Cesar Alinsky : Models Of Liberation Sociology

Chapter six brings a different approach at introducing the importance of sociology. This chapter, focuses upon the historical significance of American sociology as society knows of it today. It discusses many different aspects of sociology, but it intentionally focuses on these important aspects that include: “The Chicago school”, sociologists whom attributed to American sociology, and the rise of female sociologists. These three fundamentals establish the overall history of American sociology.

The sociological imagination as described by C. Wright Mills is “the ability to understand the intersection between biography and history or interplay of self and the world.” (13) Mills also describes the sociological imagination by saying, “we have come to know every individual lives, from one generation to the next, in some society; that he lives out a biography, and that he lives out within some historical sequence. By the fact of his living he contributes, however minutely, to the shaping of this society and to the course of its history, even as he is made by society and by its historical push and shove.” (1) In saying this statement, Mills leads us into what he calls the history and the biography of sociological imagination. Mills describes history has being part of the individual and biography being part of society. In an excerpt from his book, The Sociological Imagination, he talks about how troubles are our history. Mills states, “troubles occur within the character of the individual and within the range of his immediate relations with other; they have to do with self ad with those limited areas of social life of which he is directly and personally aware.” Mills says this about biography, “Issues have to do with matters that transcend these local environments of the individual and the range of his inner life.” (2)

The LGBT+ rights movement has acquired a considerable amount of momentum and visibility within the past few decades. This accomplishment is often attributed to political activists, TV personalities, or prominent religious figures such as Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum. Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum is commonly viewed as one of the most influential rabbis and LGBT+ voices in the religious field. In her early years, Sharon Kleinbaum received an Orthodox education, but was raised with Conservative Judaism in her household. Orthodox and Conservative forms of Judaism are not especially fond of those that perform homosexual acts, which conflicted with Sharon Kleinbaum’s identity as a proud lesbian woman. She began her rabbinical studies in 1985, a mere thirteen

Social movements frequently engage in some formal resistance operations thereby creating a different image from the normal running of the United States. Education systems that are available in the textbooks and elementary schools give some few lies about the US politics and laws. According to the basic background of the United States, it was known to be the sexiest and racist in the world but in the present days, they have entirely changed due to the changing of different laws. Spade has described the use of racial projects to show the transformation that was experienced in the United States. Therefore, the social movement has enabled the categorization of people through their gender, national origin, indignity, and race. According to Spade, “Resistance to the political theories has helped in the fight against the state violence that could create central harms especially to women, people with disabilities, immigrants and native people.” The rise in the editorial sectors towards updating the available textbooks has

There are many definitions for the word radical, but in the book it is referencing the word as political term. Radical is defined by dictionary.com as, “thoroughgoing or extreme, especially as regards change from accepted or traditional forms; favoring drastic political, economic, or social reforms”. Saul D. Alinsky is known as the “father of community organizing”, who was born on January. 30, 1909 in Chicago, Illinois. He was an radical activist, community organizer, and author.

Saul Alinsky was an American social organizer who was known for his radical ideas. These ideas eventually became Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, published in 1971, and contained twenty-four different rules. Thirteen of Alinsky’s rules focused on how to control and/or manipulate people to do what one wanted. The eleven other rules pertained to the ethics of means and ends. Alinsky was very controversial, and his rules were no exception.

After having read the first three chapters of “You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like A Sociologist,” I easily discovered that I have been a budding sociologist since I began forming my own thoughts. A sociologist questions everything and tries to relate the unknown, and I do that on a daily basis. Three specific ways in which I have noticed myself thinking like a sociologist have involved the Conflict Theory, the Reflection Theory, and the idea of “positivism.”

In Peter Berger's "Invitation to Sociology", the sociological perspective was introduced. Berger asserts that it is important to examine new or emotionally or morally challenging situations from a sociological perspective in order to gain a clearer understanding of their true meanings. This perspective requires a person to observe a situation through objective eyes. It is important to "look beyond" the stereotypical establishments of a society and focus on their true, hidden meanings. Consideration of all the hidden meanings of social customs, norms, deviations and taboos, allow one to establish an objective image about the truth behind it. This method can also be applied to understanding people. This questioning, Berger says, is the

One of the strengths of promise of sociology, which is the sociological imagination, is it helps to see and think outside the box and to analyze a better understanding to gain benefit that a person can earn in a society. An individual is more conscious about himself or herself and the people in society. In addition, an individual will know how human behavior interacts with the society. The people are not related but also experience same events in life, like personal troubles and social issues. The sociological imagination gives an individual the capability to understand the relationship of biography, history, and traditions related to social and historical events in society experience by the individual or society. Mills’ wants us to understand the individual's biography and lifestyles know the his or her surroundings and

C. Wright Mills, author of “The Sociological Imagination”, explains how the sociological imagination plays a part in human development, and how certain social forces affecting the lives of those who are constantly facing hardships. He explains that the problems that we face as human beings involve the history of social factors. In order to understand one’s personal biography, you would have to be able to know how social history affects your life. By him saying that “The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. That is its task and its promise” (Mills, 1959: 15), he means that the history that we experienced has an impact on our everyday lives. The correlation between history and biography can help us understand why we experience the things that we experience. Mills goes on to explain that our personal problems are, instead, wider public issues that have been

Throughout this essay, I will explain the distinction between sociological and common sense understanding, highlight the differences between sociology and other social sciences, and evaluate two sociological perspectives – Marxism and feminism.

After reviewing the article titles given for this first assignment, I believe they indicate that Sociology, generally speaking, is not only a study of diversity or commonality in traits among people; it is also a science about factors in a person’s life and how these factors culminate responses. Interestingly enough, its topics of concern seem to be directly determined by current and common events of the world. Through the invention and expansion of new ideas, popular trends and fashions through time, Sociology adapts to responsibly to service the very subjects of interest it studies; for, even the slightest change of a person’s daily experience can have an insurmountable impact on attitude, personal growth, family

selves. In doing this they live their lives to the fullest and not wishing they

Sociology and sociological thinking are a vital part of society, and through examining both society and individuals, sociology is able to make changes to areas such as policies, and attitudes that may have usually negatively affected them, and instead gained a positive result through the careful research, and applied knowledge.

These forces of the people is often discussed in the area of Sociology. After all, it is the study of people and their influence on society. This influence, from the people for the people, is what interests me about sociology. I want to know how people can spread their word across nations and convey the same message. By exploring modern topics in sociology, I can find similarities between radical events that make history. I can find a way to connect how the various protests and movements changed the world.