Sociological Imagination - Essay Sample

Introduction

Sociological imagination is the view of the way things are from different perspectives either individualistic perspective or the social perspective. Inferences drawn from any social situation depends on a particular perspective in play. The paper explores the interplay between individual's experiences and the larger social reality. It examines the previous assumptions about the individualistic nature of struggles and societal ones and presents a journal entry about a personal experience and ways of coping up with it. Wrapping up the paper is a concise conclusion followed by a list of references.

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Individual experiences stem up from the broader social reality. Therefore, to better understand a social problem such as unemployment, hunger, or eating disorders, one needs to consider the broader aspect of the social reality that might cause the experience to occur. For example, the general economic downturn might lead to drastic unemployment cases in the whole country thereby, making unemployment a social problem rather than an individual problem.

Many troubles and personal sufferings seem to come from personal mess-ups rather than the broader social framework. For example, unemployed individuals might be considered so lazy to work that they stay jobless. In this aspect, the whole blame is put upon only one individual who is the victim of the difficulty. The reality of social reality is, therefore, blurred and seems insignificant. The assumption of the individualistic nature of struggles intimates that the victim is to blame for their struggles rather than the social conditions from which the struggles stem.

Here is a real-life experience of a soldier in action. Life of a soldier is very challenging considering the work environment, equipment, and machinery used, and the general difficulties attached to military service for the sake of providing security to the whole country. A soldier is always expected to be alert and physically fit to discharge military duties properly. A soldier undergoes severe military practices, which are very hard to do.

Providing security to the country is an essential activity yet associated with extremely tough struggles for soldiers to be fit and qualified for the endeavor. Life as a soldier involves very tough struggles especially during drills or battling against the enemy. As a soldier, you must always gird your loins and endure acute sufferings to gain approval for the work (Scott, 2013).

The drills are especially crucial if the army is to maintain its power and strength. However, it is cumbersome to execute because it requires a lot of energy and incredible efforts to operate and move machinery used in the process. Artilleries, for example, are extremely heavy equipment used by the military (Celarent, 2017). During drills, carrying and wielding artilleries is an immense work that results in exhaustion and fatigue. The problem here is the individual struggles to become fit for the benefit of the general public.

To cope up with this situation, a soldier must be consistent in practice and train their bodies to remain relevant for the work and get used to the recurrent drills. They must also be confident and brave in what they do to enable them to attain success and accomplish the mission for which they have been assigned.

In this case, individual soldiers struggle so much to maintain their strength and power. Individualistic perspective considers this struggle self-imposed. This is opposite to the social reality perspective which is the main factor forcing them to live such hard lifestyles.

Conclusion

In conclusion, social imagination comprises two perspectives namely; individualistic perspective and societal perspective. The interaction between these two perspectives brings great knowledge and understanding to people. It becomes simple to understand personal struggles by viewing them from the societal perspective. Hence, social imagination is key to understanding the problems facing the society at both personal and societal level.

References

Celarent, B. (2017). Varieties of social imagination. Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago Press.

In Orton-Johnson, K., & In Prior, N. (2013). Digital sociology: Critical perspectives.

Manza, J., & New York University. (2013). The Sociology Project: Introducing the Sociological Imagination.

Scott, J. (2013). C. Wright Mills and the sociological imagination: Contemporary Perspectives. Cheltenham: Elgar.