Sociological Imagination Essay Sample

As Germov and Poole (2019) suggests that the sociological Imagination is referred to as an understanding one’s own issues are not caused simply by one’s own beliefs or thoughts but by society and how it is structured. Hence, one can never solve their problems until they cannot be solved simply on an individual level but must be addressed on the social level. A sociological imagination moves the individual away from reality and allows them to look beyond the picture itself to understand the society in which they live. This helps demonstrate how closely linked an individual's personal life is to society in which they live. For example marital divorce, unemployment is very personal and widely shared problem. Along with body image issues. But that sociological imagination allows one to understand how personal experiences and choices are shaped by larger historically-conditioned social forces Mills (1959). The ability to see how society is structured and how things such as societal norms influence people into performing certain action. Sociological Imagination allows one to make generalizations based on historical trends and research, rather than relying on stereotype.

Personal troubles and the public issues is the main defining of sociological imagination. How Individuals are placed in a society and how that society affects the individual, helps in the understanding of social structure. Furthermore, personal troubles become public issues needing attention from political and economic organisations not just personal judgements but from the individual discussed by Mills (1959:14). As a component of explaining his conception of sociological imagination, Mills made an paramount distinction between “personal troubles” and “public/social issues. Germov and Poole (2019) suggests It is the main characteristic of a sociological imagination. Troubles (personal challenges) and issues (larger social challenges) also known as history and biography. Meaning it allows individuals to see the relationships between events in their personal lives (biography) and events in their society (history). To realise their relationship between their personal experiences and the larger society in which they live their lives.” In our personal lives, we make decisions that impact our family, friends, co-workers, and other communities where we’re involved. Personal troubles involve an individual’s private problems in cognation to others. Public/social issues, on the other hand, are beyond the control of an individual. Mills (1959) notes that personal troubles can become social issues once they’re pervasive enough. Once the problems individuals face in their lives are common among their community, those problems can become a public issue.

The sociological imagination is an important tool when using in real life. It enables the sociologist to view the world from outside subjective ideas Giddens & Griffiths (2006:4) portrayed this as to suspect an individual away from the familiar routines of daily life in order to look at them anew. For instance Marital divorce is a personal trouble for which one bear liability to which one can offer some private arrangement. Some people feel pressured into getting married by their family or by society and rush into a marriage with someone who may not be a good match. Others may feel that monogamy is an outdated concept, and so option to be single or enter into an open marriage or dating relationship. Sometimes, It brings out serious areas of strength for numerous of misery and hatred, which has immense momentary consequences for the person Financial and asset divisions affect the individual by minimizing  the gross income and wealth of each  guardian. The division of reliabilities between companions, families and kids adds another adds one more aspect to the misery felt by the person. When divorce rates increase these individual quandaries affect social structure by becoming social issues. Impacting the government, since new laws and policies must be implemented to accommodate for equitable distribution of assets and properties. Care regulations also need to be developed. The financial aspects of society are impacted by new requirements placed on the welfare system. Single guardians often need financial support for their dependent children relating back to society as this comes out of tax payers money. Job opportunities are created by the increase in demand for skilled workers to immediate  and intervene these changes. Germov and Poole (2019) suggests the sociological imagination coordinates the possibility of individual’s trouble becoming a public issue and how the connections between biography and history becoming a public issue and how the social structure is greatly affected by the connections between history and biography.

Sociological imagination allows one to understand how personal experiences and choices are shaped by larger conditioned social forces. Poverty for instance. In addition to individual behaviour and circumstances, poverty can also be caused by a lack of skillsets or poor work ethics. According to Keirns et al. (2018),  Society classifies individuals into different categories, such as the poor, the middle class, and the wealthy. Clearly shown how large social forces influence individual behaviour and actions of people living in that society. Individuals who obtain more resources use their influence and power to maintain their gregarious class, while those who are allocated little possessions have to struggle to find their way to the affluent class. According to Krug , Drasch  Jungbauer-Gans (2019) unemployment comes with different types of negative labels as many individuals assume that individuals who are unemployed or who are struggling to gain employment are socially stigmatized as ‘lazy’. Unemployment can cause a wider range of  personal and social consequences that range from poverty, stress, and lack of education. In many cases, people rely on their income for the purpose of establishing a standard of living and providing for their families. While many think it's their fault they are not in employment, many external factors might be at play. For example parental obligations not having a flexible enough schedule many employers required of flexible schedule and be able to work when they ask, individuals may only be trained in a particular vocation and there are just no concrete jobs in the area etc. As suggested by Mills (1959) when an individual is unemployed, that is a personal trouble However, if hundreds of thousands of people are unemployed, that is no longer a matter of personal failure; it becomes a social issue that requires intervention.

Sociological imagination helps us to ask questions and seek answers about the social world we live in using historical trends and research instead of stereotypical approaches, one can make generalizations based on the sociological imagination. social imagination is all about determining the relationship between ordinary lives of people and the wider social forces For example, A lady wishes to look slight and fair, however some way or another she can't accomplish this look. Presently, this young lady goes into a persistent discouragement and experiences a feeling of inadequacy. To be dainty, she becomes anorexic and encounters serious medical conditions. Presently, assuming one see this case in confinement, one will feel that it's her own concern ,and she is ruining her life all alone. However, applying the sociological imagination, one would understand that it's the obsession of society overall for the fair and slim body that indirectly impacted this young lady. The media addresses society as lovely, and helpful young ladies as slim and fair. This sort of portrayal influences many individuals straightforwardly or in a roundabout way. If by some stroke of good luck few young ladies experienced anorexia in the public eye, then, at that point, we might have called it an individual or individual issue. Yet, when numerous young ladies experience the ill effects of a comparable issue, then, at that point, it turns into a social issue.

In conclusion, sociological imagination is an ability to perceive the context which shapes one’s individual decision making, as well as the decisions of others. But the reason why it’s useful is because it sanctions one to better identify and question sundry aspects of society, as opposed to passively living within it. Fundamentally, someone who can exercise sociological imagination is better equipped to make keenly intellective personal choices. Unemployment and childhood obesity is constantly misunderstood and cannot be solved by the individuals. It is very important to use sociological imagination and apply within everyday lives to everyday problems to seek a deeper and meaningful understanding of the social world. Thus, next time when one come across a personal problem, one know how to connect it to the wider social phenomena. This process would avail you find out long-term, perpetual , and promising solutions to some of the grave individual quandaries.