...the Party (2005) There are several ways to define what Sociological imagination is; the term was coined by the American sociologist C. Wright Mills in 1959, to describe the insight offered by the discipline of sociology. I am going to explain two different definitions of sociological imagination; first, the sociological imagination can be defined as the capacity to see how sociological situations play out due to how people differ and social circumstances differ. It is a way of thinking about things in society that have led to some sort of outcome, and understanding what causes led to that outcome. Things that shape these outcomes include (but are not limited to): social norms, what people want to achieve (their motives for doing something), and the social context in which they live (ex. - country, time period, people with whom they associate). Basically, as an aspect of sociological imagination, what people do is shaped by all these things that result in some sort of outcome. Second, sociological imagination can be also the ability to see things socially and how they interact and influence each other. To have a sociological imagination, a person must be able to pull away from the situation and think from an alternative point of view. It requires “thinking ourselves away from our daily routines and looking at them anew". The actions of people are much more important than the act itself; as a result, sociological imagination is the capacity to shift from one perspective to another...
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...SOC 200 Homework 9/16/2015 ------------------------------------------------- Top of Form First: Sociological Imagination in my own words is the individual’s opinion on what Sociological really stands for within society. When I think of just the word "imagination", all I can really think of is the ability to define Sociological Imagination as one's self defining this meaning. I can just literally implement my own rules to the meaning of this to be the most important for everyone to understand. Sociological Imagination is like The Theory of Everything, you must create a thesis as to what you are trying to understand to prove a point within the conclusion. Everyone including C. Wright Mills has their own approach as to what to truly study in society, we all think in general differently when it comes to understanding Sociological Imagination. Second: Reading the Willis excerpt was like reading an Ethnographic research assignment. It also consisted of Participant Observation when Willis was doing his study towards observing the twelve working-class boys that he called “the lads”. Understanding this entire concept/study is pretty tough, for there is so much information about Willis’ work within every page of “Learning to Labor”. Comparing these working class-class boys to modern day boys is no-where near comparable in my opinion. This study was conducted in the 1970’s. That was a different time period when society’s view on work was different. More than forty years later if...
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...human groups. B. focuses primarily on how social relationships influence people’s behavior. C. focuses on how societies develop and change. D. all of these Answer: D Type: D 4. The awareness that allows people to comprehend the link between their immediate, personal social settings and the remote, impersonal social world is called A. the sociological imagination. B. anthropology. C. a theory. D. verstehen. Answer: A Type: D 5. ____________ is most closely associated with the concept of the sociological imagination. A. Émile Durkheim B. Max Weber C. Karl Marx D. C. Wright Mills Answer: D Type: S 6. A key element in the sociological imagination is the ability to view one’s own society A. from the perspective of personal experience. B. from the perspective of cultural biases. C. as an outsider. D. as an insider. Answer: C Type: I 7. A sociologist observing behavior at a college football game would probably focus on A. what books the coach of the team has read during the past year. B. a “fan” who has fallen asleep during...
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...everything from specific events; the micro level of analysis of small social patterns, to the big picture; the macro level of analysis of large social patterns. Sociologists today use three theoretical perspectives: the interactionist perspective, the functionalist perspective, and the conflict perspective. These perspectives offer sociologists theoretical examples for explaining how society influences people, and vice versa. “While the functionalist and conflict approaches were initiated in Europe, interactionism developed first in the United States (p. 15).” Herbert Mead is credited as the founder of the interactionist perspective. The interactionist perspective, directs sociologists to consider the symbols and details of everyday life, what these symbols mean, and how people interact with each other. According to the interactionist perspective, people attach meanings to symbols, and then they act according to their subjective interpretation of these symbols. Verbal conversations, in which spoken words serve as the predominant symbols, make this subjective interpretation especially evident. Words are not fixed things; they require intention and interpretation. Conversation is an interaction of symbols between individuals who constantly interpret the world around them. Of...
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...The Sociological Imagination according to C. Wright Mills is states that the sociological imagination is a quality of mind that allows us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two in society. (Mills, 1959, pg 6). He also explains the links between personal issues and public issues by helping to identify a personal issue and identifying it in the social structure. One tragic public issue that is very common in society today is ‘Domestic Violence’. For many years domestic violence in the family has been a private issue and was never spoken about in society. By using the three sensibilities that make up the sociological imagination which are the historical, cultural and critical sensibilities, society can begin to understand the radical changes in how society thinks we as individuals ‘should’ behave towards one another especially in the family unit according to societies expectations and social norms. The issue of domestic violence within families was evident in earlier societies. Using the historical sensibility we can see how society used to live and see how we have society has transformed our ideologies of this horrific public issue of domestic violence. From the earliest record, most societies gave the father or the patriarch of the family the right to use physical force against the women and children that he was in control of. This was evident in the reign of Romulus back in 753BC. Abbott (1852, p. 242) states that: The power of the father over his...
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...C. Wright Mills described the sociological imagination as the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society. Also the sociological imagination allows us to understand the connection between history and biography. When he mentioned history, he referred to the environment and the society that introduces us to our characteristics. When he mention biography referred to the experiences within the historic setting, which gives us our position in life. Also, we do what we do because we inherited some internal mechanism. The environment I have lived in throughout my life is Jamaica Queens. Throughout my childhood I did not have everything. I did was unable to have the latest clothes, better yet clothes of my own. I hated it. I was the youngest of four and the clothes and shoes I wore handed down to me. When I was able to get clothes of my own, I had more than enough. Now that I have two daughters I buy two of everything, and things, such as clothes, shoes and toys, get donated when the girls out grow them. Other than the textbook, I searched the sociological imagination on Youtube and watch various videos, some of the videos were slideshow and some were lectures. Sociologists are well aware that all is not as it seems. Here is an interesting article for you to consider. Comment on this article. What does it mean? Also, read the section on the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis on page 49 of the textbook for more information on language and perception. How does language...
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...Social Construction of Reality: Meaning- What you know to be real is real because you were taught to believe it. 1. Social Psychology 2. Symbolist Interactionism Scientific Methods: 1. Observation 2. Generalization 3. Interpretation 4. Prediction Science: 1. Systematic Observation 2. Measurement Sociological Perspective: 1. Questions can be answered through observation Natural Science vs. Social Science: 1. Natural Science= Biology/ Hard Science 2. Social Science= Psychology/ Soft Science Theory: 1. A set of ideas used to explain cause and effect. Reactivity or the Hawthorn Effect: 1. If you know someone is watching you, you will always act differently. Sociological Imagination: By C. Wright Mills 1. We as researchers need to use our imagination to come up with creative ways to study human behavior. Institution: 1. An excepted way of doing things 5 Major Social Institutions: 1. Family 2. Religion 3. Healthcare 4. Economics 5. Education Founders of Sociology: 1. August Comte- Positive thinker - Comedern Sociology - Social Force - Social Statics- The force of cooperation and cohesion (Togetherness) - Social Dynamics- The forces of conflict and change Karl Marx: - Negative thinker father of communism Communism- There is no rich and no poor everyone is equal 1. 1800’s Germany 2. Industrial Revolution 3. Father of Communism 4. Wrote the communist manifesto along with Frederick Engles 5. Father of conflict theory - Rich...
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...crowd. It can be a very different experience if you are traveling in a foreign country and find yourself in a crowd moving down the street. You may have trouble figuring out what is happening. Is the crowd just the usual morning rush, or is it a political protest of some kind? Perhaps there was some sort of accident or disaster. Is it safe in this crowd, or should you try to extract yourself? How can you find out what is going on? Although you are in it, you may not feel like you are part of this crowd. You may not know what to do or how to behave. Even within one type of crowd, different groups exist and different behaviors are on display. At a rock concert, for example, some may enjoy singing along, others prefer to sit and observe, while still others may join in a mosh pit or try crowd surfing. Why do we feel and act differently in different types of social situations? Why might people of a single group exhibit different behaviors in the same situation? Why might people acting similarly not feel connected to others exhibiting the same behavior? These are some of the many questions sociologists ask as they study people and societies. 1.1 What Is Sociology? Figure 1.2 Sociologists learn about society as a whole while studying one-to-one and group interactions. (Photo courtesy of Robert S. Donovan/flickr) A dictionary defines sociology as the systematic study of...
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...” Human society is a pretty big topic. Sociologists study dyads, groups and networks, orga nizations, communities, culture, society, and even global relations. In some senses it seems like you can study almost anything and call it sociology. I t isn’t what they study that makes someone a sociologist, h owever, but how they think about it and how they study it. Imagine a friend of yours confides in you that she is pregnant and is not planning to marry the father . At first you wonder if she was raped, but she tells yo u the father is someone she was dating, she agreed to have sex with him, and she turned down an invitatio n to marry him. You might wonder why her behavior is so different from what you think it sho uld be. If you were raised in this country, where we tend to be better amateur psychologists than we are amateur sociologists, you would probably conclude that your friend has mental problems, isn’t thinkin g very clearly, or is not a very good person. In o ther words, you would probably explain your friend’s beh avior in terms of what goes on inside of her and think that she has a personal problem . In contrast, a sociologist would be curious abou t what life at home was like for your friend, whether people from her background respect mothers more than they respect women without children, and if the father o f her child was ready for the responsibility of a family. In other words, a sociologist would explain...
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...Main sociological perspective *Structural Functionalism - the creation of the institutions in society that function to keep society going. Analogy to the human body.(Emile Durkheim) *Conflict Theory- groups with power in society will take care of their needs at the expense of others groups who struggle to get their fair share of societies resources.(Karl Marx/ Max Weber) *Symbolic Interactionism -The study of how information is transferred through human interactions. The issue for researchers studying social problems concerns how groups make their issues known. sociological cannon- the foundational works of a discipline. *Important to the study of social change during the transition from tradition to modernity. Karl Marx- class struggle Max Weber - bureaucracy, ideas causing social change Emile Durkheim- The function of institutions in society. Tradition=Modernity Rural= Urban Farm= Factory Monarchy= Democracy Religion= Science *The works of Marx, Weber and Durkheim replaced the early sociological works that focused on social control had been developed during time of european colonization. U.S Sociology - Social Problems Research Chicago School of Sociology 1900-1940 Examined the problems of cities that were caused by rapid industrialization, immigration, crime. -While social conditions were seen as contributions to problems, ultimately individuals were blamed for their failure to adapt. Structural Functionalism 1950’s- -Seen as a...
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...Lecture #1: Defining Sociology and Using our Sociological Tools; Please read Ch. 1 Hello everyone and welcome to the start of what will hopefully be a wonderful semester. This semester we will be examining and analyzing science and technology using a sociological discipline. In the beginning of every lecture I will introduce the vocabulary. These words will be significant for the lecture, so put them to memory because you just might see them later, wink, wink, and wink. Vocabulary: Sociology: The systematic study of human societies. It is the scientific study of human social life, behavior, groups, culture and societies. Culture: A way of life including widespread values (about what is good and bad), beliefs (about what is true), and behavior (what people do every day). Social Problems: A condition that undermines the well-being of some or all members of a society and that are usually a matter of public controversy. Sociological Imagination: Is the quality of mind that enables one to see the connection between personal troubles and social structures. Theory: A statement of how and why specific facts are related. Structural-Functional: A theoretical framework that sees society as a system of many interrelated parts. Social-Conflict: A theoretical framework that sees society as divided by inequality and conflict. Symbolic-Interaction: A theoretical framework that sees society as the product of individuals interacting with one another. Technology: the practical use...
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...restrictions, some third party content may be suppressed. Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. The publisher reserves the right to remove content from this title at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. For valuable information on pricing, previous editions, changes to current editions, and alternate formats, please visit www.cengage.com/highered to search by ISBN#, author, title, or keyword for materials in your areas of interest. Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Licensed to: CengageBrain User Sociology in Our Times: Ninth Edition Diana Kendall Sponsoring Editor: Erin Mitchell Developmental Editor: Renee Deljon/Kristin Makarewycz Freelance Development Editor: Tricia Louvar Assistant Editor: Linda Stewart Editorial Assistant: Mallory Ortberg Media Editor: Mary Noel Marketing Manager: Andrew Keay Marketing Assistant: Jack Ward Marketing Communications Manager: Laura Localio Content Project Manager: Cheri Palmer Design Director: Rob Hugel Art...
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...culture, gender, sexuality, religion law as well as mobility. As there has been the interaction of social structures and individual based relations, sociology has expanded to include other areas such as medical, military, health, the Internet, and the role of social activity in developing scientific based knowledge. Social researchers use various techniques, which include quantitative and qualitative ones (Giddens and Griffiths, 2006). Social Imagination Social imagination is a form of insight provided by sociology. It is the understanding of the fact that social outcomes are based on the social actions, actors, and social context. This is the understanding that there are some things in the society that lead to certain outcomes. Sociological imagination is considered as the ability to see things socially, how they influence each other, and how they interact. For one to be said to have social imagination, they must show the ability to think in original way and have an alternative view of things (Robertson, 1979). Social imagination can be used in the...
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...makes us think mediocrely and make our lives unsuccessful. We can’t let our surroundings determine our abilities. Reading and analyzing “How Single Motherhood Hurts Kids” by Kay S. Hymowitz I noticed that she made a very clear argument on how being single mothers brings inequality and poverty to our society. This lead to how I can analyze single mothers through sociological imagination. Single mothers in fact are being vigorously expanded by the help of governments support. Single mothers in the United States aren’t suffering as much if they were to live elsewhere without any support. According to this article it shows that whether you live in a community were being a single mother is the norm, girls see no other alternative of a successful life choice. This shows that when you come from a low income family having a child at such a young age is expected from you because of your surroundings. Not including that many women stop using birth control several weeks after starting a sexual relationship. Most of the time when women don’t grow up with a father figure and have a daughter it most likely for the child to hurry and find replacement and try to feel love. Then in this case it’s when girls at such a young age gets pregnant because men don’t take full responsibilities of their actions and go through what their mother just got out of. This is something that’s going to be out for many generations if men aren’t committed to their relationship. For about 83% of single mothers in poverty...
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...What is Sociology of Education? Posted on December 27, 2010 by Sitwe This essay will firstly define education and sociology then it will define what sociology of education is and come up with a suitable definition on sociology of education from various definitions. This suitable definition will be discussed further because it speaks much of what goes on in education system. Peter Snelson (1974) defines education as a condition of human Survival. It is the means where by one generation Transmits the wisdom, knowledge and experience Which prepares the next generation for life duties And pleasure. This definition on education helps us to act with more insight and more intelligence in molding the youth in an acceptable manner. We can give a sound academic mission to the youth by teaching them survival skills such as carpentry, pottery, basketry and other survival skills which can better their lives. Human beings not only acquire new skills but also form the society. To this effect parents and teachers should work hand in hand in order to help the youths themselves have knowledge and in coming up with relevant ways it’s a matter of assisting them. By teaching the young ones, knowledge is transmitted from one generation to the next. This simply enlightens us that education is a continuous process. The statement “sky is the limit” helps us to have a wide knowledge about all aspects of education. Education prepares individuals to do things it is their responsibility to do them. For instance...
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