The Sociological Imagination

1287 Words6 Pages
The sociological imagination was written in 1959 by sociologist C. Wright Mills. A basic summation of the term “the sociological imagination” can be defined as “the ability to see the relationship between individual experiences, and the larger society.” (Murray, Linden, & Kendal, 2014, p. 5). It was Mills idea to merge the concept of social reality by looking at not only the personal issues one might face, but to also incorporate the factors that society might contribute to the issue at hand. The sociological imagination not only helps us look at the bigger picture, it makes it much easier to distinguish between personal troubles and social issues. It is important for today’s society to develop a sociological imagination because it allows us to look at the issues that affect not only the individual (personal troubles), but also expand on the issue when it effects society as a whole (public issues). Personal troubles are defined as private problems that affect the individual, whereas public issues are societal problems that are beyond an individual’s control. It is crucial for society as a whole to understand the importance of having a sociological imagination fore, it “helps us place seemingly personal troubles into a much larger-societal context.”(Murray et al., 2014, pg.6). This is how we can demonstrate personal troubles may be related to public issues and it is the first step we can take into approaching the problems we face not only individually- but as a society. Being a teenager in this time, I personally at first hand have realized that growing up in the 21st century can be as challenging as it is scary. The social media is a daunting and cruel influence on the perception the general public has of themselves today. There are multiple factors that can contribute to feeling dissatisfied with your body. On a personal level, the factors may seem

More about The Sociological Imagination

Open Document