Sociological Imagination Essay examples -- Sociology

To understand the term `Sociological Imagination', it is important to identify what Sociology is and what do sociologists study. It is also vital to look at the three basic concerns of the sociological imagination or perspective, which include Social Structure, Social Institutions and Social Processes. Moreover, it is necessary to understand what C. Wright Mills means when he mentions "the personal troubles of milieu" and "the public issues of social structure", and how it helps us to understand the society in which we live in. What is `Sociological Imagination'? To answer this question a person must first know what Sociology is. Sargent (1994) states that "There is no short answer... however, we can come to understand the nature of Sociology." It may be explained as the study of society. R.Van Kraken et all (2000) explains it in a more complex sense as "the description and analysis of the social forces that shape human behavior in contemporary social life." Sociological imagination is central to the study of society because it allows many of the perso...