Sociological imagination is the capacity to distinguish how large scale social forces and individual actions relate. In this realm one can be able to see the relationship between historical changes and the lives of individuals. One can be able to tell the operation of social causation in the society. It is a description of the insight that is offered by the sociological discipline. It also explains the relevance that is offered by sociology in our daily lives (Mills, 5).
Sociological imagination aids a person in realizing that one is not usually in control of the issues that affect their lives in a vast extent. It assists the individual not to focus on the meager causes of a certain problem but to look at the bigger picture when analyzing a certain problem in life.
According to this concept, culture has a lot to do with the social shapes and happening in our lives. Culture has a direct influence on the way that we talk, the way we learn and the orientation of our thoughts. With sociological imagination, the conscience of a person is simplified to avoid stressful thinking which might have resulted from major losses in life.
When a person happens to suffer a job loss or some other significant loss in life, sociological imagination can be beneficial in assisting the person in being able to comprehend that the loss is not absolutely due to their will. There are so many responsibilities in our daily lives that might have a direct or an indirect influence on our jobs leading to the job loss. At times, one can lose a job because the company that he is working in has a lower demand and thus low market capabilities. Such a problem is beyond the control of an individual (Rose, 13).
Some of the excuses that can come in from the concept of sociological imagination vary. A person can be fired due to incompetency. This incompetency could have resulted from poor education because of lack of funds or due to irresponsible parents.
A drop out can assume that the cause of dropping out from school was due to the norm in the family where everyone was taking part in the same behavior. This might have resulted from poor conditions in their respective schools like being harassed by their peers to an extent that they could not condone the conditions (Mills, 6).
According to Mills, any occurrence in the life of an individual has an interrelation with the society. In getting to know how the life of a certain individual is, one should look at the immediate surrounding. This will help the person in being able to perceive the image as a whole basing the happenings with the surroundings (Kendall, 7).
It is not possible to cover all the variables that are involved with this field. The concept of sociological imagination is due to the human nature to make a discovery and a subsequent interpretation of the meaning of our day to day experiences. It basically involves learning nature between social groups in a society. Sociological imagination thus will help play a crucial role in helping a certain individual be able to come to terms with various things that occur in life and thus be able to forge ahead smoothly (Kendall, 6).
Works Cited
Kendall, Diana. Sociology in our times, (6 Ed.) Michigan: Cengage Learning. pp. 6–7. 2007
Mills, C. Wright. The Sociological Imagination, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1959
Rose, K. Golden. “Mills and the Profession of Sociology”, In the New Sociology, (Ed). Irving Lewis Horowitz, New York: Oxford University Press. 1964.