chatting than in what they drink. In all societies, eating and
drinking are occasions for social interaction and the performance of rituals, which offer a
great deal of subject matter for sociological study.

The second dimension to a cup of coffee has to do with its use as a drug. Coffee contains
caffeine, which is a drug that has stimulating effects on the brain. For many, this is the
reason why they drink coffee. It is interesting sociologically to question why coffee
addicts are not considered drug users in Western cultures, though they might be in other
cultures. Like alcohol, coffee is a socially acceptable drug whereas marijuana is not. In
other cultures, however, marijuana use is tolerated, but both coffee and alcohol
consumption is frowned upon.

Still, the third dimension to a cup of coffee is tied to social and economic relationships.
The growing, packaging, distributing, and marketing of coffee are global enterprises that
affect many cultures, social groups, and organizations within those cultures. These things
often take place thousands of miles away from the coffee drinker. Many aspects of our
lives are now situated within globalized trade and communications, and studying these
global transactions is important to sociologists.

SOCIOLOGICAL STRATIFICATION

Meaning of sociological stratification:

Sociological Stratification refers to the way people are ranked and ordered in society. In
Western countries, this stratification primarily occurs as a result of socioeconomic status
in which a hierarchy determines the groups most likely to gain access to financial
resources and forms of privilege. Typically, the upper classes have the most access to
these resources while the lower classes may get few or none of them, putting them at a
distinct disadvantage.

“ Sociological imagination and stratification go hand in hand.”

 Caste systems are closed stratification systems in which people can do little or
nothing to change their social standing. A caste system is one in which people are
born into their social standing and will remain in it their whole lives. People are
assigned occupations regardless of their talents, interests, or potential. There are
virtually no opportunities to improve a person’s social position.

 In the Hindu caste tradition, people were expected to work in the occupation of
their caste and to enter into marriage according to their caste. Accepting this social
standing was considered a moral duty. Cultural values reinforced the system.
 Caste systems promote beliefs in fate, destiny, and the will of a higher power,
rather than promoting individual freedom as a value. A person who lived in a caste
society was socialized to accept his or her social standing.

 A class system is based on both social factors and individual achievement. A class
consists of a set of people who share similar status with regard to factors like
wealth, income, education, and occupation. Unlike caste systems, class systems
are open. People are free to gain a different level of education or employment than
their parents. They can also socialize with and marry members of other classes,
which allows people to move from one class to another.

In a class system, occupation is not fixed at birth. Though family and other
societal models help guide a person toward a career, personal choice plays a role.

 Stratification systems are either closed, meaning they allow little change in social
position, or open, meaning they allow movement and interaction between the
layers. A caste system is one in which social standing is based on ascribed status
or birth. Class systems are open, with achievement playing a role in social
position. People fall into classes based on factors like wealth, income, education,
and occupation. A meritocracy is a system of social stratification that confers
standing based on personal worth, rewarding effort.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. WIKIPEDIA
2. GOOGLE
3. http://www.wit.ie/library/social.htm
4. MILLS THEORY
5. RESEARCH PAPERS