The Concept Of Sociological Imagination By C. Wright Mills
With over 7. 4 billion people on the plant, it is easy to feel lost and purposeless. C. Wright Mills, a sociologist in the 1940’s, recognized that there is an increased “sense of being trapped”, as we feel we are incapable of overcoming our difficulties. Mills proposed the idea of the sociological Imagination, which explores the relationship between individuals and society. Mills believes that we all have troubles in our day to day lives, but often neglect the societal forces behind these troubles.
The Sociological Imagination was written to open people’s minds to a new way of thinking, in order to develop a sense of their role in society. The sociological imagination is the concept of taking yourself out of your own headspace and envisioning your situation through an alternative point of view. It is a perspective in our minds that we are essentially able to switch on and off, moving from your self -perspective to the perspective of society. It allows people to understand their choices and dilemmas as a product of societal influence. Mills defines these dilemmas as personal troubles and public issues. A personal trouble is something you experience individually, when “ the values cherished by an individual are felt… to be threatened”. These are problems many others may struggle with including divorce, unemployment and famine. A public issue is a when the “values cherished by the public are felt to be threatened” often due to a “crisis within institutional arrangements”.
Many of these troubles felt by individuals can trace back to a greater societal issue. When many people are challenged with the same issue caused by a societal arrangement, than it is a public issue. Eating disorders for instance might be considered a personal trouble, due to someone’s low self-esteem. However, in a society where 20% of women suffer from eating disorders, you must explore how society has caused women to idealize skinny bodies through media usage. In this case, eating disorders would be considered a public issue. A main aspect of the sociological imagination is the relationship between biography and history. Mills sates that individuals can only “understand there own experience and gauge there own fate by locating themselves within there period”. By this, Mills stresses that it is impossible to know your own biography without understanding that you are a product of history. People create, and are created by history. In order to understand the social structures we have in place now, we must examine the past to see how the way of life has changed over the years, resulting in our current world operation. Therefore, when confronted with a private trouble, one must think about what historical change has occurred to inflict this misfortune, in order to combat the feeling of being trapped.
Technological advancements has been key in in shaping history. As technology progresses, the way we do things cha and our society progresses in a different way. Spread of knowledge. The roles of individuals also change Mills states that “as technology changes, our societies change and the role of individuals change”. As technology progresses, the way we utilize it evolves and may replace humans on certain tasks leaving people feeling useless. For example elevators used to require elevator men to operate the lift. Technology has replaced him but he must not blame himself and realize that it is the process of evolution. Technology has changed the way we communicate, interact and meet people. People must figure out new ways to make themselves. Take online dating apps for instance. Where previously people relied on oral communication to meet someone and develop a relationship now everything is done online so you need good written communication. With new emojis and symbols to communicate.
Using the Sociological Imagination, we can examine how our personal decisions are influenced by society. Faced with a society that values STEM degrees, I choose to become a lifeguard. For example, when I was 14, I started training to become a lifeguard. Many of my friends were considering pursuing this profession due to its relatively high pay rate. A full time lifeguard in Canada earns $41, 000 a year on average, which is just under the average Canadian salary of $51, 000. I deemed it was necessary to invest time and money into the extensive training required for becoming a lifeguard at /a young age, as a way to secure a career in the future. I have always planned on attending university, however in our present day industry, we have what economist Francis Fong refers to as the “boomerang effect”, where university graduates are forced to accept jobs, which may pay lower than anticipated, outside their field of study in order to combat unemployment. Being a certified lifeguard and having a year of experience with two different municipalities has taken the pressure off me to find a job straight out of university and comply with my desire to be self-sufficient. Historical changes in Canada has led to new societal forces affecting graduates of today than in previous decades that are contributing to this boomerang affect. First off, more people have been pursuing a high school education than previous generations contributing to Canada’s 88% graduation rate. With more people graduating high school, the value of the diploma has decrease (conference board). Furthermore, with the increase of technology, Canada has switched from a labour intensive economy to a technology dominated economy. This has caused even the most basic jobs to require critical thinking and problem solving skills. Therefore, more employers require higher qualifications than before (immigration news).
The reason why I was able to start working at a young age is that lifeguarding does not require a degree from an educational institution, but requires you to take separate courses through the lifesaving society. Lifeguarding is still a labour intensive job with no technological involvement in the career so far. With technology advancements on the rise, STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) degrees are in high demand. Statistics Canada reported that students graduating with a bachelor’s degree in STEM, are more likely to find work in their field of degree opposed to BHASE (business, humanities, health, arts, social science and education) graduates and more likely to earn significantly higher amounts. Knowing that demand for arts degrees are less demanded, and I have a worse future ahead then stem students, I can rely on lifeguarding to compensate for the decrease income while pursuing a master’s degree. Another factor changing todays workforce is that increase in health and life expectancy has caused people to postpone retirement. There is also a preference for older workers as they have more experience which prevents younger workers from getting these positions.
Lifeguarding is unique as it is an physically demanding job with physical standard competitions needing to be done every 2 years. This means that many lifeguards switch carers and do not stay at the pool forever which allows the younger generation to take their jobs and are not as affected by this phenomena. The sociological imagination has presented us with a terrible yet magnificent lesson because we like to think of ourselves as having free-will and the ability to make our own choices. However through the new perspective found in the sociological imagination, we’ve discovered how many societal forces are behind our personal troubles and how little control we actually have. It shows how we are just one piece in the puzzle of life and how were are a product of history. It makes us question if individuality will prevail. It also shows us how we often take our society structure for granted without questioning why we have a democracy or current government structure. It shows how are decisions are due to our biography in this time period. However, it’s magnificent because it emphasizes the greater picture and presents us with a new perspective of our role in society.
Consequently, people may develop a sense of belonging, knowing that they are creating history and the decisions made now have lasting effects on next generation. By forcing us to explore history, we can also relate to others across generations and deepen our self-conscious. The sociological imagination also provides us with the mindset necessary to understand these societal forces enforced on us and the power to oppose them. It may be comforting to become more aware of the amount of other individuals enduring the same troubles as you. Mills suggest that when observing how others in similar situations handle their situation, will help you to understand you expectations and overcome your troubles.
