sociological imagination Flashcards
what allows you to expand your sociological imagination
Developing your sociological eye
who developed the sociological imagination and why
Mills (1959) - in response to rapid social changes in the United States in the 1950s. E.g. world war II - Economic changes lead to individuals making choices
what is the Basic premise and Mills’ theory on this
Individuals fail to understand their own experiences within the context of broader shifts in society and history
- Mills theorized that this was especially true when considering problems that arise in our own lives (private troubles - micro) and connecting these to broader events and arrangements in their society and surroundings (public issues - macro)
what is the micro and the micro scale
macro (large – scale community; cultural)
micro (smaller; individual)
what is the sociological imagination
The ability to connect what is happening in your own life and in the lives of others to social patterns in the larger society (Hinote and Wasserman, 2016; Korgen and Atkinson, 2019)
- Mills theorizes it comes from our ability to see the connection between “public issues” and “private troubles
- Link to The Fallacy of the Individualistic Perspective (individual fallacy)
what is a myth in our society
We as individuals determine our own lives
what are private troubles
Occur within the individual (biography) e.g. a kids parents divorce
what are public issues
Matters that transcend the individual and occur in the social world/environment (history) e.g. person sad because parents spilt, but during the 1970s sociological changes like legal rights and protections for women - enabled more women to exit relationships; the decline of religiosity; cost of living increases, which required more women to join the workforce; etc.) resulted in on overall increase in divorces within society at that time
important questions we ask when we use our sociological imagination
- WHAT IS THE STRUCTURE OF THIS SOCIETY AS A WHOLE? - essential components of this society and how they are related to one another
- WHERE DOES THIS SOCIETY STAND IN HISTORY? - How has this society developed and What are its key components
- WHAT VARIETIES NOW PREVAIL FOR DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS IN SOCIETY AND IN THIS PERIOD? - what varieties are coming and how are they formed
what does sociology study
how society works
- Sociologists follow rules that ensure transparency and replicability of research
- Theoretical perspectives help sociologists study the social world
- Different theories ask different questions about social world
what are stereotypes
- Predetermined ideas about particular groups of people
- Can be used to promote or excuse discriminatory treatment
what is Sociological generalization
- Based on social scientific research
- Used to describe rather than judge people
- Generalizations and research questions change with new data e.g. the generalization that “Most people in the United States oppose cohabitation” was once true but no longer qualifies as a good generalization
what is the scientific research process
- Sociologists collect and analyze data to learn more about how society works - as a result social scientists make generalizations about patterns they observe in society
- These generalizations/statements are based on data that is collected (backed by empirical evidence)
e.g. What we have been discussing –> the age at first marriage is increasing
2 Core Commitments in sociology
- To use the sociological eye to observe social patterns
- Noticing patterns of injustice and taking action to challenge those patterns
2 early social scientists
Jane Adams
W.E.B Du Bois
- both looked to find ways to understand and
improve the social world
