Sociological Perspective & Social
Imagination
JOSE CARRASCO, ALEXIS TERRAZAS, & MARINA VITALICH
Sociological
Perspective
•
•
Perspective on
human behavior
and its connection
to society as a
whole.
Look for
connections
between the
behavior of
individual people
and the structures
of society in which
they live.
FailDesk. (2013, January 24). Retrieved February 11, 2015
from http://faildesk.net/2013/01/24/the-sad-truth-of-modernhuman-behavior-comic/
Sociological
Perspective
•
•
Involves maintaining
objectivity (not
being influenced by
personal feelings)
without depriving
ourselves of our
values.
Involves a conscious
effort to go beyond
the obvious and
question what is
accepted as true or
common sense.
Urban, Tim. (2015). Retrieved February 11, 2015 from
http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/02/pick-life-partner.html
Theoretical Perspectives

Functionalism: oddly positive way to look at society

Conflict Theory: more negative approach and view of
society

Symbolic Interactionism: focuses on symbols found in
society, what they mean to us, and how they affect how
we interact with others in our society.
Social Imagination
Coined by the
American Sociologist
C Wright Mills in 1959.
•
•
•
Mills' definition: "the
vivid awareness of
the relationship
between
experience and
wider socitey."
Ability to perceive
situations and
circumstances in a
wide social context.
Social Imagination
•
•
Ability to observe
how interactions
and actions are
influential upon
other individuals
and situations.
Ability to "think
yourself away from
the familiar routines
of everyday life"
and look at them
from an entirely
new perspective.
Example of Social Imagination:
"Tea Drinking"

In one case, it can be seen as a sign of good health.

It could be considered a tradition or ritual as many people chose to
drink tea ritualistically each day at certain times.

It could be considered a type drug being that it contains caffeine
and the drinker of the tea could have a caffeine addiction.

It can also be seen as a social activity; "meeting for tea"

focuses less on the drinking of the beverage and more on the action of
meeting with another person.
Other Behaviors That Involve Social
Imagination

exercising

working

drinking coffee

owning a pet

cooking

volunteering

bike riding

competing in athletic competition

running

traveling

writing

painting

reading

driving a car

public speaking

religious practice

going to college

giving to charity

dropping out of school
*In any case where
you think about these
issues or activities
from different
perspectives from
your customary
approach is an
example of Social
Imagination
Example of Sociological
Perspective: Then & Now
Then
Now
Works Consulted

Writing Assignments. (2013, January 22). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from
https://justmysociologicalimagination.wordpress.com/writing-assignments/

Examples of Sociological Imagination. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9th, 2015, from
http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-sociological-imagination.html

C. Wright Mills' Sociology. (2005, March 1). Retrieved February 9, 2015, from
http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/users/f/felwell/www/Theorists/Essays/Mills3.htm

Mills, C. Wright. (1959). The Sociological Imagination. Retrieved February 10, 2015, from
http://legacy.lclark.edu/~goldman

Enotes. (2012, March 19). Retrieved February 9, 2015, from http://www.enotes.com/homeworkhelp/what-sociology-perspective-324286

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (2014) Retrieved February 9, 2015, from
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/sciences/sociology/the-sociological-perspective/three-major-perspectivesin-sociology

Your Dictionary. (1996-2015). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from
http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-sociological-imagination.html