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The sociological imagination is the capacity to discern the relationship between large-scale social forces and the actions of individuals.^[1] It includes both the capacity to see relationships between individual biographies and historical change, and the capacity to see how social causation operates in societies. The term 'sociological imagination' was coined by the American sociologist C. Wright Mills in 1959 to describe the type of insight offered by the discipline of sociology. The term is used in introductory text books in sociology to help explain what sociology is and how it might be relevant to the lives of everyday people.

c w mills is an idiot

Uses of sociological imagination in films

The advantages of using popular films to enhance students' comprehension of sociological topics id widely recognized. Those who teach courses in social problems report using films to teach about war, to aid students in adopting a global perspective and to confront issues of race relations. There are benefits of using film as part of a multimedia approach to teaching courses in popular culture. It also provides students of medical sociology with case studies for hands-on observational experiences. It acknowledges the value of films as historical documentation of changes in cultural ideas, materials, and institutions.

Feature films are used in the introductory of sociology courses to demonstrate the relevance of sociological thinking and to show how the sociological imagination helps us make sense of our social world. Our underlying philosophy is that the sociological imagination is best developed and exercised in the introductory class by linking new materials in the context of conflict theory and functionalism.

References

Mills, C. W.: 1959, The Sociological Imagination, Oxford University Press, London.
Earl gooby, 'The Practice of Social Research', 10th edition, Wadsworth, Thomson Learning Inc., ISBN 0-534-62029-9
Michael Hughes, Carolyn J. Kroehler, James W. Vander Zanden. 'Sociology: The Core', McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-240535-X Online chapter summary
Judith Bessant and Rob Watts, 'Sociology Australia' (2nd ed), Allen & Unwin, 2001. ISBN 1-86508-612-6
Ray Jureidini and Marilyn Poole, 'Sociology' (3rd ed), Allen & Unwin 2002. ISBN 978-1-86508-896-9
Joel Charon, 'Ten Questions: A Sociological Perspective', Fourth Edition. Wadsworth, 2000.
Earl Babbie, 'The Practice of Social Research', 10th edition, Wadsworth, Thomson Learning Inc., ISBN 0-534-62029-9
The Sociological Perspective: University of Missouri
The Sociological Perspective
Giddens, Anthony. "Sociological Imagination." Introduction to Sociology . 1996. Karl Bakeman. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1996. Print. ISBN 978-0-393-93232-4
Using the Feature Film to Facilitate Sociological Thinking

^ Kendall, Diana Elizabeth (2007). Sociology in our times (6 ed.). Cengage Learning. pp. 6–7. ISBN 9780495006855. Retrieved 4 March 2010.

some thing to do with the way people think and behave...by Dr Junior

External links

[1] Kendall, Diana Elizabeth (2007). Sociology in our times (6 ed.). Cengage Learning. pp. 6–7. ISBN 9780495006855. Retrieved 4 March 2010.

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 The '''sociological imagination''' is the capacity to discern the relationship between large-scale social forces and the actions of individuals.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kendall|first=Diana Elizabeth|title=Sociology in our times|publisher=Cengage Learning|date=2007|edition=6|pages=6-7|isbn=9780495006855|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mY0luMKpMycC&pg=PA6|accessdate=4 March 2010}}</ref> It includes both the capacity to see relationships between individual biographies and historical change, and the capacity to see how social causation operates in societies.  The term 'sociological imagination' was coined by the American sociologist [[C. Wright Mills]] in 1959 to describe the type of insight offered by the discipline of sociology. The term is used in introductory text books in sociology to help explain what sociology is and how it might be relevant to the lives of everyday people.
+c w mills is an idiot
-==Differing definitions==
-Sociological Imagination - The application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of sociological questions.  Someone using the sociological imagination "thinks himself away" from the familiar routines of daily life. (Glidden A12)
-Sociologists  differ in their understanding of the concept, but the range suggests several important commonalities.
-One definition of the sociological imagination {{explain|as used in a textbook|eh, which textbook?}} is "the application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of sociological question. Someone using the sociological imagination 'thinks himself away' from the familiar routines of daily life."{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}}
-Another way of describing Sociological Imagination is the understanding that social outcomes are shaped by social context, actors, and social actions.  To expand on that definition, it is understanding that things in society may lead to a certain outcome.  The actors mentioned in the definition are things like norms and motives, the social context are like county and time period and the social action is the stuff we do that affects other people.  The things we do are shaped by the situation we are in, the values we have, the way people around us act, and how that all relates to some sort of outcome.  Sociological Imagination can also be considered as the capacity to to see things socially, how they interact, and influence each other.
-The sociological imagination could also be defined as the capacity to see how sociological situations play out due to how people differ and social circumstances differ. It is a way of thinking about things in society that have led to some sort of outcome, and understanding what causes led to that outcome. Things that shape these outcomes include (but are not limited to), social norms, what people want to gain out of something (their motifs for doing something), the social context they are in (ex.- country, time period, people they associate themselves with). Basically, what we do is shaped by all these things that result in some sort of outcome.
-The sociological imagination is the ability to see things socially and how they interact and influence each other. In order to be able to have a sociological imagination, you must be able to pull yourself away from the situation and think from an alternative point of view. It requires us to "think ourselves away from our daily routines and look at them anew". In order to acquire knowledge, it is important to not follow a routine, you have to break free from the immediacy of personal circumstances and put things into a wider context. The actions of people are much more important than the act itself.
-Sociological Imagination is the capacity to shift from one perspective to another
-Mills believed in the power of the sociological imagination to connect "personal troubles to public issues."
-There is always an urge to know the historical and sociological meaning of the singular individual in society, particularly in the period which he has his quality and his being. To do this one may use the sociological imagination to enable ones self to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner self and external career of a variety of individuals.<ref>Mills, C. Wright.The Sociological Imagination (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1959),5,7.Print</ref>
-Another perspesecitve is that Mills chose sociology because he felt “it was a discipline which could offer the concepts and skills to expose and respond to social injustice” <ref>Rose K. Goldsen, “Mills and the Profession of Sociology,” in The New Sociology, ed. Irving Lewis Horowitz (New York: Oxford University Press, 1964), 5. Print.</ref> He eventually became disappointed with his profession of sociology because he felt it was abandoning its responsibilities, which he criticized in his classic The Sociological Imagination. In every introductory sociology class the sociological imagination is brought up along with Mill and how he characterized the sociological imagination as a critical quality of mind that would help men and women “to use information and to develop reason in order to achieve lucid summations of what is going on in the world and of what may be happening within themselves" <ref>Keen, Mike Forrest. Stalking the Sociological Imagination: J. Edgar Hoover's FBI Surveillance of American Sociology. Westport, Conn: Greenwood, 1999. Print.</ref>
-The sociological imagination. . . is the capacity to shift from one perspective to another—from the political to the psychological; from examination  of a single family to comparative assessment of the national budgets of  the world; from the theological school to the military establishment; from  considerations of an oil industry to studies of contemporary poetry.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}}
 ==Uses of sociological imagination in films==