This picture shows some of the many things that determine our biography and history which are related to our social imaginationSocial Imagination Link
Both of these articles involve sociology and what it actually is. While the article by Henslin compares sociology to other social sciences, Mills article talks about the social imagination. Both articles try to define sociology and what it is. The Henslin article shows us how sociology differs from History, Economics, Anthropology, and Psychology. It shows examples of what each type of social science focuses on. They are all related and might focus on similar things but each is focused on a specific characteristic. This is similar to the activity we did when we classified reasons as to why a person might commit suicide. We separated the social reasons such as location, age, and ethnicity from things that take place individually like personal stress or a tragedy. While Psychology and Sociology might be similar, they are classified as separate entities. The article states “Like psychologists, sociologists are also concerned with how people adjust to the problems and challenges they face in their lives.” Unlike Psychologists however, they are not focused on “what occurs in the brain or mind.” People often mix these sciences up, but they are very different. Sociology is also about human interaction. This was demonstrated when Mrs. Castelli sat in the back of the room for several minutes. Our brain is telling us that they interaction is not right. We should be listening to her talking about today’s discussion, not carrying conversations with each other.
Unlike Henslin’s work, The Promise is solely on Sociology and the Social imagination. This article talks about how everything that occurs in our lives is related to society as a whole. Society impacts each individual, but that is related to a person’s biography, history, and traditions. I realize that my life could have been entirely different if a few changes took place. If things would have turned out as expected, I should be living in Brazil right now. When my family lived in Florida, we thought it was temporary and my father’s company was going to transfer him to Brazil. That did not take place because my dad asked f he could just work in Florida. About eight years later we moved to Barrington. After three years here, my father found a very good job in Texas and we came within a day of moving there. Right before we moved however my dad got a job offer from another bank in Illinois and we decided to stay here. My biography has definitely influenced my history. If I would not be living here today, I probably would not have seen snow yet or planned on going to a school in the Big Ten. Everything we do affects our lives in some way. Mills talks about private issues V.S. public troubles, and there is only a problem in society if multiple people have that problem. The unemployment example holds true right now. A few years ago, only a few percent of the people living in the U.S. were unemployed, so it was not an issue. Right now the percent is in double digits, so it is perhaps the biggest issue we are facing. In order to find out why we have issues in society, we must find the people in the society, and look into their history. For example if we go to a “bad” neighborhood in the south side of Chicago, we try to solve the problem of why they live in poverty. Why are they uneducated, and why is the crime rate so high? The history of each individual helps to explain these questions. Many of these people were in poverty when they were born, so they might need to steal as a way of survival. If they have to work in order to support a family, they wouldn’t be able to go to college and get an education. This cycle continues from generation to generation unless someone intervenes to stop it. I understand that the “Social Imagination is about the relationship between history and biography within society; I would probably have named it something else, like the Social Correlation. This concept is very important for societies to understand so they can evaluate themselves and see if changes are necessary to improve the society they reside in. Without this concept, we would probably still have slavery, have lower wages for women, and might not have even gotten our independence from Britain.
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