Sociological Imagniation essays

Sociological Imagniation essays What is Sociology? Sociology enables us to understand the structure and dynamics of society, and their intricate connections to patterns of human behavior and individual life changes. It examines the ways in which the forms of social structure - groups, organizations, communities, social categories such as class, sex, age, or race, and various social institutions such as economic, political, or religious affect human attitudes, actions, and opportunities. Sociology also explores how both individuals and collectivities construct, maintain, and alter social organization in various ways. Sociology asks about the sources and consequences of change in social arrangements and institutions, and about the satisfactions and difficulties of planning, accomplishing, and adapting to such change. Sociological imagination is a special way to engage the world. To think sociologically is to realize that what we experience as personal problems are often widely shared by others like us. Many of our personal problems are actually social issues. What is the difference between trouble and issue? Troubles: Within the character of the individual and within the range of his or her immediate relationship with others. They have to deal with self and within those limited areas of social life of which he or she is directly and personally aware of. Issue: It has to do with matters that transcend the local or immediate relationships of the individual. They have to deal with different kind of environments that overlap and penetrate each other to form the larger structure of social and historic life. The difference between two is a critical issue for sociological imagination and a feature of all classic work in social science. Most issues cant be defined in terms of everyday environments of common men. Issues involve a crisis in institutional arrangements and often involve contradictions or opposition. The sociological imagination helps ...