Thinking Outside The Box By C. Wright Mills

C. Wright Mills has been defined by some as the pioneer of the new radical sociology that emerged in the 1950s, in which his book, The Sociological Imagination (1959), has played a crucial role (Restivo 1991, p.61). This essay will attempt to explain what the “sociological imagination” is, and why it has been important in the development of sociology over the last fifty to sixty years. In order to do this, it will firstly be essential to consider Mills’ work, however, in addition to this we will look at the influence on Mills that helped him form the idea of a “sociological imagination”. Furthermore, sociologists’ reactions to his work will be considered in order to assess

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

Firstly, C. Wright Mills’ concept of sociological imagination is “stimulated by a willingness to view the social worlds from the perspective of others”

What is sociological imagination? According to C. Wright Mills sociological imagination is the ability to see how individual experiences are connected to the larger society. Sociological perspective enables one to grasp connection to history and biography. History is the background and biography is the individual’s specific experiences. C.Wright Mills came up with the idea that in order for one to understand their personal lives the need to look beyond personal experiences and look at larger political, social, and economic issues of others. “It is the capacity to range from the most impersonal and remote transformations to the most intimate

Sociological imagination is the “quality of mind” (Mills, 1959: p. 4) that enables us to look outside our everyday life and see the entire society as we were an outsider with the benefit of acknowledge of human and social behaviour. It allows us to see how society shapes and influences our life experiences. Is the ability to see the general in the particular and to “defamiliarise the familiar” (Bauman 1990: p. 15). According to C. Wright Mills, it “enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals” (Mills, 1959: p. 5). These

“The first wisdom of sociology is this:  things are not what they seem”  (Berger 1963)  http://archiv.watzlawickehrenring.at/2008/peter‐l‐berger/fotos.html Berger, P. (1963).  Invitation to Sociology, Bantam Doubleday Dell cited in:  http://www.soc.iastate.edu/sapp/Berger.html: date accessed 12 January  2016. Key Concept: The sociological imagination C. Wright Mills: “ …enables its possessor to  understand  the

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)

If Sociology is the systematic study of human society, then sociological imagination is what we perceive or think about how people work and or think in a more personal and bias matter. C.W. Mills believes that merging two different theories of social reality of the “individual” and “society”. Mills challenges readers and learners by arguing many basic terms and definitions from what “we” believe are right. Chapters one and two talks about how society portrays what we know rather then the facts. Our bias opinions and beliefs often go against what science has proven.

Mills said in his essay, “the most fruitful distinction with which the sociological imagination works is between ‘the personal troubles of milieu’ and ‘the public issues of social structure’” (1959, 4).

C. Wright Mills defined sociological perspective as the ability to “think yourself away from the familiar routines of everyday life” and “the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society.”

The sociological imagination is an idea or a way of thinking that interlocks an individual in a society with the society as a whole. Most people refer to sociology as the study of how people or individuals interact with each other. In order to fully understand sociology and the concept of the sociological imagination as proposed by C. Wright Mills, one has to be able to envision the individual and the society working together to better understand the role each plays in the social order. C. Wright Mills states that "Sociology must make a connection between the individual and the social. It must allow the individual to see the larger context in which his or her life is lived, and in

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.

In this essay, I will use Mills’ conception of the sociological imagination to analyze my own biography. Initially, I will explain what Mills means by the sociological imagination and explain his distinction between personal troubles and public issues. Next, I will use my sociological imagination to reflect on my personal biography. I will take an issue, incident, or circumstance from my own experience and demonstrate how it could be understood as a product of social and historical forces. I will use Mills’ conception of personal troubles and public issues to explain my own biographical detail socially. Lastly, I will explain the interplay between personal troubles and public issues.

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.