#HACCSOCI201 theory sociologicalimagination

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64529rM_3uI)

The term sociological imagination was developed in 1959 by sociologist C. Wright Mills. Milled claimed that in order people to view the world around them and can critically contemplate it, we must change the lens in which we are looking through. Basically, Mills wanted individuals to step back and view the world around them in a different perspective. Sociological imagination is not necessarily a theory but an outlook on society. It drives you to start thinking deeply about the world around you and question it. The Thought Company states that while Mills’ work was not well received at the time because of his professional and personal reputation, The Sociological Imagination is today one of the most widely read sociology books and is a staple of undergraduate courses across the U.S. according to Ashley Crossman. We can apply the concept of the sociological imagination to any behavior. It is important to point out that the idea of the sociological imagination should not be used as an excuse for an individual not to try harder to achieve success in life. One way to begin to understand Mill’s concept is to think about coffee. In this culture, coffee can be viewed in multiple dimensions. Some individuals maybe believe that drinking coffee every day is a habit or ritual. While another dimension could be that coffee as a drug. In some cultures, coffee may be frowned upon. Coffee can also be tangle with social relationships. Through the sociological imagination, we can see not only what is real, but also what could become real should we desire to make it that way.

Conley, Dalton. (2015). You May Ask Yourself Why. New York, NY: W.W. Norton &Company, Inc.

Crossman, Ashley. (2017, March 2). Biography of C. Wright Mills-His Life and Contributions to Sociology. https://www.thoughtco.com/c-wright-mills-3026486.

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Sociological Imagination

In the first module we covered thinking sociologically.  One of the highlighted words in Chapter one were symbolic interactionism. Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind people’s actions.  I believe this is true we all know that are body language symbolizes the way we feel and how we act.  There are two different types of divisions in sociology: Microsociology and Macrosociology.  Microsociology is a branch of sociology that seeks  to understand local interactional contexts; its methods of choice are ethnographic, generally including participant observation and in-depth interviews.  Macrosociology is a branch of sociology generally concerned with social dynamics at a higher level of analysis- that is, across the breadth of a society. Sociology can be look from a micro-level and a macro-level.  Microsociologist are those who focus on face-to-face interactions with individuals and what they observe is what they gather.  Macrosociologist deal with a larger quantity like immmigration policy and gender norms.  They use  a large-scale experimentation. 

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Reference:

Conley, Dalton. 2017. The Sociological Imagination: An Introduction. You May Ask Yourself. Conley, Dalton. 2017. The Sociological Imagination: An Introduction. You May Ask Yourself.