COMPARATIVE+SOCIOLOGY+
!
UNIT%1%
What is sociology?
Sociology is the scientific discipline that describes and explains the relationship
between social structures and individual actions and ideas. Sociology can empower us
by helping citizens (1) identify points of intervention and (2) raise new issues of debate.
Its subject matter is our own behaviour as social beings.
“Our individual lives reflect the context of our social experience”.
What is sociological imagination?
Sociological imagination (C. Wright Mills) is the ability of the mind to identify visible
and less-visible links between social structures* and personal troubles. Its task is to
grasp history and biography and the relationships between the two within society.
Social life is better understood when we disentangle these two elements:
-!Personal troubles: Situations that threaten the values of an individual. Personal
experiences turn into personal troubles if they are inconsistent with dominant
values in a determined society.
“Ours is a time of uneasiness and indifference” (Wright Mills)
-!Social issues: Central structures of society. Most persistent regularities that lie at
the basis of social life organization. These are made out of the overlap of
personal social networks. They could be institutions, social structures, social
norms… E.g. Capitalism, consumerism
Sociological imagination requires overcoming important intellectual hurdles such as
abstract thinking and introspection or fighting against intellectual inertia, but the promise
it makes compensates the challenges it entails.++
Attaining more Sociological imagination produces two main positive effects:
-!Explanatory effect: we gain a better understanding of the meaning of our lives and
so, can better account for major personal events. It helps, for instance, avoid social
contexts that produce problems.
-!Socio-political effect: thanks to this, sociologists can have a major impact in
transforming the social issues that are a matter of attention by public opinion.
