Summary: The Sociological Imagination
Democracy has always been an ambiguous concept especially in the United States of America. The origin of the word is very ancient, it goes back to 461 BC (Athens) and derives from two Greek words: demos and kratos. The first one meaning people, and the second one power, together they form the power of the bourgeoisie people. Nevertheless, the power has mostly been in hands of the elite class in the U.S., that is why it is ambiguous, if the power is in the hands of the most privileged in the American society, then is it really democracy? Freedom is one of the concepts that we identify the U.S. with, freedom of speech, freedom pf religion…etc. However, it has not always been like that, freedom was demanded and achieved by other groups, making
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Wright Mills, “The Sociological Imagination”. Mills connects two abstract concepts which are society and the individual, defining it as “the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society." In other words, the sociologist believes that Social Imagination is a “quality of the mind” that allows us to understand the relationship between an individual circumstance and what is happening at a social level. It is an essential quality to have in order to achieve any type of successful type of protest. Moreover, Mills emphasizes on the importance of seeing also the connection between social structure, individual experience and agency (Agency is the power people have to think for themselves and act in ways that shape their experiences and life trajectories. It can take individual and collective forms). The free speech movement was composed by white and privileged students, those who will be the future of the country, students who had had and education (knowledge) and enough resources to protest, not only for their rights as students, but also for those who were not as fortunate in the Civil Rights, Women and Anti-war movements. In order to any kind of protest to be successful, its components or at least its leaders should be aware of what they are fighting for, connecting the relationship between a personal experience and bright it to a sociological level, and having that “quality of mind” that Mills talks about. The social imagination concept is applicable to any type of situation at any time. Mills, C. (2000). The sociological imagination. Oxford England: Oxford University
Wright Mills, “The Sociological Imagination”. Mills connects two abstract concepts which are society and the individual, defining it as “the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society." In other words, the sociologist believes that Social Imagination is a “quality of the mind” that allows us to understand the relationship between an individual circumstance and what is happening at a social level. It is an essential quality to have in order to achieve any type of successful type of protest. Moreover, Mills emphasizes on the importance of seeing also the connection between social structure, individual experience and agency (Agency is the power people have to think for themselves and act in ways that shape their experiences and life trajectories. It can take individual and collective forms). The free speech movement was composed by white and privileged students, those who will be the future of the country, students who had had and education (knowledge) and enough resources to protest, not only for their rights as students, but also for those who were not as fortunate in the Civil Rights, Women and Anti-war movements. In order to any kind of protest to be successful, its components or at least its leaders should be aware of what they are fighting for, connecting the relationship between a personal experience and bright it to a sociological level, and having that “quality of mind” that Mills talks about. The social imagination concept is applicable to any type of situation at any time. Mills, C. (2000). The sociological imagination. Oxford England: Oxford University