QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

The Sociological Imagination Part One: Intro to Sociology and Development of

the Sociological ImaginationAgenda

Objective:1. To develop an

understanding of the sociological imagination.

2. To develop and apply your own sociological imagination.

Schedule: 1. “Sociological

Imagination” discussion2. Viewing: Country Boys3. Discussion

Homework1. After class on

Wednesday continue watching Country Boys through chapter 6 (link available on course website) - Due Thursday 9/13

2. Reaction Paper - Due Thursday 9/20

Thinking Like a Sociologist• Last class we talked about how

sociology is the project of “making the familiar strange.” What does this mean?

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Thinking Like a Sociologist• “Making the familiar strange”requires you

to reconsider your assumptions about society and question what you have assumed to be “normal” and “the way things are.”

• It means applying analytical tools to taken-for-granted everyday life and seeing that what we think is normal, isn’t.

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Thinking Like a Sociologist: The Sociological Imagination

• Today, we want to go deeper into what it means to do sociology by discussing the unique approach sociologists bring to their work as they seek to make the familiar strange.

• The Sociological Imagination– In order to think critically about the

world around us -- to make the familiar strange -- we need to see the connection between individuals and the larger society.

– The ability is called “The Sociological Imagination”

– Term coined by C. Wright Mills in 1959.

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Developing our Sociological Imagination

• Imagine in your mind, the average unemployed person. Let’s generate a list of some characteristics the American public might associate with that person…

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Developing our Sociological Imagination

• Watch the following geographic representation of unemployment in the United States between 2007 and 2011– Pay attention to what happens to the

purple sections of the map…

Developing our Sociological Imagination

• So…is laziness contagious?• What is going on here?

What is a Sociological Imagination?

• What does this exercise tell us about thinking like a sociologist? How does a sociologist think?

• If we call the way sociologists think “the sociological imagination,” what is a “sociological imagination”?

The Sociological Imagination Is…

• Awareness that society exists and exerts influence the life of the individual.

• Recognition that in order to understand the individual, we must understand his/her place in society.

• Recognition that many of the problems we think are personal, actually are the products of social forces.

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

EXAMPLE ONEEating Disorders

• Cause of Eating Disorders– When viewed as “personal trouble”

• Cause of Eating Disorders– When viewed as “public issue”

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Once we adopt a sociological imagination we…

• Accept that social forces--institutions, norms, demographics, policies, rituals, groups, and interactions--are at least partial causes of human experiences

• Never argue that “that is just the way things are” in human life.

• Ask whether human experiences vary by the kind of person in question--for instance by race, ethnicity, age, gender, religions, sexuality, or political ideology

Developing Your Sociological Imagination

• To develop your sociological imagination we will watch and analyze the documentary Country Boys. – Tracks the dramatic stories of Chris and Cody from ages 15 to 18 as they struggle to overcome poverty and family dysfunction in a quest for a brighter future. – In so doing the film shows the intersection between the individual and society that the sociological imagination calls us to recognize.

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Country Boys• As you watch, use the sociological imagination to explain the

link between the individuals featured in the documentary and the society in which they live (Take Notes!)– What personal problems do the boys face?– What social forces and social structures are at work in the boys lives?

• Think about: government, family, education, religion, media, technology, the economy, etc.

– What connections do you see between the individual and society in the documentary? – How might the troubles and triumphs of the boys be explained by the society in which they live/social forces in their lives?

• Reaction Paper!QuickTime™ and a

decompressorare needed to see this picture.

Country Boys

Personal Troubles Society

Country Boys

• Using your sociological imagination, how can we explain Chris and Cody’s lives?