Sociological Perspectives

Deviance and Sociological Perspectives The current paper aims to discuss deviance in accordance with Structural Functional theory and Conflict Perspective theory. It is important to note that deviance is usually understood as a specific behavior, which seriously differs from the accepted social standards and mainstream trends. The deviance is especially noticeable in communication patterns and sexual life. There seems to be no doubt that deviance is present in any state due to the specific social laws discussed by the different theories (Ritzer 83-84).

The sociological imagination is the term Mills uses to describe one’s ability to see things socially. It is the ability to switch perspectives and be able to see the relationship between the two, to understand history and biography within society (Mills 2). Being able to switch between personal troubles and public issues and understanding the difference and relationship of the two plays a huge role in the use of the sociological imagination (Mills 4). Mill’s uses unemployment as an example. In a large city where we have just one person unemployed, we have a personal trouble. You look into the individual to find the reason and solution. If in this city, more than half of the population is unemployed, we have an issue. Looking into each unemployed individual will not help here. We must consider the economic and political institutions of the society (Mills 4). Mills also uses the example of war. The personal trouble may be to survive or finding a way to contribute to the wars end. The causes of the war would be the issue in this situation. Also, an issue, if the war will affect economic, political, family or religious institutions. The sociological imagination enables one to understand the meaning of the larger historical scene.

Growing up, almost every parent will tell you, “you can be anything you set your mind to!” or “the possibilities are endless”. But from an early childhood my parents were creating an opportunity structure for my life. Through my 20 years, how I was taught, the places I went to, the people I interacted with and the implications of society and societal norms followed me. As with many other families, my parents focused on setting me up for the best possible future. But little did they know, they were contributing to a society where some people are allotted more privileges and opportunities than others. I will attempt to deconstruct this complex social construction by looking at gender, social class, family influences, race, and socialization; which will be discussed in greater detail further along. When analyzing sociological concepts like gender, social class, and race sociologists use a “sociological lens”. Using a sociological lens will allow me to take the experiences I had and look at them on a broader cultural level. Ultimately sociologists use sociological lenses to better understand how personal experiences not only impact 1 person but how they can be applied in a broader context, allowing individuals to relate to others in society who may have had similar experiences.

Sociological imagination is the ability to understand how internal and external factors affect an individual in all aspects of society. According to Mills, an individual with sociological imagination can understand and learn from his own experiences, which is imperative for personal growth. It is important that people are able to relate their daily lives to the local, national, and global societal

According to C. Wright Mills, the sociological imagination is when an individual views his society as the potential cause for his daily successes and failures. Individuals often tend to view their personal issues as social problems and try to connect their individual experiences with the workings of society. Mills believes that this is the way for individuals to gain an understanding of their personal dilemmas. The sociological imagination helps people connect their own problems with public problems and their history. In order for an individual to figure out the causes of their problems, they first have to be able to understand the causes of the problems in the society in which they are living in. The sociological imagination tries to

In the world of sociology there are many different ways that humans interact with the world. Although we are all human beings, we do not always see the world the same way that others do. Even though not many are aware of the different ways they can see the world, there are three sociological perspectives. Using structural functionalism, the conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism one will be able to decide which view best represents the way they see this world. When asked about my perspective on the world, I view it using the conflict theory due to the examples that society gives us based on events that happen frequently. Even though all three of these theories are socially correct, the conflict theory defines my view of the world more than structural functionalism and symbolic interaction.

Growing up, my life was somewhat sheltered compared to the lives of other people my age. I was raised by both my mom and dad in a Christian household, in which I was taught morals based upon our faith. As a result of this upbringing, my parents and I made the decision to enroll me in a private Christian school in sixth grade. In this setting I was protected from the influences of the outside world. All of the language, violence, and temptations were around me, which I began to recognize as I entered my freshman year of high school. Even the walls of the highly respected establishment could not keep the real world out.

Sociological imagination by C.Wright Mills can be defined as addressing social problems by relating the individuals personal trouble with the way society is organized and structured” (Tepperman & Albanese, 2014,p. 2). Sociological imagination is the ability to see things socially and how they interact and influence our daily lives and each other. To have a sociological imagination, we need to be able to pull ourselves away from the situation and to be able to

Defined by C. Wright Mills sociological imagination is being able to detect the relationship between cultural change and the actions of people. Any behavior can have social imagination applied to it by thinking outside the box and looking at everyday situations with a new perspective. A person can look at their own personal issues and compare them to society. For example a person living in poverty might connect their issues to the government in which they live in. Due to the society changing every day, many problems people face today are often social problems and similar to others around the world. The lack of living life is seen as a personal weakness therefore this makes the problem worse. The idea of sociological imagination can be misused

When it comes to talking about sociological imagination “neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both”. This is one of the statements written by C. Wright Mills when explaining the sociological imagination. In my own word I believe that sociological imagination is being able to understand and comprehend the concept of how internal and external factor having an affect on an individual life behavior, and choices in society. Whether its a macro problem (self problem) , or micro problem (social problem) also being able to relate the two in society. There are many examples for sociological imagination one of the most common ones pertains to unemployment. A person facing unemployment

In “The Promise of Sociology”, C. Wright Mills introduces the concept know as the Sociological Imagination (Elwell, 2013). According to Mills, sociological imagination is all about determining the relationship between ordinary lives of people and the wider social forces. In other words, sociological Imagination differentiates between a “personal trouble” and a “public issue”. It helps us identify the relationship between our own individual troubles and problems that are on a larger scale (Elwell, 2013).

In chapter one of our book it is talking about the sociological perspective. Sociology is defined as the systematic study of human society. It is explained that sociological perspective is seeing the common in the specific. Sociologists look for common patterns in the behavior of certain people. I found it very interesting in chapter one where it states that higher class white men are more likely to commit suicide than any other population and that between genders; men are more likely to commit suicide. This is interesting because I would have thought the roles were reversed. I would have thought that women are more likely to commit suicide because women are more emotional than men. Later on in the chapter it goes on to talk about how to apply sociological perspective. It can be applied in three different ways. It can be applied in one’s life, one’s work, and in studying sociology. When we apply sociological perspective to our lives we are more likely to become active and more aware. After applying sociological perspective we begin to think more critically in our everyday lives. There are three major theoretical approaches. The structural-functional approach is the basic layout for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work simultaneously to stimulate harmony and strength. The social-conflict approach sees society as a place of inequality that produces struggle and change. Lastly is the symbolic-interaction approach. This approach sees that

The sociological imagination is the “quality of mind” (Mills, 1959: 4) that enables individuals to look outside their private sphere of consciousness and identify the structures and institutions in society that influence or cause their personal experiences. In this way, by looking at the bigger picture, they can understand their place in society and explain their circumstance in terms of societal influence.

From The Sociological Imagination by C. Wright Mills addresses a distinction between personal troubles and public issues. Mills uses specific examples like unemployment and societal development. Mills explains the ability to connect the individual problems with societal problems. Throughout the text, we can see how Mills uses the perspective of an individual to explain the perspective of society and vice versa. Using sociological imagination, I will explain how education is influenced by society and history, and how there is positive and negative lessons to be taken out of The Sociological Imagination.

According to C. Wright Mills, the sociological imagination is seeing how the unique historical circumstances of a particular society affect people and seeing how people affect history. “The Promise” basically explains why the life of individuals and history of society cannot be understood without understanding both. Throughout the article, Mills try to persuade human to use the sociological imagination method because it actually helps shape individuals and the society. Without sociological imagination ancient ways of life are broken up and vague expectations become urgent demands. Mills believes that human are lost on knowledge in this world. Several examples are used to differentiate between public issues and personal troubles. Personal troubles occur within the character of the individual and have to do with self, while public issues have to do with the organization of many because it is a public matter that deals with institutions of a historical society as a whole. For example, unemployment was used in the article so readers can thoroughly understand the difference between a personal trouble and public issue. If one person out of the entire city does not have a job, then it is only affecting that individual. On the other hand, if something occurs within the city and leaves several people jobless, then that is a public issue that city officials should try to solve. “The Promise” of using the sociological imagination is using it in your everyday life to examine what is