Assignment Overview
In this course, we are exploring social problems not simply as individual challenges, but as experiences connected to larger social conditions. To help us think this way, we will use a tool called the sociological imaginationLinks to an external site..
What is the Sociological Imagination?
C. Wright Mills developed the concept of the sociological imagination to describe our ability to connect our individual experiences to the larger society and historical period in which we live. Mills describes it as the ability to “grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society.”
One of the most important parts of the sociological imagination is learning to distinguish between personal troubles and public issues. A personal trouble is experienced by an individual, but when many people experience similar troubles, we need to look beyond individual choices and ask what larger social forces may be contributing to the pattern.
For example, struggling to afford rent may initially appear to be an individual financial problem. Using the sociological imagination, however, we can zoom out and consider housing costs, wages, inequality, zoning and housing policies, discrimination, and broader economic changes. The individual experience has not disappeared, but we now understand it within a larger social and historical context.
The sociological imagination therefore encourages us to ask:
- How are events and changes in society affecting people's everyday lives?
- What larger social, economic, political, or historical forces shape what may initially appear to be an individual problem?
- When does a personal trouble reflect a broader public issue affecting many people?
Why It Matters
Using the sociological imagination helps us see patterns we might miss if we focus only on individual behavior. Rather than immediately asking what a person did right or wrong, sociology asks us to consider the social conditions surrounding that person's experience.
This also prepares us for Joel Best's approach to social problems.
- Mills helps us recognize how personal experiences can reflect broader social conditions.
- Best takes us another step by asking how those conditions come to be recognized and constructed as social problems.
Instructions
Step 1: Explain the Sociological Imagination
In your own words, explain the sociological imagination. In your explanation, describe the difference between a personal trouble and a public issue. Why is this perspective useful for understanding social problems?
Step 2: Apply the Sociological Imagination
Choose an experience or problem that might initially be explained as an individual or personal issue. You may choose something such as difficulty affording housing, finding a job, accessing healthy food, succeeding in school, experiencing poverty, or another issue that interests you.
Then use the sociological imagination to zoom out and connect that experience to broader social conditions. Address the following:
- How might someone explain this only as an individual or personal problem?
- What larger social, economic, political, or historical forces help shape this experience?
Consider factors such as inequality, employment, education, public policy, discrimination, neighborhood conditions, or historical changes. - How does this personal trouble connect to a broader public issue?
What evidence do we have that shows many people are experiencing similar troubling conditions in society? Can you find any data to support your claims? - Do different groups experience this issue differently?
Consider factors such as race, social class, gender, age, geographic location, or other things that may shape people's experiences.
Your goal is not simply to describe a social problem. Show how using the sociological imagination changes the explanation by moving from an individual explanation toward an understanding of the larger social forces involved.
Outcomes and Objectives
Assignment Learning Objectives
Relevant Course Level Student Learning Outcomes
Grading & Feedback
- I will score this assignment within one week (usually much sooner!).
- Feedback will be noted individually through Speedgrader, in the Comments section. Please note that with rare exception, I will not be posting directly to the discussion board, as I want this to be a student centered place for you to explore your views without my interference.
Canvas Guides
Here are some Canvas guides you can use to help you submit your assignment.
- How to submit a text box entryLinks to an external site.
- How to upload a file for submissionLinks to an external site.
- How to submit other online assignmentsLinks to an external site.
Rubric
1.4 The Sociological Imagination
| Criteria | Ratings | Pts |
|---|---|---|
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeExplain the Sociological imagination | 10 to >0.0 ptsNo DescriptionAn explanation of the sociological Imagination is given, but no example is provided.0 ptsNo Description | 10 pts |
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeProvide an example | 15 to >0.0 ptsFull MarksAn example is given and correctly demonstrates the sociological imagination0 ptsNo Marks | 15 pts |
Total Points: 25
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