Question

Which concept discusses the relationship between “personal troubles” and “public issues”?

a. Stratification

b. Classism

c. Sociological imagination

d. Gender hierarchy

Answer 1

c. the sociological imagination

The term sociological imagination was coined by the American sociologist C. Wright Mills in 1959 to describe the type of insight offered by the discipline of sociology. The term is used in introductory textbooks in sociology to explain the nature of sociology and its relevance in daily life.

C. Wright Mills defined sociological imagination as "the awareness of the relationship between personal experience and the wider society".

Another way of describing sociological imagination is the understanding that social outcomes are based on what we do. To expand on that definition, it is understanding that some things in society may lead to a certain outcome. The factors mentioned in the definition are things like norms and motives, the social context may be the country and time period, and social action is the things we do that affect other people. The things we do are shaped by the situation we are in, the values we have, and the way people around us act. These things are examined for how they all relate to some sort of outcome. Sociological imagination can be considered as a quality of mind that understands the interplay of the individual and society.