The subject of sociology research is the features of the functioning of human communities. However, this or that phenomenon’s systemic nature and prevalence are only sometimes obvious. Quite often, it is difficult to establish whether the problem is a particular case or a global violation of the healthy functioning of society. An approach to solving this problem has become known as the sociological imagination. The essence of this method is to consider individual behavior from a historical and sociological point of view.
Charles Wright Mills introduced the term in the work of the same name. Mills spoke of contemporary Americans as a generation of people experiencing what a person would feel if he woke up one morning in his bed and suddenly felt that he was not sure that this was his bed. The house, which seems to be his home, is at the same time perceived as detached, as not entirely his. The meaning of the sociological imagination is to look at the problem at the same time through the eyes of oneself and the eyes of an outsider. Precisely sociological imagination consists of seeing political or social issues behind one’s private misfortunes and misfortunes.
The YouTube video on sociological imagination demonstrates the difference between an individual problem and a public issue. Lack of work for a particular person is his problem, and unemployment in the region at 10% is a public issue. At first glance, it may seem that the difference is only in numbers, but this is not entirely true. The scale of the problem only demonstrates its systemic nature. An isolated incident can be explained by chance or unfortunate circumstances. However, independent analysis helps to reveal the vice of society, the systemic algorithm that leads to the emergence of the same problem in many people. With the help of the sociological imagination, even a single case can help realize a public issue’s existence.
Health and sociology are inextricably linked: the features of the functioning of society directly affect the health of the individuals that make up society. The clip provides examples of sports and the global problem of obesity, the prevalence of which has a sociological basis. The cause of obesity is essentially the culture of food consumption, as well as the attitude of society towards this process. It is difficult for a person to make a conscious choice when others demonstrate a specific pattern of behavior, and an attempt to change it causes misunderstanding or even condemnation.
The problem of obesity is prevalent in the United States mainly due to a lack of access to healthy food. In some cases, this is due to the high cost of proper nutrition. Due to state subsidies to farms that produce high-calorie food, and the lack of such support for producers of fresh fruits and vegetables, the price of healthy food is significantly higher (Fox et al., 2018). Thus, the social problems of poverty and inequality turn into the issue of obesity. In some regions, the so-called food deserts, healthy food is not sold at all. Of course, this is also partly due to sociological reasons, such as the lack of corresponding demand (Fox et al., 2018). Examples like these show how sociology can study the systemic problems of society that lead to global health problems. The sociological imagination is an essential tool for identifying such issues.
Reference
Fox, N. J., Bissell, P., Peacock, M., & Blackburn, J. (2018). The micropolitics of obesity: Materialism, markets and food sovereignty. Sociology, 52(1), 111-127. Web.