C Wright Mills's Sociological Theory

While there may be many various explanations to the theory, involving the sociological imagination, C. Wright Mills explains it as one of the key ways, in which individuals can understand society and social change. (sociological imagination handout, pg3) It is similar to putting on a new pair of glasses, in this case, with sociological lenses. One may begin to see the world, society, behaviors, and everyday interactions in a distinctively different way. To apply the sociological imagination, individuals have to be fully aware of the social context, in which individual options and decisions occur. For instance, many adults are making the conscious decision to earn their college degree, primarily due to society’s increasing emphasis on having …show more content…
However, issues that transcend personal boundaries, are said to be defined as issues. This essentially represents how personal troubles are linked between social issues. For instance, if a woman endures incidents of domestic violence from her husband, this is seen as a personal dilemma, yet, if a trend starts to persist, where a larger number of women throughout society begin to experience domestic violence, then it becomes more of a social issue. Individuals tend to look at various vantage points to better understand the extent and intensity of personal troubles, as well as, social issues happening now and throughout history. According to Mills, “to be aware of the idea of social structure and to use it with sensibility is to be capable of tracing such linkages among a great variety of milieux.” (sociological imagination handout, pg5) In order to manage that, one must possess the sociological …show more content…
For instance, if I were part of the traditionalists, I may have alternative perception of logic and discipline. Being part of the millennial generation, we tend to be more technologically advanced, however, as a traditionalist, I feel I would have a sense of security and essentially put the value of family above all else. (generational handout) I absolutely cherish family, however nowadays, the millennial generation tends to focus more on electronic devices and has, in a way, forgotten the importance of making family a priority. I have personally witnessed families sitting around the dinner table texting each other, versus simply having a verbal conversation. I believe that many of my values and moral stem from other generations, but a lot of that has to do with my upbringing. Simplistically, all individuals are different in multiple ways; however, we are all still human and deserve to be treated as