In “The promise”, C.Wright Mills (2016) defines the concept of sociological imagination as a “quality of mind” which allows understanding of how the intersections of biography and history shape individual lives. Mills recognizes that most people encounter a feeling of being trapped since their perception of the world is largely shaped by their social milieu. He further states that people are therefore unaware of the relationship between their personal circumstances and the broader social and historical contexts and suggests acknowledging the interconnection between the two as a form of empowerment. Within this concept of sociological imagination, Mills distinguishes between personal “troubles” and social “issues” as an “essential tool” to recognizing
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As aforementioned, homelessness is a complex issue and by placing the blame solely on the individual the larger systemic factors are ignored. This can further victimize an already vulnerable group and generate stereotypes about people experiencing homelessness. This can segregate individuals experiencing homelessness into a class apart from the rest of the society. While keeping in mind that the vast majority of professionals working in the “homelessness industry” are well-meaning and understand the broader social structures underlying this problem, they are limited to meet the needs of a large homeless population. This is mainly because the Canadian government has downloaded its responsibility of addressing the homelessness problem onto provinces/territories. This in turn has local non-profit organizations dependent on their funding sources causing them to run their organization like businesses rather than focusing on their mission. It requires further application of sociological imagination to not only look at the personal and structural causes that lead to homelessness but also consider the political and economic factors that maintain the problem of homelessness. For the purposes of this short essay I used homelessness as my topic to relate to my major ( Diversity and Equity) of my program in Arts and Contemporary
As aforementioned, homelessness is a complex issue and by placing the blame solely on the individual the larger systemic factors are ignored. This can further victimize an already vulnerable group and generate stereotypes about people experiencing homelessness. This can segregate individuals experiencing homelessness into a class apart from the rest of the society. While keeping in mind that the vast majority of professionals working in the “homelessness industry” are well-meaning and understand the broader social structures underlying this problem, they are limited to meet the needs of a large homeless population. This is mainly because the Canadian government has downloaded its responsibility of addressing the homelessness problem onto provinces/territories. This in turn has local non-profit organizations dependent on their funding sources causing them to run their organization like businesses rather than focusing on their mission. It requires further application of sociological imagination to not only look at the personal and structural causes that lead to homelessness but also consider the political and economic factors that maintain the problem of homelessness. For the purposes of this short essay I used homelessness as my topic to relate to my major ( Diversity and Equity) of my program in Arts and Contemporary