WORLD

SOCIETIES
& CULTURE
CILO1: Lesson 1.1
CILO 1

Societies and Cultures:

History and
Development of
Contemporary World
and the Philippines
OBJECTIVE:

Explore the concepts of

‘societies’ and ‘cultures’ in
the context of history and
development of
contemporary world and the
Philippines.
ACTIVITY:
Compare the following practices from
20+ years ago to the present. What
differences can you draw out of this
comparison?
Communication
Courtship
Family Size
ACTIVITY: Guide Questions
What do you think are the factors on why
these changes happened over time?

Are these factors essential in the study

of society?

What lens/perspective should we

have/use to understand these
factors that shape our society?
Lesson 1: On
Sociological
Imagination
C. Wright Mills
 C. Wright Mills (1916-1962)
 American sociologist
highly influenced by Max
Weber
promoted the idea that
social scientists should
not merely be
disinterested observers
engaged in research and
theory but assert their
social responsibility
 C. Wright Mills (1916-1962)
 focused his theories on
his observations of the
American society during
his time specifically the
‘ruling’ or ‘elite’ class
 best know for his work –
‘The sociological
imagination’ (1959)
 C. Wright Mills’

Sociological
Imagination
 C. Wright Mills’ Sociological
Imagination
 published in the year
1959 by Oxford
University Press
 considered to be Mills’
most influential work
What is ‘sociological imagination’?
 ‘the vivid awareness of the
relationship between
experience and the wider
society.’
 It is the capacity to see
how sociological situations
play out due to how
people differ in terms of
their places in given social
or historical
How should we view society?
 a person must be able to
pull away from the
situation (seeing society
from one perspective -
self) and think from an
alternative point of view
(see how things interact
and influence one
another).
How should we view society?
 there should be
willingness to view the
social world from the
perspective of others
 the focus should rather
be on the social
circumstances that
produce social problems
How should we view society?
 having an understanding
of the relationship
between our particular
situation in life and what
is happening at a social
level.
Why focus on the wider scope of
society and not just on the self?
 Social conditions affect
our personal lives
 Mills believed that every
problem faced by an
individual has roots in
society as a whole and is
faced by many others.
 e.g. UNEMPLOYMENT
BROKEN FAMILIES
INEQUALITY
PERSONAL Trouble
vs
PUBLIC Issue
Personal Trouble
 it refers to private
problems of an individual
from events in his/her
own life.
 e.g. getting fired from
work
divorce
increasing utility bills
Public Issues
 these are problems that
affect large groups of
people and come from
the structure (patterns of
behavior and
relationships) of society
 e.g. unemployment
increasing number of
couples having divorce
 Personal Trouble & Public Issue
 We discover with these examples that the
problem lies within the structures of the society
and we realize that we cannot provide personal
solutions to these issues but instead give social
solutions to social problems.

 E.G. You can’t solve a high divorce rate by

getting a divorced couple to be together again
or giving an unemployed individual a new job
because the solutions to these problems lies
within the structure that makes the society
function as a whole.
 Why Sociology is
important in the study of
Society?
 Importance of Sociology
 SOCIOLOGY helps us gain
a better understanding of
ourselves and the social
world that we belong to.
 SOCIOLOGY connects the
personal and the historical
by recasting personal
problems as historical ones
and historical problems as
personal ones.
 Importance of Sociology
 Sociology helps us analyze
society deeper by asking
these sociological
questions;
 What is the structure of
society?
 What is the place of
society in history?
 What kinds of people
does society produce?
Importance of Sociology
 doing SOCIOLOGY is a
radical undertaking
wherein it requires from
us a willingness to
suspend our own pre-
conceptions,
assumptions and beliefs
about the way things
Importance of Sociology
 ‘to have a ‘sociological
imagination’ means
looking at the world
sociologically, asking
sociological questions
and providing
sociological answers.
Importance of ‘Sociological
Imagination’ in the study of society’
 ‘sociological imagination’
relates personal troubles
and public issues,
connecting biography
and history in order to
give a complete sense of
the specific anxieties and
crises in our society.
Importance of ‘Sociological
Imagination’ in the study of society’
 ‘sociological imagination’
is a quality of mind that
will help them see what
is going on in the world
and what may be
happening within
themselves.
Importance of ‘Sociological
Imagination’ in the study of society’
 ‘sociological imagination’
helps understand society
as an open system where
all have connections with
each other
 knowing these
connections is a way a
person with ‘sociological
imagination’ solve things.
ASSESSMENT:
Using your ‘sociological imagination’, try to
analyze what is/are happening in the following
pictures? Why do these people do what they do?
What shapes their decisions? What are the
private and public issues at play here?
ASSESSMENT:
As a student, a future professional and a fully
abiding citizen of this country, what do you think
is the significance of C. Wright Mills concept of
‘sociological imagination’? Limit your answers to
150-200 words only.
References:
- Mills, C. W. (1959). The Sociological Imagination. New York: Oxford University
Press.
- https://www.gradesaver.com/the-sociological-imagination/study-guide/
summary-chapter-1
- https://www.thoughtco.com/sociological-imagination-3026756
- https://www.slideshare.net/luzille/sociological-imagination-64275625
- https://www.slideshare.net/NovieArren/sociology-sociological-imagination
- https://www.slideshare.net/dustinkidd1/sociological-imagination