Sociological Imagination

Sociological imagination is a concept that was defined in 1959 by American sociologist C. Wright Mills. He described it as an awareness of the relationship between a person’s behavior and experience and the wider culture that shaped the person’s choice and perceptions. It helps us relate our own experiences to others. Sociological imagination can help us understand the difference between personal troubles and public issues by determining if it is a problem in someone’s own history or if it is an issue in the society or culture’s history.

Understanding how the historical factors have influenced Indigenous Australians helps operationalise the sociological imagination. The history of Indigenous people is important as many of the disadvantages they endure today is connected to the past. A historical awareness influences individuals to understand how organisations and institutions impact the health and wellbeing of a minority (Germov, 2002).The existence of Indigenous Australians well begins before the European invasion and colonisation of Australia. Aboriginal people were the native land owners, as they have been in Australia for over 60,000 years, prior to the British settlement in 1788.3 (workingwithindigenousaustralians.info, 2017). Indigenous Australians have been living off

Since World War 2 and the Vietnam War, Australia has become a multicultural country. Before the Vietnam War, though, the Australian government tried their best to keep Australia ‘white’. After the fear of communism from Vietnam, the government thought it would be in the country’s best interest to try and build up the population in Australia, but only allowing ‘white’ Europeans and British people to come. What is included in this report, is to discover how and why the migrants from non-European countries manage to change the face of modern Australia.

Reports from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2003a, 2003b, as cited in Ashman & Elkins, 2009, p. 7) show 25% of the Australian population is currently made up of migrants from around 200 countries. This fact demonstrates Australia, on the whole, has a tolerant and inclusive society. A society can be identified as a collection of people who live together in a relatively ordered community (Ashman & Elkins, 2009, p. 7). It could be said, Australia has one of the most inclusive societies on the planet; however, this was not always the case.

Australia has been a culturally diverse society since long before white settlement. The indigenous people had many different cultures, languages and customs, even members of the First Fleet came from a number of culturally significant backgrounds. Diversity in Australia took large strides 67 years ago with the beginning of the Snowy River Scheme which promoted skilled immigrants to come here and work, because as a nation just after World War II we lacked the manpower and knowledge to complete such a large and complicated project.

Since the beginning of European colonization in 1788, Aboriginal people have experienced displacement, have been the targets of genocidal policies and practices, and have had families destroyed through the forcible removal of children. Decades of colonial exploitation and a prolonged systematic attempt to destroy Aboriginal people and culture have led to legislations and policies that are punitive and restrictive towards Aboriginal people. Such legislation reflects the dominant society’s perceptions of Aboriginal people and how they ought to be

The concept of “sociological imagination” is one that can be explained many different ways. A simple way to think of the sociological imagination is to see it as a way a person thinks, where they know that what they do from day to day in their private lives (like the choices they make), are sometimes influenced by the larger environment in which they live (Mills 1959, 1). What C.W. Mills meant by this concept is that it is the ability to “understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals” (1959, 3). In other words, the concept of sociological imagination is the ability to realize that the choices people make and their personal environments are often

Culture is always changing. Beliefs, behaviours and presentation, religion and language all form part of what is an individual’s or community’s culture. (Bowes, Grace, & Hodge, 2012, p.75 & 77). Due to its intrinsic nature, when people migrate to Australia, they bring their culture with them. As migrants come from all over the world, and not the one place, their

Noel Pearson’s speech ‘an Australian history for us all’ discusses his approach to trying to solve some of the most systemic problems facing Australian Aboriginals today. The speakers are successful in understanding the ideas and values of the speech. Through the uses of various language techniques and context, Pearson’s speech details the struggles of the relationship between the first European settlers and Aboriginal Australians.

Historically, Australia and its policies were not accepting of immigration of a Multicultural Australia. With the ‘White Australia Policy’, adopted in 1901 (when the colonies

Sociological imagination is merely the connection between a person and the society. Every person is connected to and influenced by society to a different extent. Some people are completely absorbed in society and feel obligated to keep up with the trends, or else they feel like an outlier. On the other hand, some people do not keep up with the trends of society because they could care less about others opinions. Sociological imagination can be used to show the relationship between both those types of people and the society, and it can be used to explain how people view society from their point of view. When people look at societies from an outsider’s point of view, “rather than only from the perspective of personal experiences and cultural biases” (Schaefer 4), they are able to notice the things that shape and mold their character. The outsider perspective also provides them with a better understanding of themselves by understanding the relationship between them and society.

Sociological Imagination Sociological Imagination is referred to as an understanding of our personal lives and experiences with our social world. This was introduced by C. Mills in 1959, with the intentions that sociological imagination can be distinguished between personal trouble and public issues (Leon-Guerrero, 2014, p. 7). The purpose of it is to assist individuals in recognizing that personal trouble and public issues are two different aspects. According to Mills the sociological imagination challenges the claim that the problem is natural or based on an individual failure, instead of how is established from society. Unemployment, student loan, and obesity are all examples of social issues that individuals have similar experiences.

“Neither life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both,” stated mid-20th century American sociologist C. Wright Mills. In order to understand both, one needs a quality of mind that will use information and develop reason to grasp what is going on in the world and what may be happening within oneself. This quality of mind, coined by Mills, is one that all great social analysts seem to possess: the sociological imagination (Ferris). Sociologists use this tool because it allows them to shift from one perspective to another, enabling them to step outside their own, personal, self-centered view of the world. They are forced to perceive, from an objective position, events and social structures that influence behavior, attitudes, and culture (Lumen). Employing the sociological imagination can help not only sociologists, but anyone gain a better understanding of an individual and the society in which one lives in.

Throughout history to present day, Australian culture has become the product of a distinct blend of established traditions and new influences. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the country’s original inhabitants, created the foundation for the land’s cultural traditions over 40,000 years ago. In addition, the rest of Australia’s people are migrants or descendants of migrants from various other countries who transported their own customs, beliefs, and value systems to the land. As a result, Australia’s culture has significantly broadened its social and cultural profile over the years, and still continues to evolve today.

Sociological imagination can be defined as the ability to see the social forces in the world that have an impact on your life. It is imperative to use sociological imagination in order to fully understand one’s self, and the factors that contribute to one’s own beliefs and personality. Culture, social structure, and power are the three sociological concepts that have had the most influence on my life’s aspects. On July 25, 1998, doctors and nurses at the hospital in which I was born in pronounced me as a female. The social label of being a female became my gender and has since played an important part in each and every situation in my life.