The Importance of a Sociological Imagination by Alexander

The Importance of a Sociological Imagination by Alexander - March 2017 Scholarship Essay

Each and every one of us is heavily influenced by the society in which we live. I was not fully aware of the effect that the world has on my personal development, but my elementary studies of sociology have taught me to view myself and the world in which I live in a new light. If I wished to grow as a person, I needed to change my way of thinking, analyze my life from a new perspective, and ask questions I had not thought to ask before. The greatest lesson I have taken from my studies of sociology has been the acquisition of a sociological imagination. The sociological imagination was coined by sociologist C. Wright Mills in 1959, and this term can be defined as the manner in which we learn to see how what we consider to be personal problems are, in reality, social problems shared by others. When we look at the world through this lens, we come to learn numerous things about ourselves and what it means to be human.
One of the concepts held most dearly by citizens of the United States is that of freedom, and the sociological imagination serves to show us how easily certain freedoms can be manipulated. When a baby first begins to develop, a number of stem cells exist—cells that can go on to change and mature in many different ways. It could be said that the human mind is also made of stem cells, directionless and waiting to be given a purpose in the earliest years of life. Our minds are heavily influenced by our parents, our peers, and our society throughout our lives; and these influences heavily dictate our own actions and beliefs. While it can be unsettling to realize how much influence others have on our thoughts, this realization also serves to help us learn to defend our beliefs. By recognizing the influence that others hold, we find ourselves in a better position to protect the freedom that no one can ever take from us: the freedom of thought.
After looking at some of the more extensive sources of influence in my own life, I have found the media to serve as a useful example and catalyst for the development of a deeper level of thought. I’ve thought about how the media reflects the desires of the public; after all, the media wishes to report what is of interest and will inform the public of the topics it most wants to hear. In my own community, the media is often seen as a source of immorality that many people are quick to reproach, yet the idea is that the media reflects the general thoughts and will of the public. If many people truly do disagree with the contents of the media, what does that say about us as a society? Why do the opinions of the whole appear to differ from those of the individual, when it’s these individual opinions that make up the whole? Questions like these will change our thoughts on a variety of topics, encouraging us to truly understand what we are told rather than simply accept the information as fact.
A final example relevant to myself and many others is that of employment, and this has encouraged me to think about not only the role I hold in my job but also the role that all employees hold. Problems that I may view as being fairly personal and unique to my situation are most likely problems that actually affect many employees all across the world. This concept is easy to understand, and it’s when we apply this concept to not just employment but also to humanity as a whole that we begin to learn much about what it means to be human. First, we look at some of the experiences that define who we are, such as the emotions we feel or the activities we enjoy. Then, we learn to acknowledge and understand that each person we meet feels these same emotions, enjoys activities like we do, and lives a life just as complex as our own. Many people like to refer to their lives as a story. In our own story the strangers we pass by each day are so insignificant as to hardly warrant their mention. The moment that we realize the depth of their stories are so great that we are equally insignificant in their eyes is the moment we begin to truly understand them. A sociological imagination allows me to look at what may seem unremarkable and learn much about who I am, who others are, and how each of us fits together.
Thanks to a sociological imagination, I have come to better understand myself and the world in which I live and to see it from new perspectives, which has helped to refine myself as a person. My development of a sociological imagination has enabled me to learn volumes; and thanks to this, I am able to better interact with others and guide myself towards a deeper understanding of myself and my world. Each of us can learn to develop a sociological imagination, and each of us will experience benefits such as the ones that I have seen in my life. The sociological imagination, while not easy to acquire, teaches lessons that we will not find elsewhere.