What Does Social Imagination Mean
THE SOCIAL IMAGINATION
“Sociological imagination” is a term which was coined by the sociologist C. Wright Mills in “The Sociological Imagination”. In this book, Mills illustrate and exemplify sociological imagination. According to him, sociological imagination is the most fruitful connection between ‘the personal troubles of milieu (biography)’ and ‘the public issues of social structure (historical) (Mills, 2000). Indeed, this new way of thinking helps us to make a relationship between the individual and the social. In addition, Mills visualize sociological imagination by giving examples such as unemployment, war, divorce. For instance, think about a war, even if a person has to take care of himself/herself, from the perspective of public issues …show more content…
At this point, there is a question raised for me: Is sociological imagination the ability or social perspective? Especially, sociological imagination is a social perspective which requires ability of self-consciousness. Moreover, it is worth noting that Elijah Anderson in “The Code of the Street” says that the behaviors of the wider society are deeply implicated in the code of the streets. In this way, he makes a connection between individuals in the street and the general effects of the streets in society (Anderson, 2000). He emphasizes the association between the code of the streets and individuals by using sociological imagination. The author claims that each individual has a hidden tendency to the violence and the streets reflect that emotion such as aggression. Hence, it is clear that social imagination is a form of self-consciousness. In addition, Herbert J. Gans in his article which is “Uses of the Underclass in America” mentions poverty as a public issue and express that poverty one of the most important economic function of undeserving poor is job creation (Gans, 1994). Even if poverty is an undesirable situation for individuals, it has an economic function for society. At this point, sociological imagination helps to approach to circumstances from a larger
“Sociological imagination” is a term which was coined by the sociologist C. Wright Mills in “The Sociological Imagination”. In this book, Mills illustrate and exemplify sociological imagination. According to him, sociological imagination is the most fruitful connection between ‘the personal troubles of milieu (biography)’ and ‘the public issues of social structure (historical) (Mills, 2000). Indeed, this new way of thinking helps us to make a relationship between the individual and the social. In addition, Mills visualize sociological imagination by giving examples such as unemployment, war, divorce. For instance, think about a war, even if a person has to take care of himself/herself, from the perspective of public issues …show more content…
At this point, there is a question raised for me: Is sociological imagination the ability or social perspective? Especially, sociological imagination is a social perspective which requires ability of self-consciousness. Moreover, it is worth noting that Elijah Anderson in “The Code of the Street” says that the behaviors of the wider society are deeply implicated in the code of the streets. In this way, he makes a connection between individuals in the street and the general effects of the streets in society (Anderson, 2000). He emphasizes the association between the code of the streets and individuals by using sociological imagination. The author claims that each individual has a hidden tendency to the violence and the streets reflect that emotion such as aggression. Hence, it is clear that social imagination is a form of self-consciousness. In addition, Herbert J. Gans in his article which is “Uses of the Underclass in America” mentions poverty as a public issue and express that poverty one of the most important economic function of undeserving poor is job creation (Gans, 1994). Even if poverty is an undesirable situation for individuals, it has an economic function for society. At this point, sociological imagination helps to approach to circumstances from a larger